Annoucement: Yellow Rebel Is Dead

...not literally, but as I've stated in the past, and in my blogs background, I think it's time for me to move on. With the year ending I figure it would be in my interest to close up shop on Blogger. I'm really grateful to have met the people I've met and to have had support through thick and thin (content) on the blog.

This isn't the last you'll hear from me and if you'd like you can shoot me an email over at yellowrebelblog@gmail.com.

Visually Bloggable: X-Men Origins Wolverine

This has been steadily passed around the blogosphere. I must say I am stoked--this might be the saving grace of the X-Men movie franchise (whatever's left of it). I hope that this movie is good, and not just a well edited preview. I recall Jackman saying they modeled it after Batman Begins, which is a good sign. I know all of the fanboys are probably hyped to see Gambit, and the inclusion of the Blob seems interesting. Also, I dunno if anyone else picked up on it, but there's a little girl with white hair towards the end of the preview. Any bets that it's a young Ororo?

Visually Bloggable: Charles Hamilton "Brooklyn Girls"

Way back in May I posted this track. Glad to see it get a video.

Charles gets extra cool points for getting Lacey Duvalle (I'd attach a link, but uh, it's sort of X-rated) in the video. If you follow Hamilton's music, you'll know that he had a song dedicated to her.

LMFAO

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Funny + absurd. Wow Samberg. Wow.

Visually Bloggable: Stephen Colbert x John Legend

LOL. Wow. Props to Young + Ignorant for the find (Tory & E whatup!)

Random Movie Junk...

A thank you goes out to Smoking Section. For allowing me to re-live a childhood memory, that upon watching again, was probably not worth reliving.

In all seriousness, the good folks over there had a pretty good rundown. Definitely check out their piece.

Barack Obama Keeps It...Cool

Hulu.com is the greatest invention since YouTube.

The Ultimate Blog Entry: My Week Has Been Crazy

The last 7 days have been crazy. Rather than go into several posts, I figure maybe I can give a run down in one giant dedicated post...

Saturday...

Saturday I ventured up to Philadelphia to the 941 Theater with Video Vixon, Fresh Daily and his gf so Fresh could do his set at the Immortal Technique show. It was one heckuva trip and Fresh definitely managed to do his thing. Prior to the show Video Vixon and I were playing Marvel vs. Capcom with Fresh...

Fresh v. Video - Video Gamin' from Video Vix[o]n on Vimeo.

Be warned Mickey, Fresh is nasty.

The show went really well. Video Vixon actually edited the footage of the performance in Philly...

Sunday...

I got back at 3 in the morning so I slept in...

Monday...

Monday I really didn't do anything lol. Ate at Chipotle.

Tuesday...

Went to the Juelz Santana video shoot for "Body Like A Maserati" after work. I was wearing a suit so most of them thought I was a cop. I explained to them that I wasn't--merely a blogger. You could definitely say I stuck out a bit. Shout outs to Tweezy, Skull Gang , the security guard, the Maserati dealer, DJ G$, Candace and the good folks at City Stage.

Wednesday...

Wednesday was a wild night. Not for me, but for events in general. There were like 50 things going down. After I got out of my HTML class, I hit up Santo's for the Fader event and then head over the Marc Ecko showroom for the Complex event. Had a good time there. Ran into some familiar faces which was cool. Props to Dave, Panama (you on the come up my dude!), Jaeki (aka J-Key), Ajua, Amenan, DJ Treats, Ryan, Roni, Tiffany and everyone else who came through.

Thursday...

I didn't make it to the Colin Munroe show. My bad Phella. I fell asleep and ended up knocking out.

Friday...



Managed to pick up the new Kanye and Ludacris. Didn't get a chance to listen to the new 'Cris album yet, but I been listening to the new Kanye album. Despite all of the mixed reviews, I like the album. Te key to appreciating it is to understand that it is not a Hip-Hop album. It's an synth pop record (I'd even go as far as to say that it's an emo synth pop record, but that's a different story) and I think Kanye has managed to achieve a new quality with this album. This is by no means an excuse for him to never make another rap album again (if he continued to make albums like 808's & Heartbreak he'd be vilified), but it's true: Kanye is a pop artist. And to be frank he's always had a crossover quality to him and this album is wholeheartedly representative of that. Kanye is bigger than Hip-Hop and many conventional rap fans are going to have a hard time digesting it.



A friend of mine noted that it was a great break-up album and I agree. If you're going through relationship trouble, you need to hear this album.

The sad part is that anyone else that tries to mimic what Kanye does is going to have a hard time. Interestingly enough, the artists before him that have switched their musical styles in the same vein that Kanye has were met with mixed reviews. For some it was negative (Common Electric Circus) for others it was good (Andre 3000 The Love Below). Interestingly enough, in all cases it took a bad break up for the respective artist to make them switch their sound up. In 2 out of 3 cases it was the same woman. One can only imagine what this album would have sounded like if Kanye had been dating Erykah Badu.




That evening I linked up with Varyus Waise, Neurotic Neuron, Professor P, and a few others to watch Punisher: War Zone. Unfortunately, the movie was a terrible train wreck whose only redeeming quality was the Tarantino-like violence. My predictions for it were wrong. I was reading a review of it on First Showing and they made a pretty accurate assertion: The Punisher will go down in comic movie history with the likes of Daredevil and Ghost Rider. It's sad because you would think the Punisher is a relatively easy character to do. The 2004 Punisher was underwhelming in my eyes. The new one is overwhelming--the shear violence makes up for the bad acting. It's okay to suspend the disbelief of the audience, but don't abuse it.

The best Punisher movie was the 1989 film, which for the standards of that era was considered garbage, but by the standards of 2008, would make it a masterpiece. It's the only Punisher move to not use the trademark skull, which for a comic geek is blasphemous, but looking at it from a film geek perspective, it might actually be a good thing. The 1989 film managed to straddle a line between the '04 one and the recent one. The plot was coherent, and the emphasis was not only on the violence. Another reference for how a Punisher movie should be made, please watch the 1994 The Crow movie--a perfect comic book based movie that deals in revenge.

So yeah that's everything. I'll have a few more posts to make in the next few days. Many who follow this blog may have noticed the changes going on. All will be explained in due time...

The Colin Munroe Post

So earlier this year a really talented singer releases an independent video of a song that features him singing to the Kanye West song "Flashing Lights". The video goes viral all throughout the internet, creating a sure fire buzz for himself....

The kid's name was Colin Munroe and since then has managed to become a highly coveted independent artist. As of yesterday homey has released a highly anticipated mixtape titled Colin Munroe Is The Unsung Hero.



And you can download that mixtape right here...

(Props to Sickamore for sending me the info)

If you're in the NYC area on December 4th (shout-outs to Varyus Waise, Alpha Phi Alpha and Hov) or December 9th, come check out one of Colin Munroe's shows...


(Note: Yellow Rebel is not affiliated with Rebel Events)

The latter show features Wale, Kid Cudi and the good homey Che Grand...



Major props to Phella and Sickamore of the Famous Firm.

Visually Bloggable: Batman Arkham Asylum Video Game Trailer

Peeped this on Gamer Groove.

Sickness.

end is near...

think my time on my blogger might have reached it's peak...

Visually Bloggable: Idle Warship "Black Snake Moan"

Got word a few days ago that this was out. This would be the music video that I attended the shoot for a few weeks back. I didn't get any screen time but Hackman (aka C-Hack) gets a cameo at about 3:18.

88 Keys also makes an appearance.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know..a bit late and lacking in creativity. But as I explained in my email, I couldn't really conjure something up when I opened up Photoshop.

A Conversation w/ Homeboy Sandman...

Homeboy: the yellow rebel cannot die
the yellow rebel is immortal
me: LOL...yes he can
Immortal???
2:12 PM Immortal is something in mythology, happy endings and the Highlander series
Yellow Rebel was a symbol
Homeboy: who is this?
this can't be the man they call yellow rebel
who speaks such blashemy?
2:13 PM me: and that symbol has slowly been transformed to represent somehting it no longer can be
Homeboy: which is what?
and by the way, the symbol yellow rebel stands for all that is good and pure
2:15 PM me: the yellow rebel stood for the misunderstood concepts that despite their honesty, are interpreted as spiteful
Homeboy: really?
nobody ever put me on to that
me: sandman...have u ever watched an adult movie?
Homeboy: to me, the yellow rebel meant speaking the truth
yes
2:16 PM me: likewise, I'm sure you've been forced to watch a cheesy romance or novella before correct?
Homeboy: long ago, yes
me: and which one o those taught u more about the love making process most?
The adult film or the cheesy romance?
2:17 PM Homeboy: i ain't really learn much from either, but i think it see what you're getting at
me: well for me it was the adult film
2:18 PM but nobody will ever recommend that as a learning experience...despite the fact that if ask most men (or guys going through puberty)...that the adult film gave them a greater understanding of what is to be expected in the future
yet society shies away from it...rather than considers its unbridled honesty
2:19 PM Homeboy: i see the yellow rebel as the voice speaking that truth though
me: that unbridled truth has now been shunned by society and written off as a mere gimmick
2:20 PM no one wants to take the rebel seriously
the ones who understand him do...hence our convo right now
but the ones who dont...well...
they killed him
Homeboy: but they can't kill you rebel
that's what makes you a hero in the eyes of those who understand
me: all good rebel's must die
2:21 PM Homeboy: and if you give up, you're not gonna be a martyr
you're gonna be a quitter
me: am not a martyr
i am not a hero
Homeboy: i'm not talking about you
i'm talking about the yellow rebel
and the yellow rebel
is a hero
2:22 PM me: he was to some..
but he is no more.
Homeboy: so there's no talking you out of it then?
2:23 PM me: well
to be frank there was indication that the yellow rebel was ever alive
some might argue that he was dead to begin with
Homeboy: nonsense
2:24 PM i have heard the yellow rebel with my own two ears
trumpeting truth for all
and the truth is
2:25 PM yellow rebel is bigger than you
to me
he will never die
no matter what you say
me: can u be certain he was alive?
Homeboy: absolutely
me: maybe its best not to hope that way
you see sandman
2:26 PM You can't kill what's already dead
and if YR was dead from the beginning
than there's only one way to go from there
2:27 PM Homeboy: you talking about yellow rebel being dead
saying he was never alive
is like when harvey dent turned to two face
it's like corruption of something incorruptable
i won't accept it
there's nothing you can say to change my mind
2:28 PM me: is that what you truly believe?
Homeboy: absolutely
me: u wanna know what I believe
Homeboy: what?
2:31 PM me: I believe what doesnt kill u simply makes you...stranger
2:32 PM Homeboy: haha