bhyphen

Too much food equals my idea for 24 Posts In 24 Hours falls flat on my face. But I'm still going for all 24 dammit!

I got started blogging because my best friend/partner-in-rhyme Matthew Spencer started a blog on xanga in 2004. Before then I had heard of blogging but never paid much attention to it. The reason I thought Matt's blogging was so great was because he lived in Pittsburgh and I didn't get to see him as much so having a window to his day-to-day was great for me.

In previous years, I kinda semi-blogged, tho at the time I would have called it updating my website. I would post the date and talk about the various things that had happened in the process of recording what I thought was going to be my R&B album Life Turned Into Music. I even had a section on my website that was about all the girls I had some kind of connection too. I wish I could find that page now, it would be a fun read for me to see what 20 year old me thought about certain girls.

The first blogging site I tried out wasn't even xanga tho. I had posted a few entries at another site that I can't remember the name of now, but those were soon shuffled over to xanga. I was a huge xanga fan tho, I had a nice little community of 10 people who I was guaranteed to ready my posts and comment normally and I would do the same. It was a really fun time.

But then people started getting away from it and soon Matt and I were the only ones who were posting. Which I didn't mind but at the time I started this blog and had been cross posting between my two accounts. Once I fell in love with the LJ community, it was a wrap for xanga. That and the fact they were making some God-awful unnecessary changes to the site. Matt still maintains his blog there but his twitter has basically become his blog.

I soon discovered I was addictied to making new blogs. I had this one, a fanfiction LJ, a random type blog called Hyphen-Verse that I created to try to streamline this blog, a music blog on LJ and xanga, and finally a music blog on blogger. The problem would be I would be into the blog at first but then it would eventually lay dormant. The last blog I axed was the Spideyville Unlimited music blog figuring I could just make this blog Spideyville Unlimited and post whatever the hell I wanted and no one would mind. Thankfully, no one has. lol.

Currently, I have this LJ, a video game blog where I blog about my gaming experiences, Hip-Hop Manifesto!!!: The Blog with Matt, and technically, I'm a blogger for a site called Class & Grime that's kinda died off. I don't think I'm opening any other blogs except to hold my new podcasts,. But who knows. I can say that blogging has become a ridiculously large part of my life and I'm grateful for it. I just hope it's easy to give it up someday. lol.

24 Posts In 24 Hours Post #3: Review: Michael Jackson's This Is It
24 Posts In 24 Hours Post #2: TV Marriages
24 Posts In 24 Hours Post #1: Has Anyone Else Done This?

A month ago, The Office finally had Pam and Jim take the final step in their television romance by marrying them in the most hilarious (yet touching) manner possible. Watching it, I got choked up watching these two characters I've watched for years tie the knot. Then I tried to think of some other tv marriages I've seen over the years...

I couldn't really think of any.

Don't get me wrong, I've watched a shitload of tv in my 26 years, but nothing really jumped at me. Rachel & Ross never got (willingly) married. J.D. & Elliott haven't been married on Scrubs. Turk & Carla got married on Scrubs but since I saw the whole run after I saw random episodes where they were already married, no dice. Most of the shows I grew up watching already had the married couple like The Cosby Show and Family Matters. Or the couple never went all the way like Sam & Diane on Cheers. The one marriage that just came to mind was Whitley and Dwayne Wayne's on A Different World, but I think I was too young for that to have any impact.

It could go either way I suppose where some marriages are awful and some are perfectly done like The Office's. Or it could just depend on the person. Is there any tv marriages I'm missing?

24 Posts In 24 Hours Post #1: Has Anyone Else Done This?

I was walking the dog tonight and I got this crazy idea. Since today is Thanksgiving and I don't have anything to do until noon on Friday I'm going to be taking on a daunting task. Between this blog and Hip-Hop Manifesto!!!: The Blog, I'm going to attempt to make 24 posts in 24 hours. Now I won't claim to be the originator of this idea, as I know YN did this very thing on XXL's website a few years back. I mostly see it as a chance to clear a lot of the cobwebs I have in my head so I can make room for the impending year-end stuff that most blogs fall victim to. Plus it will help me concentrate on The Mind's Mixtape volume 4, Spideyville Unlimited, new episodes of Hip-Hop Manifesto: The Podcast, new Victory Jumpoff Radio installments, my personal podcast (which I'm still trying to name), and another podcast I'm going to be starting in the new year. lol. And my return to fanfiction. So with all that on my plate, this should be fun. The plan is to officially start at noon today (maybe earlier) and attempt to have 24 new posts between the 2 blogs by noon on Black Friday when I have to be at work. Wish me luck!

I was looking at my Google Docs (where I keep most of my ideas so I don't lose them and have access to them as long as I have internet) and was looking over my plans for Spideyville Unlimited. Lo and behold, the only feature I had written down thus far was for my homie Meuwl. It was mostly so I wouldn't forget that he agreed to do a song with me. Now I never will. Miss you homie.

Oh Kenan, you've come such a long way from All That. Hi Taylor.

My friend Justin's brother wrote this.

When I was still in high school (maybe 16 years old), I was sitting around on a boring summer day with some friends. I don’t remember exactly who was there, but I am sure at least Adam Searls and Tim Dover were there. We were bored and probably doing something stupid and listening to music in Searls’ basement. Something about the music made me ask who it was that was rapping. Searls told me that it was this guy named Sam who lived down the street and I couldn’t help but think “there is no way that this guy is from West Virginia, let alone South Charleston” He told me he called himself Meuwl. (Country Meuwl the first time I heard about him.)

There was something about the way it sounded, even though it was a rough recording, there was still this unexplainable star quality to the beat and the lyrics, a drawing power. I heard one song, and I was hooked. Time passed, as time has been known to do, and the legend of Meuwl grew (At least in my head it did). My head was filled with stories of he did this or he said that and I had heard so many of his demos and rough CDs without ever meeting him that I believed he surely only existed in myth. Eventually, I became good friends with John, Meuwl’s younger brother. Through John, I eventually met Meuwl.

You know how some people say, “The man is never a good as myth,” or something like that. Well, in this case those people are wrong. None of the stories I heard did him justice. From the instant I met him, I liked him. Charismatic and funny don’t even begin to describe Meuwl’s personality. It was like he was so full of life he radiated it and by just being around him some of that life would escape into you. These first few times I met him were in passing. Crashing at his house when I went to Morgantown with John, once. Passing him in the kitchen of his mom’s house in South Charleston. Random encounters, that only helped to build the legend in my head.

Over the years, Meuwl’s name, to me, became synonymous with the West Virginia music scene. If a friend came to visit or I met a new person, they had to go to a Meuwl and B-Rude show. If I knew someone appreciated good music, then they had to hear the Rabble Rousers. There simply wasn’t anything like them around, and definitely nobody as talented. The legend in my head kept expanding. He became synonymous with music.

It wasn’t until years later that I actually became friends with Meuwl. I don’t know why, but I was surprised to discover how much depth he had. One of the only friends I have had that would wax philosophy or some abstract point of life with a beer in his hand. He wasn’t above the inane, as one might think, but that is part of what made him so fun to be around (Robot butt love springs to mind, if you don’t get it don’t worry it isn’t as bad as it sounds). While he might have had a little attention span at some points, when Meuwl talked to a person he made them feel like they were the only person in the room. He was a personality that couldn’t be denied, and it was impossible not to love him. His legend growing evermore. Even after knowing him for a few years, I still had this childlike hero-image of him floating around in my head.

Meuwl died, on Thursday, November 5th, 2009. When I was told, I remember thinking to myself, “This can’t be true. This has to be a joke or something.” The shock of his death, left me blank, stunned. The strangest thing was that the only thing I could think of was a line from the old Don McLean song “American Pie.” I thought, “This is the day the music died.” I didn’t think it was possible. He had seemed invincible to me. Charleston suddenly seemed like a very bitter and silent city. But it was true. While I am still having trouble believing he is gone, a part of me realizes that while the man might be gone, his legend will continue.

Those of us still here will never forget him. He was one of the most talented people I have ever met, and the world surely lost one of its stars yesterday, leaving the sky just a little more barren. But we can always remember what he did while he was here. We can remember how he made us smile, or laugh or how he got groups of metal heads to bounce to some rap. We can always carry the song of his life in our hearts. A person like Meuwl can never truly be gone, because he left such an impact on so many people. Our only jobs now are to learn to live again, and to strive to be as happy as he would want us to be.

Found out this evening that my good friend Sam "Meuwl" Harshbarger passed away. Not only was he one of the greatest MC's in West Virginia history, he was a great person that brightened the world with his presence. A class act. You'll be truly missed my friend.

I decided to start another Behind The Music entry, except with video instead of all the typing this time. I'll be posting them as I produce them.

If anyone thinks the videos of rapping at drive-thrus are awesome, DON'T DO IT. You will be arrested because rapping your order is a threatening action.

The first one is a collaboration I did for my homie Profit Money's album where we abuse auto-tune to the fullest. The second one is another one of those remixes I keep doing, this time of 3OH!3's hit single "Don't Trust Me".

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Auto-Tune That (Feat. B Hyphen) - Profit Money</div>

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Dont Trust Me (Death Before Dishonor Remix) (Feat. B Hyphen) - 3OH!3</div>

Finally, Victory Jumpoff Radio has come back to the internets! This time I dedicate a whole episode to the Roc-A-Fella Records Dynasty (from 1998 to 2005) minus any songs that were contained on a Jay-Z album! Take a trip down memory lane as I unearth some of the Roc's best work and not necessarily the singles. This is only Volume 1, so expect future installments and your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Here's to the Roc!

Young Gunz - $$$ Girlz (Feat. Juelz Santana)
Memphis Bleek - My Mind Right (Feat. Ja Rule)
Beanie Sigel - Playa (Feat. Amil & Jay-Z)
Kanye West - Keep The Receipt (Feat. Dirt McGirt)
Freeway - Full Effect (Feat. Young Gunz)
*****
Memphis Bleek - Murda Murda (Feat. Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel)
Diplomats - I'm Ready
Young Gunz - Grown Man (Remix) (Feat. Kanye West & John Legend)
Kanye West - Improvise
*****
Beanie Sigel - Nothing Like It
Peedi Crakk -One For Peedi (Feat. Freeway, Young Chris & Beanie Sigel)
Jay-Z - Crew Love (Feat. Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel)
Cam'ron - Come Home With Me (Feat. Juelz Santana & Jim Jones)
Dame Dash - Champions (Feat. Kanye West, Young Chris, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron & Twista)
Cam'ron - Live My Life (Leave Me Alone)
Kanye West - Out The Game (Feat. Consequence & John Legend)
Kanye West - School Spirit
Cam'ron - Get 'Em Girls
Freeway - Hear The Song
*****
Cam'ron - The ROC (Just Fire) (Feat. Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel)


Victory Jumpoff Radio - Show #3: Roc-A-Fella Edition Volume 1

I love all the "This Is SportsCenter" commercials but this one gets me everytime.

http://ma.bhyphen.com/

· Gambit #17, by David Brashear
"The Gathering Storm"

· New X-Men #2, by J.D. Mathis
"What the Teachers Don't Know" Part Two

· Uncanny X-Men #4, by Tony Thornley
"Coming Home"

· X-Factor #3, by Brent Lambert
"May I Introduce the President" Part Three

· X-Force #8, by Brent Lambert
"The Pirate Crew" Part One

http://ma.bhyphen.com/

Starting off with Gambit: Remy is left home alone, so what does any good member of the Thieve's Guild do when left unsupervised with an itch to hit The Big Easy? Why steal things, of course. But as Remy will learn unsupervised doesn't necessarily mean unwatched as he sneaks about the town. And on the other side of town the two most powerful figures of the two Guilds sit down and discuss the future of their tattered groups.

Over in New X-Men the students of the Xavier Institute for Highter Learning are restless after stumbling upon a drug ring around campus that gives the users superpowers. Instilled with a duty to protect his fellow students Thomas Sheppard pulls together a team to operate under the noses of their supervisors...but how successful can they be when their supervisors are amongst the most powerful telepaths on the planet and one of those telepaths is a soldier who's used to seeing through sneaky tactics?

Meanwhile in Uncanny X-Men the Russian leader of the new Kremlin Defense Force, Colonel Vazhin, drops a colossal bomb on the X-Men when he reveals that an X-Man thought long dead is actually alive and mindlessly roaming the Russian wilderness. But the X-Men aren't the only group on the hunt to claim the legendary X-Man as Weapon X races against the heroes to get to him first.

Pietro grows fanatical in his desire to hunt down and capture Exodus in X-Factor as he jockeys for position and power to ensure that Genosha remains safe and stable by creating the first steps of his plan that will result in the creation of The Genosha Compact. What is this Genosha Compact? Well, it's a question that Emma Frost wants answered at any means necessary, and Pietro's actions to seeing this come to fruition may put him at odds right off the bat with Polaris and the brand new X-Factor!

And finally in X-Force the team experiences a quiet moment...okay, maybe not as what began as a game of skill between Pipeline and Abyss leads to a full on smackdown between two of the most dominant and opinionated women on the team. Havok and Emma verbally play a tug of war over the control of the secret team, Madrox, Shatterstar and Blind Faith share a disagreement of words and other forces outside of their walls align against them as Ahab and the Hounds come crashing down upon them. And the reason behind Emma and Alex's problems, the Genegineer continues his freakish experiments.

I have now included on the front page of MA the showcase spot for the Fifty States Initiative. Just like our sister site DCA with JLU and DCI, we are cross promoting with Altered Visions and FSI to help spread the word of the great work being done across the community. You'll also see the 3 titles we're showcasing for the site that cover content MA currently doesn't have or explore a direction and characters we're currently not.

So, go read some fanfic!!

This is way more awesome than it ought to be.

Features an interview with Roc Nation artist J. Cole. Again we are joined by Miss CJ and a good thing too as our panel was coming up short this week. Check out previous episodes at http://www.livestream.com/soundviziontv or catch us live every Tuesday night at 7 PM at that same link.

So, go read some fanfic!!