Interesting note about the upcoming Erykah Badu album New Amerykah pt. 1 The Breakdown (or whatever it’s called this week).

”Telephone” - last track of the album inspired by a story Dilla’s mother told Badu. Evidently during his final days, Dilla would float in and out of coherence, having very real conversations with people no one else could see. One of these people, as Dilla told his mother, was ODB. Dirty was telling Dilla that when he gets to the other side not to get on the red bus, though it was inviting. The white bus would be the one to pick him up. Great, beautiful song. Lyric: “Telephone! It’s Old Dirty. He wants to give you directions home.” Only Badu could make ODB sound like a visionary guide through the afterlife. When people say funerals are celebrations of an individual’s life (as they fight back tears and look anything but celebratory), this song makes you believe it. The track closes with the uplifting words “Celebrate tonight” repeated.

The Cool Kids were in London recently and took the time to rip up the mic for Semtex’s radio show on 1xtra.

Amplive (1/2 of Zion I) is finally allowed to release his 8-track collection featuring remixes of Radiohead’s historic seventh album, In Rainbows. If you didn’t know, there was a huge issue about him releasing this to the public. Check Amp’s plea after being hit with a cease & desist order. Luckily all parties came to an agreement and the order was uplifted. Check out Amp’s thank you. If you are a fan of Radiohead or a fan of Amplive or shit … a fan of dope music, check it out. Features Del, Zumbi (Zion I), Chali2na (Dilated Peoples), Too $hort, etc. Artwork, info and links are all after the jump…

Rainydayz Remixes is composed exclusively of source material pulled from In Rainbows, re-envisioned by Amplive and complimented by vocal work from Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday and Del The Funky Homosapien. [via 1776]

As the title says, it’s time for me to turn my ideas into action.

Pretty much everyday I have a lot of ideas floating in my head, mostly having to do with art and design, but I have a hard time put those ideas into action. At times I find it hard to focus my attention to making something of these ideas. I often find myself starting a project and leaving it halfway through. I either get distracted by something else, or simply get bored with the project altogether.

I guess most people go through this phrase at some point in their lives, but I find it frustrating at times. I guess I’m too much of a perfectionist, but it’s not doing me any good because I get nothing done.

So I’ve decided to take the advice of my employment counsellor, Javier, and create an action plan with realistic deadlines for myself. This action place should help me get my projects and business off the ground. As well, I have a list of five things to do to get my business off the ground this year.

This year is going to be my year! …Well, I hope so.

Five Things To Do To Get My Business Off the Ground.
1. Save and pay down debts.
2. Build up my portfolio.
3. Design a portfolio site along with business cards and other marketing stuff.
4. Write a business plan.
5. Register domain name and register business name with government.

This time-lapse video shows the creation of a piece of art by Alex Young, from blank board to final inking. He uses a variety of pens and inks to create this awesome Delarge dungeons and dragons style piece. For more art by Alex visit http://brainofalexyoung.com The custom beat for this video is by ‘P for Panther’. Pretty dope stuff!

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:

Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Start date is today December 4, 2007
End date will be August 31, 2010
Tasks complete: 6.5/101

General
001. Finish making this list. (12/4/07)

Health, Fitness + Sports
002. See a dentist. (02/06/0
003. Drink glass water a day.
004. Brush my teeth daily.
005. Floss daily.
006. Take a yoga or tai chi class.
007. Try out a YMCA Membership.
008. Go snowboarding.
009. Do 100 pushups.
010. Do 150 stomach crunches.
011. Eat breakfast for entire month.
012. Go one month with no Fast Food
013. Give up coffee for 1 entire month.
014. Don’t drink any pop for 2 weeks.
015. Get to my ideal goal weight of 200 lbs.
016. Train for a marathon
017. Run a marathon.

Self Improvement + Well-Being
018. Learn basic French.
019. Learn to play chess well.
020. Learn to swim.
021. Get driver’s license.
022. Get full driver’s license.
023. Learn Sign Language.
024. Learn HTML and CSS.
025. Take some marketing classes.
026. Refrain from watching TV for an entire month.
027. Read 33 books. (one book per month) (0/33)
028. Read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (and do the whole 12-week program)
029. Do not turn down any invitations to social occasions unless I have a real conflict.
030. Stop biting my nails.

Family + Relationship
031. Call Mackenna at least once a week.
032. Do something special for mom.
033. Research my ancestors, do a family tree.
034. Start/finish art project with Shannon.

Goodwill
035. Volunteer sometime for a good cause.
036. Donate $2 for each task that is not completed to charity.
037. Donate blood.

Culture + Entertainment
038. Attend a concert.
039. Go to an art gallery.
040. Visit a psychic.
041. Read at least three classic novels I haven’t read. (0/33)
042. Be a patron one year at The Toronto International Film Festival.
043. See a Toronto FC soccer game in person.
044. See a Toronto Raptor basketball game in person.
045. Watch the 100 top movies on IMDB’s top 250-movie list. (38/100)
046. Subscribe to a magazine for at least a year. (11/4/07)

Creativity
047. Continue with DJ lessons.
048. Take a creative writing class.
049. Take an illustration or life drawing class.
050. Write a short story on anything.
051. Start a podcast.
052. Buy a new sketchbook and fill it.
053. Keep an idea journal.
054. Make a calendar or card for Christmas one year.
055. Create a custom t shirt and wear it with pride.
056. Create a custom t shirt and send it to Threadless.
057. Design a pair of sneakers.
058. Design a tattoo and get it done.
059. Draw a self portrait.
060. Design a logo for my website and blog.
061. Write or produce a song, remix or mashup and post it online.
062. Do the 26 things photo scavenger hunt.
063. Create a website for my design work.
064. Start my freelance graphic design business.

Financial, Career + Independence
065. Establish $1000 in personal emergency fund.
066. Pay off BMO MasterCard.
067. Pay off CapitalOne MasterCard.
068. Pay back taxes owed to Revenue Canada.
069. Pay off CitiFinancial consolidation loan.
070. Open RESP account for my daughter Mackenna.
071. Continue to contribute $30 per paycheck to my RSP account.
072. Go 2 weeks without buying anything new but necessities (groceries, bills, transportation cost.)
073. Save for a down payment on a house.
074. Keep a budget; write it down so I know what I’m making and what I’m saving.
075. Take a financial planning/money management course.
076. Move out of Mom’s house.
077. Get a great job that pays big bucks.
078. Do my own taxes.

Travel
079. Get my passport.
080. Visit Montreal.
081. Travel to somewhere you haven’t been before.
082. Take a road trip.
083. Go camping.

Purchases
084. Buy a new winter coat. (12/20/07)
085. Buy a set of turntables.
086. Buy a digital camera. (12/17/07)
087. Buy a Mac computer.
088. Buy a watch.
089. Buy an iPod. (12/20/07)

Cooking, Food + Dining
090. Make a meal for someone special in my life.
091. Support my local Farmers Market in season.
092. Take a cooking class.
093. Try 50 new restaurants. (0/50)
094. Try 10 new recipes. (0/10)

Misc.
095. Participate in gimme your stuff.
096. Renew my domain name.
097. Get someone else to do this 101 things in 1001 days with me.
098. Save $1 a day so that at the end of this project I will have $1001 saved.
099. Post on my blog more often at least 3 times a week.
100. Sell something on eBay.
101. Make another 101 things in 1001 days list.