RIP Prodigy -- Mobb Deep

Prodigy one half of Mobb Deep, it is a sad day for hip-hop, the real hip-hop that is. Not this mumble rap you hear on the radio nowadays. This is that 90s rap, that gritty, raw real shit.

Remember tomorrow is never promised. Donʻt take life for granted. 

Listen to Mobb Deep Demo Tape Classic. 

https://soundcloud.com/joslyn/sets/mobb-deep-demo-tape-classic

Urban Style of Mind Campaign

"We are a product of our environment."Is what they used to say to. But, in these days and times the situation stands that we are a product of our social media engagement. Whether we are posting our status on Facebook, tweeting an article on Twitter, or posting a picture on Instagram we are engaging in social media. Whether we like it or not we are inviting people into our world, as they are inviting you into their world. As a brand a social media campaign brings about an awareness, a way to provide an environment for your product, which is your personal branding. Honesty, comedy, and inspiration is the best way to push your brand as people donʻt want to be sold, but if you can make them laugh, and inspire them your brand will be on its way, to social media engagement success. 

For my social media campaign I feel it was a great learning experience on what people engage the most with and what they like to see. My campaign was a success it produced an awareness for the urban style of mind, which entails graffiti, street art, street photography, creative non-fiction, an overall urban style of thinking.

Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO

Instagram: 98 posts with 265 engagements

Twitter: 90 posts with 251 engagements

Facebook: 12 posts with 59 engagements

Best posts & why:

The posts that had the most engagement the most was my blog posts as I think some of them read like a movie. People love stories they love to be within the story and my posts that were written in a creative non-fiction way had that quality. I had views on Instagram but not as many, I just started that Instagram for this class so that could be reason as I was still gaining friends.

Blog posts stats:

Trends: 

I found trends in that the more I posted the more engagement I received. I found that people were interested in the feedly articles I posted as some were from what was happening currently.

Most engagement:

The most engagement was the Creative Non-fiction post on my blog as it had an image that went with a story. It worked hand in hand as a scene was painted of that of the photo, so it worked. Also, painting scenes with words always does well when people have the time to read it.

Shared the most:

A feedly article that had to do with the 5 Pointz artists having their day in court due to the white washing of the famous Queens graffiti spot called 5 Pointz.

Images generated the most interest:

All the images of graffiti generated interest, people loved the vintage classic photos of NYC, also the vintage street photography. Photographers were reaching out to me about the style of the photo, and how they loved it.

What else did you discover?

I discovered that I love graffiti, street art, street photography, and creative non-fiction. I realized how much I love graffiti, street photography, and creative non-fiction. I need to present my own work more in all those things, I can draw, I have done street photography, and I write creative non-fiction. I also realized I was getting hits from all over the world on my blog posts.

Check me out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger:

• Instagram: @joslynnoelani
• Facebook: Creatorʻs Delight
• Twitter: @joslynnoelani
• YouTube: Joslyn Noelani
• Pinterest: Joslyn Noelani
• Blogger: Joslyn Noelani

Style Wars

Have you ever wondered what it was like in New York City in 1983?

Subway's full of graffiti, pieces on the outside of the subways. New York City was electric it was magnetized by passionate individuals who wanted to see their names on the subway cars all across the city.

Break dancing was the movement of the culture, while hip-hop was the music that set the scenes.

"STYLE WARS has become an emblem of the original, embracing spirit of hip hop as it reached out across the world from underground tunnels, uptown streets, clubs and playgrounds."

"Naw..I ain't running the system, I'm bombing the system." A graffiti artist said.

Graffiti was not what the masses wanted but it was the originality full of youthful creativity that lead the subculture of what hip hop is today.

Whether you think graffiti is a form of creative expression or not, Style Wars will leave you with an appreciation for a time in history that was monumental of New York's rich culture.

Enjoy watching Style Wars below.

Street Photography

 Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO

Spray paint decorates the glass doors of the building, frame the shot, "click." Graffiti, what a beautiful mess, thinks the photographer. The above capture is an example of street photography, but what is it?

1. The perfect shot: that moment when the camera frames a shot that no one else can see, a moment captured
2. Candid photography: photos of people, places, or things of candid moments captured with perfect timing
3. A craft that relies on decisive or poignant moments that frames and times the shot at the concise moment.

 Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO

"Yo, I need to buy her an I love NY shirt." She needed one for her niece before she left. Grabbing a black I love NY shirt with white letters and a red heart, the token tourist shirt came in all sizes. Having been in NY for 2 days, it was a short but sweet visit. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and street photography frame's one's emotions, and memories all in one shot. What a powerful tool, a camera and an eye for that precise moment of capturing that perfect shot.

  Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO 

In life there is always a story to tell, in street photography there is always a depth of relating to what we see in the photo.  The human condition, what we perceive and how we feel about it. Its a way of documenting human behavior, recording life in pictures of people, places, and things on the street and life. 

Try it next time your out and about, look around find people, places, or things that catch your eye. Wait a little bit, find the best, different vantage point to frame your shot, then "click." 

They Get Your Dreams for Free...

"I had a friend once who told me that the worst mistake you could make is to think that you are alive when really you are asleep in life's waiting room/ The trick...is...to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams....because if you can do that you can do anything. Did you ever have a job that you hated?...worked really hard at...long hard day at work finally you get to go home, get in bed, close your eyes...and immediately you wake up and realize that the whole day at work had been a dream...it's bad enough that you sell your waking life for..for minimum wage but now they get your dreams for free."

The above excerpt is from the movie, Waking Life. If you have not watched this movie before, I suggest you watch it today. This movie is life changing as it is a deep philosophical movie, that touches on existentialism, free will, lucid dreams, and perception. As the characters ponder life, they do so with rich ideas, and the film is presented in an organic fashion. The director, Richard Linklater recruited a talented team of artists to paint over each individual frame in a unique process known as interpolated rotoscoping.


Watch Waking Life on Amazon Prime
A synopsis of the movie, with questions (and spoilers) is available at
http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/waking.htm 

After watching Waking Life, do you believe the existentialist idea that even though there are six billion people in the world we as individuals can make a difference? Explain your answer.

#WakingLife #ics119 #Philosophy 

Viva Lost Wages, Not If You Have a Choice

Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO 

"Bright light city gonna set my soul/ Gonna set my soul on fire/ Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn.." Ready to burn huh? Ok, Elvis maybe you had the money to burn but not me, I thought as the song, Viva Las Vegas  played in the car. "Here you are, the Queen of the strip." the Uber driver muttered. Stepping into The Bellagio, the over-the-top butterflies hung from the ceiling, purple, pink, yellow. "Wheel, of Fortune!" the slot machine rang out. Vegas wasn't built by winners, it was built by people depositing money into its lavish slots, tables, bets, and everything they could place a wager on. Ahhhh! Vegas the adult playground, I relished in the fun about to be had.

Have you ever been to Vegas and wanted to make sure you went home with a extra cash in your pocket? And wanted to know what had the best odds? Slots, roulette, craps, blackjack, or poker?

It may be difficult to beat the odds but smart gamblers can at least play games in a way that will reduce the house edge to give themselves the best chance to win.

1. Learn how to play Poker. You will take on other players and skilled Poker players can win in the long run. 
2. Play higher denomination slots. The payback is set to a lower amount on penny and nickel slots and a higher amount on the dollar slots, so you can reduced the house edge by playing higher-denomination slot machines.
3. Avoid table games with big advantages for the casinos. Any bet on a roulette table, for example, carries at least a 5 percent house edge. Those are odds you cannot beat. Other games with high house edges include Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride. 
4. Play blackjack. The house edge on this game is less than 2 percent if you make the best plays and wagers. To play blackjack well you must study the game to learn all the best plays, such as always doubling down on 11 and splitting sevens against a dealer upcard of six. You can buy laminated cards that list the best plays. These can even be found in many casino gift shops
5. Give craps a try. The game can be confusing at first, but with a house edge of less than 2 percent it is one of the better games for beating the odds. When playing craps avoid the "inside bets"—that is, those bets located on the inside of the craps felt layout. Stick to pass line or don't pass bets with full odds. The casino will allow you to place an odds bet after a point number is established with the dice that will pay the true odds. For example, if the point number is four you will be will be paid 2 to 1 on an odds bet that a four is rolled before a seven.

 Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO 

"Cover all the hardways." I said throwing four $5 chips to the dealer to cover each one of the four hardways. "Off on the come out roll," I acted like I knew what I was doing. The night before the dealers had given me a lesson on the best way to bet craps. "Let's go shooter." I said as the man with the Australian accent began to roll. A hour an a half later he continued to roll, a shooter he was, I smirked. But his luck ran out, with his first crap I got paid out and walked away with $1500 playing the hard ways as I was taught, you got to love Vegas.

Next time you go to Vegas, try covering the hard ways when you play craps hopefully you will have some luck. 

Tips to win big:

Before you go gambling: The best and worst casino game odds

Casino house advantage

The secret of the hard times 

#LasVegas #craps #ics119 #ElvisPresley #TheBellagio #TheHardways 

Creative Nonfiction

Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO

Entering the dimly lit café she pulls open the door, slowly. Soft jazz plays in the background. Black high heels, paired with a green blouse, and a pencil skirt drapes her frame as she walks to a table. A gold chain with a diamond cross pendant dangles from her neck. It provides the faith, she needs to believe in on the days that are rough. Today, is not one of those days, she thinks, as she holds onto the cross rubbing it tightly.

He must be in the café, she thinks as she looks around. Her eye's glaze over the room. People at tables sip there coffee, and eat their lunch while paying her no mind. She sits down at an empty table. 

In his mind flashbacks invade. Gripping the tree her hands hold on in a tight grasp, he clutchs her hips while his, "anyone sitting here?" the woman asks. What a sultry voice, an accent of an exotic destination, he thinks, while sinking back to reality.......

An example of a piece of a story I wrote, in this genre creative nonfiction is one's own way of telling a story. And doing it in a way of piecing scenes together, in this genre you want people to hear the characters, and see the scenes being presented. With hearing and seeing the character in the story one can create their own impression of the character by the way the character speaks or by the actions presented by the character or the mood of the story.

What is creative nonfiction?

• It is better to show then tell, is the basic building blocks of the creative nonfiction genre, a way of writing in scenes. The writer uses real life situations that are not made up, and writes stories presented in a creative way. 
•  The cardinal rule of creative nonfiction is, "You can't make this stuff up!"
•  Writing in scenes represents the difference between showing and telling. The lazy, uninspired writer will tell the reader about a subject, place, or personality, but the creative nonfiction writer will show that subject, place, or personality, vividly, memorably—and in action. In scenes.

Do you have a story to tell? Of course you do, we all do, as we all are living our life experiencing things everyday, so why not tell a story creatively. Try it today, write in scenes piece your story together with convo, paint your characters with words and set the scene with mood, tell your story with creative nonfiction today. Go!

#ics119 #creativenonfiction #writers #literaryjournalism