Irresponsible/Annoying

For those of you who don't know I'll say it again,  I LOVE RICK ROSS.

On Friday it was reported that while on a plane ride to Memphis from Florida, Rick Ross had a seizure. There was a doctor on the plane but Ross was unconscious so the plane had to make an emergency landing. The story broke while Ross was still unconscious. Fans waited with baited breath for the outcome. Thankfully, the medical team got him up and running again.

While the news was being reported I was stuck in class and in a full blown panic attack mode. I desperately needed to be following the story. Sources that were reporting on the incident were not updating fast enough on his progress, so I took to twitter to follow the people in his entourage. Eventually tweets came in that Rick Ross was fine and it was nothing but a minor hiccup in the world of his health.

TMZ had the most up to the minute report on the situation and I was continuously refreshing their page all day. Eventually other entertainment sources were carrying the story as well. And then some information was released that I don't believe.

BET tweeted:

The link led to a video of Ross sitting on a plane. In the video he says that he just boarded the plane and was headed to Memphis.  Now in my opinion, this video was filmed before the seizure as he doesn't mention anything about the incident. But as you can see BET claims it was filmed after the incident to prove that he’s ok. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS VIDEO WAS FILMED AFTER THE INCIDENT. NO WAY. I thought how can an organization get away with posting a video and claiming it’s footage of the rapper after his seizures, when clearly it is not.

 Then I saw on Ross' twitter that he posted the video as well.

 It’s a weird situation. In the video Ross looks completely fine and not disoriented at all. He does not mention the seizure or the emergency landing. He talks about his upcoming show in Memphis and asks us all to download his new singles off itunes. (DO IT)

Anyways, I just don’t believe the time frame of this video.  I feel like they are claiming that this video is something that it is not. And it's REALLY bugging me. Whether Ross is condoning it or not, it's still annoying to be given fake information.

Of course everyone wanted to know that Rick Ross was ok (except for his competition), but posting a video under false pretenses is not the ethical way to go about confirming that he's doing better.

Can't Stop Won't Stop

Imagine a world where Queen Latifa, Will Smith, Ghetto Boys and Public Enemy all go on tour TOGETHER. Well, that happened in 1991.SHOCKED. If only I wasn’t two years old at that time. Today that would never happen in hip hop. The different styles within hip hop have become isolated and in my opinion a lot of love has been.

On Wednesday,  I was more than excited to attended the lecture given by Can’t Stop Won’t Stop A History of the Hip Hop Generation’s author, Jeff Chang. The Uniter hosted the speaking engagement at the University of Winnipeg.

I love snapshots of history especially when it relates to something that influences my life on a daily basis. Personally I do not think that you can say hip hop originated from one spot in the world, at one point in time, with a certain group of people witnessing it. Jeff Chang disagrees to a certain extent. He spoke about the origination of hip hop. He spoke about the birth place of hip hop, the Bronx. He covered topics such as abandonment, DJs, the universal zulu nation, and what got the gangs out of the Bronx and what brought hip hop in.

The speech was long, so I’ll narrow it down to what I found most interesting. Something that relates to hip hop today, the split.

Chang spoke about the point in hip hop culture where it split. The split he refers to is when it was possible that music could move across the country and world. Hip hop used to be something you had to experience then and there. You had to be in the ballrooms, you had to be at the parties and you had to be dancing in the parks to know what hip hop was and then the record was created and it took hip hop all around the world. 

This began to create imprints around the world of what was happening in the Bronx. Hip hop was no longer a moment, it became a replica that could travel. You didn’t need to be there to experience what was happening in places like the Bronx, like Jeff Chang you could be in Hawaii at recess experiencing what those in the parks of the Bronx were making happen.

And from there it grew and changed and we've landed on today or a couple years prior to today, and hip hop has becomes a part of commodity culture. Who wins? An original lyricist, or someone who has you wearing their clothes, drinking their energy water and has been shot in the chest a handful of time? In the world we are living in now, 50 Cent wins.

As the world of hip hop music continues to evolve, I’m not sure where it's going to land next. Here are some stats to help the guess...

2000- 90 million hip hop records sold- 13% of the market
2010- 27 million hip hop records sold- 8% of the market


Chang spoke about the difference between true artists and money makers. I can agree there’s a difference between someone like 50 Cent vs Nas. And I can also say that there are artists who transcend it all..

By the end of the lecture all I heard was Jay-Z is incredibly dope.
(that’s why he can fall into both categories)

word to that.

Reporting on Graffiti

Kidult has been blowing up all summer long in France, but he’s only crossed my radar now. And I am thoroughly OBSESSED.

The simple idea behind Kidult (the terrible kid), is that he wants to reclaim graffiti for it’s culture. In his opinion it has become too commercialized. Kidult has began to spray paint the store fronts of high end luxury stores with his tag, giving them what they want...

LouisVuitton -Paris

Hermes- Paris

To take it further, could you say that you’ve had a “plan” in mind since the beginning of all this ?

“I’ve never had any plans. I act in the moment, and it’s about a truth that’s not necessarily spoken, so I shout it and write it on stores. At some point, all these shops have used graffiti culture as a commercial image, riding the trend without being a part in the least and for which the only point is to make some cash. All I say to them is “hello”; if these brands really like graffiti, I only give them what they like, so what if it’s beautiful or ugly. We gotta stop these brands from dictating a culture that belongs to us.” (taken from highsnobiety.com)

There is always going to be the discussion of whether graffiti is art or not. And at this moment in time the discussion becomes even more interesting because some artists are becoming idolized and praised (Banksy), where some remain vandals.

As of late I’ve become really interested in graffiti culture. I've starting watching a handful of documentaries on netflix and opening my eyes to the graffiti in our city. In my opinion, graffiti is art, graffiti is a culture, graffiti is a club, graffiti is a voice. What I’ve gathered is that graffiti artist are not trying to ruin, destroy, deface and kill cities. This is an art form and a way to express themselves or deliver a message.

I met a very successful graffiti artist this summer who described his work as, “social work through art.”

It can be thought provoking, it can ad a new dimension to a city or it can just be art for arts sake.

And artists like Kidult who are spreading a message inspire me. I wish I had the courage to declare my opinions to the world in vibrant paint.

Besides what’s the difference between this..




And this..

And this..

Page One is powerful.

Last Thursday I went to see Page One: Inside the New York Times.

When the lights turned back on and I walked out of the theatre I had a furry of emotions rumbling and rolling inside my brain.

The New York Times makes me want to be a good journalist. Not that I ever wanted to be a bad journalist, but watching that documentary just makes you want to do good and do more and to become a journalistic voice that counts.

I've always wanted to be a journalist who focuses on entertainment; whether that be fashion, pop culture or music. I never really considered anything else because that’s where my passion lies.

Watching this documentary made me open my mind to new ideas. It made me want to toss out my blazers and heels (Which I had planned to wear to work once I left Red River College), and trade them in for a bowler hat and a pipe aka something that looks more appropriate for an investigative journalist. Watching this documentary really made me realize what journalists do for the public. They inform the public on things which the public may not have access to. They investigate the story, they find the details and they unveil it to the public whether the government aggress or not. (to some extent) Journalists are truth tellers.  I’d like to be known as that.

I was high strung with emotions while I was watching the documentary. The New York Times is an entity. It’s almost indescribable the way the documentary made me feel about the Times. The Times exudes this overwhelming feeling of power and prestige and importance to me. It gave me chills just to look at the interior of the building. It seems like a whimsical other world.

Who actually works at the Times? There are people that are intelligent enough, sophisticated enough, cutting edge enough and talented enough to work there? I hung off of ever word that the reporters spoke. How did they get to this point in their lives? It’s amazing to me and unfathomable.

What I really took out of the documentary was that the journalist is not dead. Maybe all forms of news publications have a grim future but not the journalist. The journalists future is bright. We need someone to tell the stories of the world. It doesn’t matter if those stories are about war, politics, puppies or fashion the stories should be told. And they will be told. Bloggers, Twitterers and others cannot comment, cannot speculate, cannot write about a situation unless there is a journalist reporting to them what the situation is.

One small step for World Peace.

If I was a sports reporter this is what I’d be writing about this week:

Ron Artest.
Or should I say Ron One Love.
Excuse me, I mean Ron I Love The World.
Just kidding it’s Metta World Peace.

This weekend in basketball news, one of my favourite forms of news to follow for stories exactly like this, Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace.

This is not an April Fool’s day joke. Dear friends,  it’s only September . The name change became official last friday when Artest’s lawyer had this discussion with Commissioner Matthew C. St. George;

St. George: "Mr. Artest has requested a name change to Metta World Peace?"

Rajan: "Yes, your honor."

St. George: "And it's for personal reasons, he said?"

Rajan: "Yes, your honor."

St. George: "OK. All right. He'll now be known as Metta World Peace. Thank you."

Clearly the name change is due to boredom. The NBA is locked out right now and players and fans are beginning to stir. Obviously Ron was experiencing boredom more severely than the rest of the NBA. The poor guy just wanted some excitement in his life. His first move towards activity came by signing up for Dancing With The Stars. The second step was the name change. And the next part will be changing his 8 year old daughter’s last name to match his.

PS the child’s name is Diamond. So her official name would be Diamond World Peace. (ha!)

FACT: for a minor to change their last name both parents must give consent. I’m curious to see if the ex-wifey will allow this to happen. All I can say is save your kid from World Peace.

I am looking forward for the lockout to be over, I mean who doesn’t want to get their hands on a World Peace jersey?

As a journalist, my question is not for Ron Artest, it’s for the other sports journalists out there. How can ANYONE write about this story without questioning his mental health? 

Although I am not, some people are taking his name change seriously. The Los Angeles Times reported;

       World Peace's publicist, Courtney Barnes, said his client had been contemplating the switch for years, "but it took many years of research and soul-searching to find a first name that was both personally meaningful and inspirational." Metta is a Buddhist term that means loving kindness and friendliness toward others.

“Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world," World Peace said in a statement. "I'm glad that it is now official,"said Ron Artest.

I feel that this name change will bring great change to the world. I’m already beginning to feel the overwhelming feeling of world peace creeping over the world.

I’d like to personally thank the player formerly known as Ron Artest for saving the world.

Just Do It

Sometimes the best advice you can get is from Nike,

But as a CreComm student there is no time for exercising. And as Lindsey Peterson I genuinely just don't have any interest in it. That being said the Nike slogan that has changed my journalistic life is... JUST DO IT.

We are constantly, and by constantly I mean CONSTANTLY thrown into situations that would make most novice journalists scared, anxious, nervous and sweaty. And with each situation that gets thrown my way I think, "THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH. THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO THIS." (I wish I didn't come across as a ditz in writing but..) The next step is always having Emily Wessel turn to me and go, "You're stressed hey." Hmmm she knows me so well.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. JUST DO IT. As a second year CreComm I'm not allowed to freak out as much because lets face it, that's something the FIRST years do. With no other option in site I've adopted Nike's way of life and I'm just doing it.

Situations that I can now feel more at ease about include: (but are not limited to)
-wrestling sharks
-interviewing Manitoban politicians for upcoming elections
-talking to Clara
-asking the government to release information that they seem to be keeping secret

The voice in journalism.

I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.
Hunter S. Thompson -father of Gonzo journalism

 (extreme version of what I'd like to accomplish.)

I was never interested in journalism to tell the news, I was interested in telling stories.

What I learnt from my first formal instruction in journalism was to tell the facts and keep my opinion out of it. Last year, I took to my blog to express my voice and I took to the classroom to tell the news. But, I never wanted to be a “news teller”.

Growing up I didn’t spend my time reading the newspaper, my introduction to journalism was through the multiple magazine subscriptions my Dad would get in the mail. When the monthly subscriptions arrived I’d quickly scan through the latest copy of Rolling Stone Magazine or Spin Magazine from front to back. (For a short time I was also reading Blender but that was short lived.) Once the initial scan was over I would go back and read the articles with the most enticing headlines or just turn to my favourite journalist of the magazine and read their article.

Andy Greenwald (formerly at Spin) and Chuck Klosterman (formerly at Spin) taught me about journalism and inspired me to be a storyteller. My favourite journalists weren’t decided based on how well they told the facts or how their stories were laid out. My favourite journalists were the ones who had a style, opinion and voice that intrigued me. Greenwald and Klosterman both wrote with a strong voice. We didn’t necessarily agree on everything but their opinions were always interesting. These guys were interviewing people and/or writing the news and their opinions were obviously strewn throughout the article. Their opinions weren’t even hidden or subtle. I fell in love with this style and wrote with my own voice until I was taught differently.

First year Journalism has improved my skills tremendously. My version of a news story was not up to any standards before I was taught better by Steve and Duncan. Although I do leave my voice out of my stories for class.

There are many forms of journalism. And I am grateful to become skilled in all forms. But until I can become a voice that people want to listen to I’ll be telling the facts. I’ll write the news everyday until I am given the opportunity to use my voice.