Arts and Entertainment

Before we get knee deep in this thing there’s some basic definitions we need to visit and go over but before we do, I must say this plainly: a lot of the music currently classified as Hip Hop I personally would classify as GARBAGE, but I guess since there’s no genre for that it all some how gets grouped with Hip Hop.

So when I refer to Hip Hop I am referring to it in its current state and how it is viewed by too many (so Hip Hop Heads before you come at me with what Hip Hop is, believe me when I tell you I know what it is)

WHORE:

1. A prostitute.

2. A person considered sexually promiscuous.

3. A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.

whored, whoring, whores

1. To associate or have sexual relations with prostitutes or a prostitute.

2. To accept payment in exchange for sexual relations.

3. To compromise one’s principles for personal gain.

PIMP:
1. A person, esp. a man, who solicits customers for a prostitute or a brothel, usually in return for a share of the earnings; pander; procurer.
2. A despicable person.
3. Australia and New Zealand. an informer; stool pigeon.
4. To act as a pimp.
5. To act as a pimp for.
6. To exploit.

HIP-HOP

1. A popular urban youth culture, closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents.
2. Rap music.

Although many rappers commonly refer to themselves as pimps and seem to take pride in treating women like whores, the fact of the matter is by definition many record labels are pimps and their rappers are whores.

Since Don Imus’ asinine remarks, Hip Hop has come under attack, with the focus being on individual rappers rather than the record labels that exploit, market, and promote these rappers. It is unfair to condemn the whore and excuse the pimp.

For years record labels have shunned, shelved, turned away and flat out refused to support some of the most talented Hip Hop artists because of their strong messages and substance filled songs. Rather than give such artists a voice, record labels have chosen to create and profit off of modern day minstrels, that reinforce racial stereotypes, promote deviant behavior, spew misogyny, materialism, and glamorize the ills of “hood” life.

Hip Hop is a frontier being raped, pillaged, robbed, & exploited. Record labels are pimping rappers who are willingly whoring themselves and the Hip Hop culture for personal gain!

In 1988 KRS-ONE said:
Rap is like a set-up, a lot of games
A lot of suckas with colorful names
I’m so-and-so, I’m this, I’m that
Huh, but they all just wick-wick-wack…

Some mcs be talkin and talkin
Tryin to show how black people are walkin
But I don′t walk this way to portray
Or reinforce stereotypes of today
Like all my brothas eat chicken and watermelon
Talk broken English and drug sellin
See I′m telling, and teaching real facts…

The way some act in rap is kind of wack
And it lacks creativity and intelligence
But they don′t care cause the company is sellin it…

Record labels are responsible for everything wrong with Hip Hop and the rappers that participate and comply are accomplices.

In 2007 tommylockhart.com Tommy Lockhart says:
Are you helping it or hurting it?
Moving forward or reversing it?
Giving life or murdering?
And I′m talking to you
You know who you are
Mr. Big Time Celebrity Gangsta Rap star
What about the kids?
You to cool to care?
You just want them to cop your wack record
And gear to wear
And with the proceeds

You know you won’t feed
None of those peeps
That you claim to lead
You claim to love the hood
Always holler it
But when its time to represent
They don’t put they dollars in
Cause they don′t really care about us…

Support real Hip Hop. You might not find it on the radio, you may not see it on MTV, or BET; but it’s out there! Long Live Hip Hop.

Marenda Hughes Taylor is Chief Operating Officer of 1st Love Records 1stloverecords.com 1stloverecords.com, a living life abundantly motivator, an Internet business owner and mentor. You can visit her websites at marenda.biz marenda.biz and paidinfulldaily.com paidinfulldaily.com

Semitones and tones are distances from one key to another key on a keyboard. For example if we play middle C on the keyboard and then play the next white note to the right which is D then that distance is one tone. For those of you not familiar with a keyboard then get my Lesson 1 e-Book here, which will show a 61 note, keyboard with the correct notes names printed on each key.

The thing to remember when counting semitones and tones on a keyboard is to count the distances and not the notes. A semitone is the closest distance from one note to another note. So again, if we play middle C on a keyboard and want to move one semi-tone to the right the note you should be playing is C sharp that is the black note between C and D. When you first look, at the C and D keys they might appear to be closest to each other but the black notes are placed between the white notes, which make them closer. Now starting from middle C again if you move one semitone to the left, you will notice there is no black key between the white keys so the closest key is B.

Counting semitones on a keyboard is very useful especially for finding chords. For example if you wanted to find C chord which consist of a root, third and a fifth we use distances to find the notes. The distance from the root to the third is four semitones and the distance from the root to the fifth is seven semitones. Now since the root is always the name of the chord in this case C, count four semitones (distances) to the right from C to get E then count seven semitones to the right from C to get G and you have just found your C chord C, E and G and since all major chords (triads) use a root, third and fifth you can find all twelve major chord by counting semitones.

I personally count distances in semitones, that’s just my preference. Instead of saying two semitones, you can of course say one tone. It’s up to the individual. Remember to count distances and not notes.

About the Author
Michael David Shaw (Mike to his friends) runs the websites

mikesmusicroom.co.uk mikesmusicroom.co.uk,

keyboardsheetmusic.co.uk keyboardsheetmusic.co.uk and

guitarmusicbooks.co.uk guitarmusicbooks.co.uk

The Nextel Cup boys are coming off a Saturday night race in Bristol this past weekend. Matt Kenseth took home the victory which was his 2nd straight Sharpie 500 win. The win locked him in for the Nascar “Playoffs” this season. Jimmie Johnson remains the Nextel Cup Points leader while Kenseth sits in 2nd only 7 points back. Kevin Harvick remained in 3rd place but he is 321 points behind the leader. Sitting in 4th place is Kyle Busch at 402 points out of first as he moved up 3 spots after a strong Bristol finish. Rounding out the Top 5 is Jeff Gordon who moved up 1 position in the standings and is now 408 points behind the leader. Denny Hamlin moved up two spots to the 6th position 429 points behind the leader, Jeff Burton moved up two positions in the standings and sits 435 points out of 1st. Sitting in 8th is last years Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart who dropped 3 positions after Bristol. 9th place goes to Dale Earnhardt Jr. who moved up 1 place in the standings 448 points out of 1st. Rounding out the Top 10 is Mark Martin who fell 6 positions and sits 450 points out of 1st. Only 48 points separates 3rd through 10th place. Only three drivers outside the Top 10 have a chance to make the Nextel Cup. Those include 11th place driver Kasey Kahne who is 540 points behind the leader, 12th place Greg Biffle 701 points out of first and 13th place Carl Edwards who sits 711 points out of the lead. Some notables who are now eliminated are Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

The Nextel Cup boys move to California this weekend. Matt Kenseth won the last race in California and looks to continue his roll and build momentum for the Nextel Cup Championship. Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle took the checkered flag here at California in the year 2005. Lets start by talking about who could possibly win the pole position this weekend. The Best Average start is Denny Hamlin at 5.0 followed by Scott Pruett at 6.0. The only thing is the drivers have only raced here 1 time. Kasey Kahne has an average start of 8.6, Brian Vickers 9.2 and Scott Riggs at 9.8. Kahne has won 1 pole at California along with Vickers and Ryan Newman. Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Joe Nemechek, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Mike Skinner and Bobby Labonte are the other drivers with 1 pole win in California. No driver has achieved more than 1 Nextel Cup pole win at this track in its history. Wow, that don’t help us a whole lot. Kurt Busch won the pole in the earlier race this year. I think we’ll go with Kasey Kahne to win the pole this time around.

Lets talk a little about who we think has the best chance of winning this race. Keep in mind we are doing this early in the week so we don’t have a lot of information that we need before making our final decision come racetime. Carl Edwards has the best average finish at 4.5. He has raced 4 times here and has three Top 5 finishes and four Top 10 finishes. Jamie McMurray is a surprising 2nd with an average finish of 7.0. He has three Top 5 finishes and Five Top 10 finishes in 6 races. Points Leader Jimmie Johnson is 3rd with an average of 7.6. Jimmie has one win, four Top 5 finishes and four Top 10 finishes in 7 races. Jeff Gordon is the leader in the wins department in California with three in his career. Despite never winning here in California, we are going to go with Carl Edwards as our driver to win.

DRIVER TO WIN POLE: #9 Kasey Kahne (No odds up right now)
DRIVER TO WIN RACE: #99 Carl Edwards 800

Rocketman Sports has never had a losing Nascar season coming into this year. Look for our Nascar Head to Head matchups on raceday. Don’t forget College Football is starting up this week where we have won 10 straight years in our 10 year history including seasons cashing 62% and 72%! Rocketman also has cashed 67% of his NFL Preseason picks the previous 2 years coming into this one. Make sure you get on board with the Rocketman on a daily basis on this site where you will pay only after you win!

Rocky Atkinson is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at procappers.com/Rocky_Atkinson.htm procappers.com/Rocky_Atkinson.htm

My mother was incredibly superstitious. She was forever flinging spilt salt over her
shoulder, crossing her fingers or chanting incantations for luck. Particularly sharp in
my mind are two rhymes that she would say out loud whenever the occasion
demanded. The first, on seeing a dropped pin was: “See a pin and pick it up and all
day long you’ll have good luck”. This was to be said quickly because apparently you
weren’t supposed to breath while stooping to pick up the pin and chanting the
rhyme. As far as I was able to determine, the days on which my mother was lucky
enough to find a pin were not noticeably fortunate. To my mind, the verse would
have been more accurate if it went thus: “See a pin and pick it up and all day long
you’ll have a pin”.

The second verse I remember was chanted whenever my mother saw a white horse.
The verse was usually again chanted out loud, whoever was present, while wetting a
finger and dragging it in the form of a cross on a shoe. The verse went like this:
“White horse, white horse, bring me good luck today or tomorrow I′ll pick
something up.” The “something” in the verse was non-specific, presumably it
referred to a pin. Either that or a virus from licking unwashed fingers.

I’m not superstitious myself, but I do habitually count magpies, when they gather in
the field outside my window; mentally running through the song from the 1970’s
children’s program as I count. I tell myself that the number of magpies can’t
possibly have a bearing on how my life will turn out but I can’t help it. It is a
compulsion that I have obviously picked up from my mother.

The problem here is that I am a little confused over the rules for counting magpies.
Does one count the magpies spotted in a single sitting, as it were? Or is the method
accumulative? Do you tot up all the magpies you spot in one day? I can’t find
anywhere on the internet that explains this. And how is the rhyme to be interpreted?
One and Two are fairly explanatory, as are three and four if you know someone who
is pregnant. But five for silver? Will I find some small change - or come second in an
Olympic event? That’s a big gamut.

However many magpies I see, and whichever method I choose to count them, my
luck never seems to change. To be honest
I’ve been having a pretty cruddy time of it lately so maybe you’re supposed to count
them in binary format…

1 for sorrow, 1 for sorrow, 1 for sorrow…

Martyn Davies is the editor of The Encyclopedia Spuria spuripedia.co.uk spuripedia.co.uk
writes for Mature Times and BrynmawrScene and has been on the Philosan dependancy
list for nearly ten years

Music boxes, also referred to as a musical box, give you the feeling as if they have been around forever. We are likely to know someone, a friend or family member, having received one as a present or as a family hand down. The music box is an interesting and remarkable invention with a history going back for many years. Before the modern era of TV and radio, they gave immense pleasure to many, young and old.

The Interesting History of the Music Box

Originating in the early 19th century, the music box is very much the same as it was then, a pleasing automatic musical instrument A set of pins on a revolving disc or cylinder strike a steel comb inside, of which the teeth are tuned to produce the distinct sound that results. Some boxes are more detailed than others, they have small bells and a tiny drum in addition to the steel comb.

The precursor to the music box came from the 18th century, and was a musical form of the popular snuff box. Snuff boxes were items that gentlemen typically carried in their pockets. The subsequent music boxes could range from anything as small as a snuff box, to anything as large as a piece of furniture.

However, as time went on, the more common size of a music box became what it still is today, which is a box that can easily be placed on a table. In 1815, the first music box shop was opened in Switzerland by Jérémie Recordon and Samuel Junod. Other shops also opened in places like Bohemia and Germany. Finally, at the end of the 19th century, it seemed odd to find that some European manufacturers began to move to the United States with their factories.

Since that time, there have been many different kinds of music boxes that have been manufactured. They have been manufactured to commemorate various things, such as holidays, and classic movies. When it comes to the music that emanates from these wonder boxes, they have been known to be anything from classical pieces to famous film themes. Hearing the music associated from a memorable holiday or movie, always wound sound better listening to it from a musical box.

These unique inventions can be found in many different places today, such as local specialty shops that sell greeting cards. If you are a tourist visiting a city, no doubt you will find a musical box that you can buy as a remembrance of your trip.

It would be extremely difficult to determine how much they would have cost at the time of assembly, as some are very ornate and carefully constructed with inlaid walnut and other fine hardwood, often handmade with precision and care to fine detail. A music box still today, make a very unusual and surprising gift, if not only to be proud and own such a nostalgic and precious item, but one of pleasure to look at and listen to.

Bob Wright

realmusicbox.net/ www.realmusicbox.net/

War, what is it good for? Absolute fun and profit, that’s what it’s good for! If your childhood was anything like mine, you played the card game War often. One day the casino execs woke up and decided to bring this popular card game to the casino.

In Las Vegas, War was a side game. If a casino had it, the game was given one table spot in the pit. Thankfully, online casinos aren’t limited to floor space and that’s why most online casinos have War.

Okay, I′m not going to assume you know how to play, so I′ll start at the beginning.

War is played against the dealer. If you’re playing it online, it will just be you at the table. In real life, there could be other players, but everyone is playing against the dealer.

War is played with one deck of cards and the deck is shuffled after every hand. Your goal is to beat the dealer. It’s a simple game. You get one card and the dealer gets one card. You want your card to be higher than the dealer’s card.

In War, the cards rank like this: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace.

Okay, it’s called War and war is what we want. If your card matches (in rank) the card the dealer gets, you’ve got a potential war. I say potential, because you can fold if you feel nervous.

I don’t recommend folding. Why? Well, if you′re not going to war, why play the game. Honestly, the fold option makes no sense. It’s just there to take advantage of the suckers. I mean think about it. The deck is fresh. Two cards are out. You and the dealer have the same cards. Why on earth would you fold?

Instead, your move is to double your wager (required to stay in the hand) and see what happens. It’s just like the classic game. Three cards are placed face down on each hand and a fourth card is placed face up. If your fourth card is higher than the dealer’s fourth card, you win. If not, you lose. It’s as simple as that.

There’s no thinking in this game. It’s a fun game to kick back to. You place your wager, get a card and win, lose or go to war. The payout is always even money no matter how you win.

Actually, war can be a blessing. It’s the only way you can increase your original wager.

Example Hand:

You place a $5 bet. The dealer gets a 7 and you get a 7. You decide to stay in and go to war, so you place an additional $5 wager-$10 total now. You and the dealer get three down cards and a fourth up card. The dealer shows a 6 and you show a 10. You win and are promptly paid $10.

Will Win is a professional gambler, ex casino dealer and author. For the best casino-magic.org” target=”_blank Online Casino Visit casino-magic.org casino-magic.org

The brainchild of former Saturday Night Live cast member Mike Myers (Wayne’s World, Wayne’s World 2), Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery burst onto the Hollywood landscape in 1997 and made a beeline for the cult classic Hall of Fame. A parody/satire of the popular James Bond films of the past several decades, Austin Powers gave birth to a number of quirky and famous characters such as Austin himself, Dr. Evil, Scott Evil, and (later) “Mini-Me”. Sporting some of the most outrageous antics and bathroom humor in the history of film, Austin Powers successfully utilizes its play on the James Bond series (because it so parallels the films) to create a memorable movie that will keep you laughing for two hours plus…

Mike Myers plays the role of Austin Powers - international man of mystery. Frozen in a cryogenic chamber since the 1960s, Austin is thawed out in the 1990s in order to take on his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil (who has also been frozen during that time period). A free-love advocate, Austin makes an immediate play for his new partner Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), daughter of his former spy partner Mrs. Kensington (Mimi Rogers).

Meanwhile, Dr. Evil collaborates with his entourage which consists of Number Two (Robert Wagner), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), and others. He develops a plan to steal a nuclear weapon and hold the world hostage for… one million dollars! No. Make that one trillion dollars!!! To carry out his task, Dr. Evil must not only face down Austin Powers and his beautiful partner, but he’s forced to grapple with the common-sense, quasi-evil tendencies of his son Scott Evil (Seth Green) with whom he’s constantly fighting. Can Austin Powers save the world? Or will Dr. Evil succeed in holding the world hostage?

The success of Austin Powers is wholly attributable to the unique comic mind of Mike Myers who not only starred in the leading roles, but who also wrote the screenplay. Myers’ portrayal of Dr. Evil steals the show with his evil laugh, diabolical grin, and propensity for all things evil (such as “evil petting zoos”). His soliloquy while receiving family counseling with Scott ranks as not only one of the best scenes in the film, but among the best scenes from any comedy film ever made. Elizabeth Hurley also turns in a good performance as Austin’s partner Vanessa (doing a far better acting job than the verbally-challenged Heather Graham who always seemed to be reading from cue-cards in the Austin Powers sequel).

Meanwhile, Will Ferrell (of SNL and Elf fame) makes a notable appearance as Dr. Evil’s henchman, Mustafa. His is a recurring character in later films. Overall, Austin Powers is one of the funniest films you’ll ever see. Unless outrageous comedy is simply not your cup of tea, I can’t think of any reason not to recommend this film. Although the sequels are hilarious in their own right, the original is the best (as is often the case), and that’s why Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery is a definite must-see film…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a thedvdreport.blogspot.com movie review site where you can find more reviews like this one of the thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/austin-powers-dvd.html Austin Powers (DVD) Review.

Betfair is the world’s biggest betting exchange - and some would say it has single-handedly revamped the entire horse racing industry.

In the World Cup, tens of millions of pounds traded hands on the site’s markets, and there has never been a better time to join the fray and attempt to “skim″ some money from the other punters.

Betfair systems can come in many different types, but I will start from the top. So, how do we go about it? Well, we have three options, or three “Betfair systems” we can attempt to apply. Each has its own set of benefits, and I do have a personal preference, which I will come onto in a moment. Just remember that yours may be different, but if you are a complete beginner, you should approach the matter with an extremely open mind.

The first option is traditional backing - in other words, betting that a particular horse will win a race at the odds that are available at any given time. I personally avoid this method, as it does not allow me to leverage Betfair’s model fully. The problem with backing horses is that you are only going to be getting slightly better odds than you would at a traditional bookmakers. In other words, there is no discernible advantage to backing selections on the site as opposed to elsewhere.

The second system available is “laying” - in other words, betting that a particular horse (or any selection) will lose, and if it does you win your stake. Once more, I do not indulge in laying horses on the betting exchanges, but at least you are taking full advantage of the betting exchange model. With laying horses, you are also able to trade off if the price moves in your favour, which brings me onto my personal choice.

The third method, and my personal favourite, is trading on the betting exchanges. As a trader, you can take full use of Betfair (and indeed any betting exchange like Betdaq), and make a good living from the site.

Trading has several different ways to approach it, and there are so many angles that it is hard to pick a “fundamental rule”, but it really comes down to this: to trade properly, you need to have an idea of which way the odds are moving – and for that there are multiple indicators, but since this is a beginner’s guide, let’s start from the top.

The most basic indicator to look for when you want to trade is the “weight of the money″ - whereby we look at imbalances in the market, and try and predict and take advantage of odds movements on this basis. In practical terms, you back when there is more money on the lay side - and lay when there is more money on the back side. This is a rough gauge of price direction, but it is accurate enough in the majority of cases, and it suffices for this tutorial.

This allows you to predict price movements, and develop a genuine system that guarantees returns from the get go. Betting exchange trading also allows you to “hedge your bets” and guarantee a profit no matter what the outcome.

Beginners can learn how to trade profitably using my Betfair system, EasyTraderPro. I also offer a free three day guide for punters who want to trade on the betting exchanges from a professional level.

Is it possible to make politicians and leaders of all nations stay at the negotiation table and not break off communication, which could lead to war? Really make them hammer out solutions rather than puffing up their chests for war. Can we eliminate wars by taking war as a possible strategy for political will off the table of negotiation?

Well wars are an unfortunate calamity of the genetics of the species, perhaps they are why we ended up at the top of the mammalian food chain. Never the less the problem of war stems from political impasse and causes breakdowns in civilization, which affect the masses. War is indeed an extension of political control over another. Perhaps the answer is to take the humans in politics the world over and help them see past culture and differences to work out arrangements in a common cause and to trade fairly and honestly.

If those at the top will work harder in negotiation and understand their differences and work past them then wars will no longer be considered a viable option for the political chessboard. That’s my take on it Allen and here are few additional thoughts and philosophies of war;

worldthinktank.net/wttbbs/index.php?s=8e118b048de458fe41b9b7c0abdd3450&showtopic=243 worldthinktank.net/wttbbs/index.php?s=8e118b048de458fe41b9b7c0abdd3450&showtopic=243

Some feel that this may indeed be the last century of human wars and that we will indeed move forward in a common cause, which will unite mankind without war. Spending our resources on more positive endeavors such as space exploration or disease. Anything is possible so consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow″ - Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Well, if you’re travelin′ in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see if she’s wearing a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howlin′ winds.

Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That’s the way I remember her best.

I’m a-wonderin′ if she remembers me at all.
Many times I’ve often prayed
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.

So if you’re travelin′ in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

- Lyrics of “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan.

These words were penned in the early 1960s by a young but world weary Bob Dylan. The song appeared on the now infamous “Freeweheelin’” album of 1963. A simple song consisting of nothing more than a finger picked guitar, ragged vocals and occasional bits of harmonica. I am a big fan of all of Bob Dylan’s music, the folk, rock and roll, country and blues, but this song remains one of my absolute favorites.

Not old enough to have heard Dylan sing in the 60s, the “freewheelin′” album was my first experience with his music and with real folk music the likes of Woodie Guthrie, Leadbelly and Alan Lomax. When I first hear the album I was convinced that Dylan was a wanderer about the age of 50 or 60 who had more experience than I could ever have, not the 20 something year old he was when he recorded it. It had an authenticity and weariness that I figured must have come from age, but I learned that it was less about age and more about experience and honesty. These lyrics are so starkly honest as they tell a story of lost love, remembrance and sadness, that it becomes very hard not to relate or at least understand where Dylan was coming from. They read like a direct window to the soul so honest and authentic in nature that they are hauntingly real. The works of Guthrie, Leadbelly, Lomax and other folk artists also share this authenticity. They are the songs of regular, honest people, singing what they like and what they believe. This authenticity had a tremendous impact on me and my view of society, music, culture, individuality and life.

Image in Society
With the increased commercialization of music, it was inevitable that the music industry and certain artists would become increasingly interested in maximizing their profit and money making capabilities. We have formulas on how to be a successful pop star, groups designed with a particular image and artist image overtaking the actual soul of the artist. This produced form of music lacks something very vital to the soul of the music: authenticity, and has replaced it with an image designed to make money. Even folk music has gotten an overhaul to help it reach the largest possible audience. Sometimes these production and marketing images are completely harmless, the skill and soul of the artist showing through, but other times

These images exist outside the music industry as well. In a society that seems increasingly driven by money and greed, there seems to be an increasing number of unethical, amoral cheats, liars and shady characters pervading our everyday lives. This makes it hard to believe that anyone is being authentic or even be honest ourselves for fear of being hurt. Instead we create an image, a reputation, a legend per say, that exists in society along with us. This image dictates how we act and how we treat people but is not reality. We use it to hide who we really are for fear of ridicule, being hurt, being taken advantage of or being outcast. Other times we use a specific image and projection to get what we want, assuming a persona or personality because we know that it will allow us to achieve what we desire.

It is perhaps impossible to completely eliminate these images from our lives as there will always be occasions where we will slip into a certain public image either accidentally or on purpose. The problem exists when these images overtake our lives, completely eliminating authenticity and honesty, leading to paranoia and undermining trust.

When we become aware of image in society and why they’re used, it is easy to become increasingly paranoid and suspicious about other people. We start to question other people’s motives, whether they’re using a public image to hide their feelings for fear of being hurt, or for the purpose of manipulating us. This makes it increasingly difficult to trust, leading to resentment and hatred.

This is a major problem in modern society. I′ve even been accused of using the image of an honest person for personal gain. I insist that I′m just being myself (and I really am, no side motive, not even money, the proof right now being that I′m poor) and that seems to just increase the sentiment that I must be lying because “no one can be that honest all the time, everyone has an agenda.” I′m still honest with these people, they just choose not to believe it. When we don’t trust people, of course they are going to appear to have an agenda and be out to hurt us because that is all we are open to believe, and in turn is all we will see.

As a society we need something authentic to reassure us that people can be honest, not everyone is out to hurt us, and we don’t need to put on airs to get what we want out of life. If we can’t be honest, why should we expect other people to be?

Why We Need Folk Music In Modern Society
The wide reach and influence of music makes it the perfect media to instill any kind of social change. Music was the guiding force behind the psychedelic movement of the late 60s, and has for a long time been interwoven with social causes and social changes. I believe that music is a direct link to the soul when done correctly, and so by letting artists bare their soul, we can connect with them on a very personal level. This allows us to relate to them, understand a little about where they’re coming from, why they think the way they do and in turn become more empathetic. This then translates into our actions with others. When we see an artist being completely honest, bearing their soul and being authentic, it shows us that we can do this too and still be accepted by our peers. By infusing authenticity back into our music we can encourage people to be more honest, open to honesty in other people and show them that you don’t have to put up these false fronts to be accepted, successful or appreciated.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be through folk music, but can include any genre as long as the authenticity and realism that is so prevalent in folk music is included. Blues is another very honest genre and other genres can be too depending on the artist. Authenticity in all genres in music can help to break down these fake images and personae encouraging people to trust each other again.

Empathy, honesty and authenticity are only ways that we can create a better society, and have peace. This is not a cure all, that’s for sure, but maybe remembering and appreciating the simplicity and honesty of folk music can help us recover the authenticity that seems to elude us in the modern world.

References Include: bobdylan.com bobdylan.com for lyrics and allmusic.com allmusic.com for dates and some biographical information.

D.A.N (Dave Nuzzo). is the owner, editor and primary writer for an online magazine called fifthcolumnmagazine.com The Sights and Sounds from the Fifth Column, is a cultural/society type of magazine dedicated to changing the world by encouraging creativity, free thinking, open mindedness, activism, and human rights. Designed to expand its readers’ minds through exposure to different forms of creativity, new ideas on politics and society, and new ideas on self improvement and philosophy. The goal is to help promote ideas about different facets of society ranging from music and art, to politics and world events, to philosophy and self improvement, based on merit, not money, mainstream culture or shock value.

Sights and Sounds of the Fifth Column, found at fifthcolumnmagazine.com fifthcolumnmagazine.com