Google Search '07

Want to know who the top searched music artists were this year? [Not really.] Do you even care? [Not really.] Well if you're bored, feel free to cast your eyes on the list below:

1. Britney Spears
2. Beyonce Knowles
3. Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson
4. Avril Lavigne
5. Hilary Duff
6. Akon
7. Hannah Montana
8. Shakira
9. Chris Brown
10. Ciara

Taking a Look Back

Most of us have come to look forward to Skillz' year-end review rap. I've already heard the one for 2006, and it's the business. Here's a look back at what he had to say about '05:

2005 Rap Up
It's your boy Skillz y'all
You know how we do it
And it's that time of the year
So I might as well get to it
Matter of fact
Year in review homes, I'm takin' it back
So would y'all mind an '05 recap? (I like that)
Aiight, well listen

It started off with Game, yeah his album was crack
And just like that, bam, the west coast was back
I mean, homes did his numbers plus he had a lot to say
Beefin' with Bleek and Buddens but he ain't want it with Jay
Speakin' of the west, the boy Houston tried to ride out
I bought your album dog, but you ain't have to gouge your eye out
Dabbled in paparazzi and got a quick check
I took that picture of Nelly and Ashanti that you saw on the net
And then rappers was gettin' knocked, lawyers was no option
When Kim took the stand, man we had just lost Cochran
Nas and Kelis both said "I do"
Eddie Murphy got divorced but he was married to a dude
Tigga left Rap City and we ain't know what to think
Irv turned himself in and took the Murder out the Inc.
Then Jamie got his Oscar, after that he was set
He smashed "Ray", but "Stealth"? Well that was for the check
Chappelle took fifty mil and then he slid out the door
The hottest thing on TV, that be "The Bobby Brown Show"
Poor Bobby, dude still tryin' to be a star
But will it ever happen? Hmm... aww hell to the nah
Then cats started beefin', I ain't too sure why
Jada and 50, 50 and Joe, then Flip and T.I.
And I'm beefin' wit' Mickey D's man, y'all dead wrong
Talkin' 'bout payin' rappers to mention Big Macs in their song
We do rap from the heart, y'all better have some respect
Alright, Big Mac! Big Mac! Big Mac! Now where's my check?
"Ordinary People" was a hell of a song
And I ain't the only one who got sick of hearin' "Who is Mike Jones?!"
I'm like the next man, I got love for the south
We know your name Mike, I'm just wishin' you'd close your mouth
And then "I'm a--I'm a hustler," that joint was wicked
But soon as Cass got to poppin', man them boys came to get him
Mariah, she came back, she had our support
Mike Jackson, innocent, moonwalked right out of court
Nick Cannon and Christina, man they was havin' relations
And then 50 kicked Game out at the radio station
How can two men go so hard and diss each other?
Then at the press conference look like they 'bout to kiss each other?
And then Free and AJ quit and the world'll never know why
I miss her too AJ, but damn, did you have to cry?
Well if it don't make dollars then it don't make sense
And it's sad cuz BET ain't really been the same since
And this is not speculation y'all, I'm statin' the facts
So would y'all mind if I continue? (I like that)
Alright well listen

Cats gotta hustle and you just can't stop it
R. Kelly, well his hustle happened to be "Trapped in the Closet"
Dude went all out, he was like a full fledged actor
Had us hangin' on every word like chapter for chapter
But he never went to trial, how soon y'all forget
By the time his case come up we'll be on Chapter 106
Destiny's Child said the group thing had lost its flavor
And everybody read Superhead's book except Fantasia
DipSet started poppin' and brainwashed the kids
No matter where you went you couldn't escape Jeezy's ad libs
Yeah, the Snowman went to work
And once they found out what it meant, they banned the damn t-shirts
Ying Yang did their thing with The Whisper Song
They locked Kim up, but they let my man Sigel come home
And then Gwen Stefani came with "Hollaback Girl"
Looked like she had been in Harlem hangin' with black girls
T.O. was playin' games, but he kept on teasin' us
Turned his back on his team and messed their season up
Ma$e came back to rap but we had heard that before
And "Run's House", well that was damn near like "The Cosby Show"
We found out the real truth about Jay and Dame
Hov skated on dude and kept the Roc-A-Fella name
Then Dame's show debuted and the ratings was wack
"Ultimate Hustler", well umm, I don't know about that
Eminem went on tour and filled up all the seats
But when the "Curtain Call" came, he found it hard to sleep
It's better you than me Em, huh, cuz it couldn't be Skillz
I couldn't have that kind of bread and spend it on sleepin' pills
Be for real cuz Common's "BE" album was ill
I got sick of rappers smilin', showin' their grills
And Eve had a porno, but if you blinked it was gone
And then Suge got shot by dude was some pink pants on
Ciara and Bow Wow, they started datin' right
I mean he's three feet, there's no way that he's layin' the pipe
And then all rap music was comin' from the south
Tom Cruise got whipped so he jumped on the couch
But that was nothing, we was headed to a bigger arena
Because we all got burnt by this woman named Katrina
God's daughter sat in the water and came from around the back
She wasn't a cutie, but trust me, her eye was all that
And she ain't have a home but had a jones for guys that was black
She looked down at New Orleans and was like (I like that)

The news was so sad, it was like a modern day slaughter
And I ain't even gonna talk about what was floatin' in that water
See, it was sort of like watchin' a 9/11 sequel
Then Kanye said Bush didn't care about black people
We was all like "Yeah, what he's sayin' is true"
But I'm like 'ye, white people just started carin' about you!
I mean his album still sold, he ain't really blow his chance
But he set us all back with that damn "Gold Digger" dance
And then we lost Luther, the number one singer for soul
And then the league hit the players with a new dress code
LeBron was cool but other cars was mad at it
Cuz if Shaq get one suit made, there goes all the fabric
On VH1 Big Daddy Kane was the man
HU Homecoming somebody tried to shoot up Cam
Botched carjackin', nah fam, that was wrong
Them dudes was just tryin' to shoot theyself
Cuz they like "The Whistle Song"
I might start singin' homie, don't provoke me
T-Pain had a hit singin' karaoke
And then 50 looked crazy on the cover of GQ
He put his movie out, and yeah Usher did too
But keep your mind on your music cuz your actin' is through
So much for the movies, mmm I guess it do what it do
And Trina and Lil' Wayne, they both came out happy
But this a sad day when we dancin' to "Laffy Taffy"
And I ain't hatin' on the South cuz most of it is raw
"Oh I think they like me," nah I don't think I like none of y'all
So in that '06 we gon' have to make that fire
I send my respects out to Tookie and my man Richard Pryor
Jay-Z declared war but then he changed his plans
Cuz by the end of the show he was shakin' Nas's hand
Even Diddy let The L.O.X. come back and get their paper
After Kiss said he was gonna hit 'em with a refrigerator
I made an indie album, next one is ready to go
Me and all the DJs in the world shout out my man Justo
And the "Stop Snitchin" thing y'all, it ain't gon' work
I told y'all I saw a seven year old with a "Stop snitchin" shirt
And don't get me wrong homie cuz I ain't tryin' to be a preacher
But I'm like "Man who snitched on you? Your kindergarten teacher?"
If it make the news, Skillz gonna put it in the mix
Til then Happy New Year y'all, welcome to 2006
yeah!

My Buddy

You might say he's my Christmas gift to myself. It's my new *best friend,* Frankie. Frankie's a six year old Chihuahua that I adopted on Thursday, December 7th. I truly never thought I'd be the one to own a dog [or anything that requires the slightest bit of responsibility] any time soon, but alas. I blame it on a dear friend who's dog I kept for four months this summer -- it was a mean trick. There I was doing a friend a favor... looking after Bianca, and apparently all the while she was growing on me. The first month without her felt like a new found freedom, but once the second month came, I began to miss the company. Long story long -- I've got a new friend, and his name is Frankie.

Be cool!

jaz

Time Out

Sometimes I just want to be left alone. Sometimes I get to a crazy place and to sort myself I need solitude and Me Time. I don't want solitude and Me Time, hear me clearly, I *need* it. It's necessary that I have this time to get back to clear thoughts and happy days. Please know it's not meant to be a personal diss on any one person -- it just means I gotta take five. That's all. I need a minute to gather myself before I face the world again.

This is me taking five...

History of Santa Clause

In case you're interested...

The person known as "St. Nicholas" was born somewhere between 270 and 280 AD, in Patara, Lycia in Asia Minor. Born of a wealthy family, Nicholas did his best to help others whenever he could.

As a young man, he migrated to Myra, Turkey, where he became ordained as a bishop. St. Nicholas spent his entire life helping the poor. He loved children and often went out at night disguised in a hooded cloak to leave gifts of money, food or clothing on the window sills of unfortunate families.

The most famous story of all about St. Nicholas, is about a poor family with three daughters of marriageable age whose chances were dim due to the lack of dowries. St. Nicholas heard of their plight and one night climbed the roof and dropped three bags of gold coins which landed in the girls' stockings which had been hung on the fireplace to dry. He was caught in the act by the girls' father and St. Nicholas asked that he keep this visit a secret. However, two days later, the entire town was talking about the good deed done by Nicholas.

But life was not always good for Nicholas. He along with many others was thrown into prison for not worshipping himself as a god as declared by the Roman emperor Diocletian. He was released in 313 AD when Diocletian resigned and Constantine came to power. He then returned to his post as Bishop of Myra continuing his good works until his death on December 6, 343.

Out of love and respect for St. Nicholas, by 450 AD, churches were being named after him in Asia Minor and Greece. In the 1200s, December 6th became known as Bishop Nicholas Day in France. And by the end of the 1400s, over 2000 chapels and monasteries had been named after him.
In the 1500s, the English stopped worshipping St. Nicholas in favor of another gift-giving benefactor, Father Christmas. Over the centuries, his popularity grew and more and more stories were told about him and of his good deeds.

The name Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch Sinter Klass. It was the Dutch settlers in New York who brought the Santa Claus tradition to the Americas.

Over the years, "Santa Claus" took on many different appearances. It was Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his "History of New York", published in 1809 under a pseudonym, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback each eve of Saint Nicholas.

Santa Claus fully achieved his "Americanization" in 1823 in the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" also called "The Night Before Christmas" which was written by Clement C. Moore originally for his children. Moore added a team of eight tiny reindeer, as well as Santa Claus's laughs, winks and nods.

The American image was further elaborated by Thomas Nast, who illustrated him as a rotund Santa for issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. It was Nast who added details of Santa's workshop at the North Pole and Santa's list of good and bad children. Santa also got a "new" suit or image over the years thanks to the advertising campaigns of Coca Cola.

Happy Holidays!

Out With the Old, In With the New

As 2006 comes to an end and 2007 nears, we all begin looking back wishing we'd gone here, done that, accomplished this, and we start planning for all the great and wonderful tasks we want to complete during the next twelve months. I am not unlike any other. I too am doing some reflection. I too am doing some planning. There are several goals I want to reach, some stepping stones I want to cross, and some personal changes I'd like to make. I also have a personal plea: If anyone knows of any store, market, or online retailer that's selling Inner Strength, Self Control, and/or Discipline please be so kind as to let me know. I'd be interested in purchasing any of these products in bulk.

We've Got Us a Hot One!

Her name is Bianca Ryan, she's 12 years old, and she can SING. Like for real sing. Not the pop-ie mess that's played on most radio stations. Not the "let me whisper softly over a bangin' track, and no one will ever no I have no real talent." No -- she can S I N G.

I didn't follow the show, but she was apparently *discovered* on that Idol two-bit knockoff [which perhaps was worth something after all] America's Got Talent. You remember the one -- with judges Brandy and David Hasselhoff... with such acts like The Rapping Granny, and the riverdancing family. At any rate, Bianca Ryan made her national debut there singing And I'm Telling You (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUlFnwQuRfg), and she did the song justice -- and not justice for a 12 year old, just plain old justice.

At current she's got a self-titled CD out with 12 songs on it, and I believe she's got what it takes to go all the way. The only thing I worry about is her age, in that it gives her little to "sing about." I wonder how they will market her. I think if she can stand strong and make it through her early teens, that she's got a real shot at a lasting career. There's no question she's definitely got the voice to take her wherever she wants to go.

Again I say... Her name is Bianca Ryan. She's twelve, and she can sing!!