Nuggets of Knowledge Vol. 1

Okay, its time to stop bullshitting. I've been meaning to throw in the Nuggets of Knowledge column in for a long ass time but I have been swimming in shit lately and somehow forgot to pack a bathing suit. Over the last month I have been thinking about a lot of shit, mostly things that have made me wiser. But I suppose, if we don't step back and observe what is going on around us we don't learn. College has started back up and I've realized that after I graduate from Carolina (which wont be for a while), I'll still be the student. Perhaps this is the key to being the teacher.

But there has been a lot of shit going on lately in a young person's world. Perhaps it is distraction or perhaps it is the spice of life. For our sake lets hope it is not the former, but instead, the latter. Rarely do I get to write abou the shit that is on my mind, much less the shit that is going on in my life, and hopefully for your sake, I don't take up too much time.

After a month into school, weekends strung together chock full of shitty parties, gallons of liquor, cartons of cigarettes, hours of hip hop, and legions of women it is time to drop my two cents. So relax, and take notes.

Music

Music has been on some pretty good shit lately. T.I.'s paper trail album is releasing today and has been leaking over the last few months like a shitty pipe. So far he has had a string of singles dropped off of the album (some official, some unofficial) and people say that this is because Paper Trail is his most important album to date. No, its no more special than his other albums really... It's just that his ass is about to get thrown in jail. Hey, you know what they say about shit. It happens.

I've been trying to figure out what Lykke Li meant by "Indie is the new black". I immediately disagreed at first because I thought she was being an obnoxious indie bitch... and I think that is what she was going for. But then I actually thought about it and she is right. Sort of. Indie shit to me is becoming the new status quo, and consequently is losing its cool. You know, kind of how mainstream influence has taken over hipsterism and beaten it to death with a sledgehammer? Its not my fault that Vapors thinks hipsters are the new Ravers... Blame Lil Wayne if you want to. It won't change anything. I still think that Lykke Li was trying to be cool, but she shot herself in the face in the process. I wonder how that feels... Don't worry, I still listen to your shit though babe. Its good... and I like being a part of the machine that grinds your genre to hamburger meat.

Culture

I haven't really been up on culture lately because I think that for myself it is irrelevant to what I am doing. After all, I have been way too busy to care. When it comes to pop culture though, I finished the third season of Weeds yesterday. Is it just me, or is that show going down hill? It didn't seem as if there was any real progression this past season. Its too bad that I have to wait for another fucking year now to see what happens to Nancy Botwin. Call me a scrooge but I enjoyed season two full of dramatic, drug filled exploits that were lightly peppered with sex. What can I say? I'm a simple man.

On another note, I am shamed to say that somehow I am addicted to Gossip Girl. Yes, I know... The first step is admitting you have a problem. But what can I say? This pint sized daywalker convinced me into trying it, and I had to keep watching and watching and watching pouring my hours that I need to spend working into a socialite filled hell. But hey, it helps though that I get to spend an hour staring at dimes bitching at each other in Chanel and Blue Label ensembles. At least not all is lost right? If you don't remember anything I said, at least know this much: Gossip Girl = Home Made Drugs.

Fashion

As much as would like to say otherwise, fashion has been irrelevant this past fashion week. At least I didn't have to read articles wrought by disillusioned writers that don't want to think there is an economic crisis.

With that aside, I haven't stunted on the scene in the while. What can I say? I've been slacking. Either I haven't been running in the right circles, or I can't find a fly ass chick with an official shoe game for this season... For some reason all I can find are these halfway dressed women that have chipped nails and are still wearing white shoes. Even the dimes don't know that hte attention is in the details.

On the streetwear front, I am excited about the Lanvin x Acne Jeans Collaboration. Will it be good? That is a rhetorical question so don't ask it to your friends or you'll look stupid. Also the Alife Luxe Tweeds were on point. By the way, on some real shit before I change topics on your ass, biting is the new black.

Lifestyle

This is one of those areas I have neglected for some time now and I feel like shit for it. Mostly because the lifestyle section is one of my favorite sections of the blog but is disproportionately small compared to fashion and music. I apologize for that.

My boy Malcolm (Mal for short), filled me in on some eye opening shit. Cool does exist. We can't dictate it, but we sure as hell can waste it. How? Well, if you're on the scene in your fresh pair of Nikes, your Evisu Jeans, a fresh polo, a fresh fit and you're just going ham on the ladies then its all good. But if you wear the same thing on a tuesday night at 2 in the morning on an empty street, you just burned your shit up. I've realized that motherfuckers are like cars when it comes to the cool. Some people can just charge that shit up and go forever on their cool for days on end, others of us need to always go back to the pump and refill on our cool so that we can use it for more fruitful purposes. Think about it. Chillin in your room, suave as hell leaves you with no certification that you did so. So why do it? You're just wasting the same energy on a Tuesday you could have used to get laid on a Friday. Oh well... Looks like your cool is wasted.

On a side note, I cross buzz my monday night Gossip Girl addiction with my constant iPhone addiction. I suppose watching Gossip Girl is like cocaine: It lasts me a week but my iPhone is like
crack: it lasts me five minutes so you better believe I'm always clutching that shit.

Politics

I am so tired of reading blogs that don't even give politics a nod. As far as this past month, I can't say I've done better. Perhaps this is because politics takes to damn long to write about. But shit, other blogs just dont even nod towards the subject. Ain't that some shit.

So yesterday the Senate didn't pass the $700 Billion dollar wall street bailout. A while back I was pretty stagnant towards the whole issue until my mom actually filled me in on it. Without that deal, we can expect massive cutbacks which means a whole lotta niggas packing up office and jumping out of their corner office windows. That's pretty fucked up. A lot of people want to blame Bush. I don't like the motherfucker, but an average guy like me pointing a finger at a chimp isn't going to change anything. It will just give me enough anger to keep me warm this winter... So fuck it. F0r those of you who can't find jobs, I hope you've saved up enough money for your coke and guns to take over your suburb and open up shop.

Women

For some reason the Female gender is staggering to me. Why is it that every cool chick has a monumental flaw that makes her fucking psychotic (or just plain crazy)? I am pretty sure my search for my perfect girl is about over... and I'm sorry, but she's a dead stock and I'm not letting go.

On some other shit, UNC is 60% women. Which is nothing I'm gonna complain about... except on Thursday nights when for some weird reason there are uglier chicks on the strip than the thursday before. Where did all the bad motherfuckers go?

I came up with different grades of women that I see on franklin street. They go as follows from greatest to least.

The Mob - The Most Official Bitches (Duh!) I straight chomped on that from the clothing brand and I don't care. These are the baddest women in town and they don't get badder... without the universe collapsing on itself.
Varsity B - Yeah I know, Varsity A is higher grade than Varisty B. Well, maybe in high school. The "B" in Varsity B is short for Bad Mother Fuckers. Yes, these are the 8.7's (when dressed right), the 9's and the Dimes. The only thing higher is the mob. And only a handful of chicks are in the Mob.
Varsity A - The alright chicks. You wouldn't mind having one on your arm. But you ain't breaking your back for the shit.
The Club Team - A hodgepodge of chicks. Mostly alright girls and ugly chicks, with a couple of dimes peppered out in the crowd. But you have to look for the dimes. You can expect the club team to be just about "The Girls" and not be about the guys. You'll kill yourself trying to get with a hot chick if she's with a million man march of sub par ones that have muffin top and beer bellies. Expect the club team to be out from Tuesday to Thursday. They get diluted on Fridays and saturdays.
The Managers - Just don't touch them. Enough said.

On a final note, I reached an epiphany on Sunday evening when I was chilling with Mal at the wall talking shit... When it comes to white chicks, the heirarchy of hotness goes as follows.
1. Brunettes - I mean, tan skin and dark hair? Enough said
2. Redheads* - When you come across a chick that can pull off the red hair and pale skin, that is a daywalker you need to take out later on that night.
3. Blondes - More or less, there are far too many blondes in this world. Attribute it to skanknuggets dying their hair to perpetrate as a blonde. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with a blonde, but her hair looks different than most... Kind of like Repunzel. Past that though, most are a dime a dozen... sorry fellas, but blame it on the bitches that are frontin' on your ass.

Thats all for now,
-Cliff

*A note on redheads: A redhead in the M.O.B. is automatically upgraded to number one. Sorry, but those are just too hard to come by so that rarity is sexy in and of itself.