Neighborhood “Prot” Frames for Effector

Funny little story on how a shot of these frames came before my eyes into my field of vision. (Had to get the correct pun, y’know?)

I did some screen hopping (randomly surfing through web pages, clicking links that interest me) when I stumbled on the twitter, and then web page of Jeff Carvalho. Turns out he’s an alumnus of my school, Northeastern University, and works on acclaimed sites within menswear like HighSnobiety, Selectism and SocialConsumer. Pleasant surprise.

While on Selectism I found this, which led me here, then after some clicking around, here.

These are definitely the type of glasses I’m looking to get. I remember watching this old school Thelonious Monk performance in my Coltrane class, the bassist (whose name I’m drawing a blank on) was wearing something similar; I became sold on this style.

Wonder if I could order the frames from Japanese retailer Cradle, ship them stateside, then get the lenses made here. ￥26,040 converted to USD is $288.964. After shipping and handling, that just may be a power move.

I finally found the mp3 I wanted from Japanese jazz musician Yuji Ohno, “Take A Chance.” It’s honor of the Japan and jazz references, its today’s bonus. Feel free to stream/download below.

BONUS: Yuji Ohno- “Take A Chance”

Power Moves, Poetry, and Awkward Pull Asides

Peep those ATCQ laces My Spiz’ikes have more mileage on them then I’d like them to. Just returned from a long walk not too long ago.

In the afternoon I met up with the homie Lauren aka Michelle Huxtable. She’s sort of like a female version of me. Very versatile, be sure to check her blog Michelle-Huxtable.

It was my first time meeting her face-to-face. We’ve spoken before via Twitter, Google Chat, and AIM so it wasn’t awkward at all. In a couple years the stigma of meeting people online will be gone. We had a really nice conversation over some food.

After eating we headed over to a spoken word event at my school, Beatless. Overall I enjoyed it. I kind of wish I would have been one of the hosts; I hope I get opportunities to do so in the future. Student performers were a mixed bag, but I was really impressed by some of the acts.

The real bread and butter was the high-caliber, Def Poetry Jam circuit veterans. The range of what people wrote about was really extraordinary. Very inspiring. We had performances from Gemineye (check “Penny For Your Thoughts”), Mayda Del Valle (peep “The Gift”), and J. Ivy (who is probably best known for his appearance on Kanye West’s “Never Let Me Down” off College Dropout) and more.

One of the only odd/downsides to the night was being pulled by a random guy about some radio show stuff. Apparently this R&B group I’m not feeling is coming to the area Monday, and are looking to be interviewed when they’re here. Dude I don’t know shoved a phone in my ear, I started speaking to another even more random guy – just an uncomfortable situation. Even though I’m small time, it still comes with the territory. Not exactly how I want to be recognized, but at least it means I’m in demand/in the right direction. *Shrugs*

After the show Ms. Huxtable and I had another strong convo where we discussed growth, and her path towards power moves. We then met up with my friend and really dope musician Katrina Bello. I was proud that I…

While at Ms. Bello’s house I got a little weird and anti-social for a bit and delved into the world of twitter. If you’re reading this Katrina, I know it was “interesting” and apologize for being awkward!

Nice night. Besides all the costumed freaks Thought I’d share.

S.A.B. Radio x Shawn Chrys Interview Pt. 1

I was up til late last night getting this done. As promised, here it is. That podcast I promised is also coming to you in a short while.

I feel like it’s one of my stronger interviews, and Shawn is certainly interesting as both an artist and person. Enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Topics of discussion include his experiences in NY and at CMJ, musical education and producing his own material, seeing sounds as colors, classifying his sound, songwriting, and being open with his music.

Past Couple Days (10/26-28)

Little more foliage before it all disappears.

So this post won’t be as spectacular as the original Past Couple Days post. I mean it’s hard to top, and I’m sort of crunched for time tonight. Surprise, right? Here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to.

So of course meetings, classes, the works. All this heavy rain/murky weather had sort of drained me.

I’m being trained to be a supervisor for one of my jobs on campus, it’ll regain me some of my cut horrendously slashed hours, so that’s definitely a win. It’s going to require me to do some grueling shifts and on rare occasion, some overnight ones, but we survive in the drought it’s nothing I’m not used to.

I had to kind of change directions as far as internship routes, but I’m fine. Just a slight change of plans. I still have opportunities at respectable organizations, and am establishing a connection (thanks to some friends) at a place I’d be thrilled to work at.

It basically came down to me doing the internship that was the apple of my eye, or launching the evolved form of this Mr. Martins blog at its full potential. Both wouldn’t be feasible at the same time. I chose to believe in myself, and continue with my vision. I’ll still have the opportunity to do my internship at that place I was originally aiming for down the line (got 2 more years left of school, not counting this year).

Although, I do feel it’s now or never as far as my project goes. I’m often told that I’m so young (19 going on 20 next month) and have plenty of time.  Honestly, that goes through one ear and out the other. I understand where they’re coming from, but I’m ready to take a step forward. Not so much as to spoil what I’ve prepared, but anxious excited to see my dream parts of the dream realized.

Below there’s a song from Big Sean that close to summarizes how I’m feeling right now.

I’ve definitely been neglecting this paper I’m supposed. Bye for now.

DOWNLOAD: Big Sean- “Desire, Want & Need” (linkage courtesy of 2dopeboyz)

Celtics x Cavs Rundown

My tweets don’t ever lie. Above was my take on the Cavs deficiencies. Below is my take on the game.

I mean, we really whopped the Bobcats tonight, not much to take from that (plus I was at a meeting for the first half of the game). That’s par for the course though. I was a little perturbed to see bothered by the Cavs ranking higher than us on this week’s NBA.com Power Rankings so I had to give my rundown of our match up.

Overall the Celtics played well. Definitely wasn’t our best. Especially with a bad 1st quarter and first half of the 4th quarter.

I was impressed by Marquis Daniels. Sheed and Allen did well from 3. Perkins was the unsung hero of the night, hitting the 15 footer and being consistent on both ends of the floor. Ultimately it was #34 who answered the call in the 4th, and scored 10 points in the quarter to bring us the win.

I definitely was disappointed to see this. (Gives me even more not to like about Glen Davis!) But I was even more disappointed by this. Ainge missed the boat on giving him an extension a couple months back, but I don’t think he’ll leave the team. We just need to make sure we pay him at the end of the season and keep Perkins as well.

Realistically we can go for Banner 18 this season, but then it’s operation scale-back and rebuild.

Heart and health determines our season this year. The Lakers are the best team on paper this year. But I believe if healthy, and the Big 3′s minutes are properly managed so they’re fresh come post-season, we’ve got the championship.

Yeah the East has gotten better. Yeah they all are one year older, but the team is deeper, and we have one more run left in us.

This is Why I Never…

Post on Mondays.

Above is the flyer for my radio show, Selections Are Better Radio – S.A.B. Radio for short. It’s like an extension of myself/this Mr. Martins blog if spoken through an eclectic blend of Golden Era and new school Hip Hop, Soul, and Electronic music. It’s really unpredictable as far as where it’ll go week to week. Regardless, I assure you each edition is packed with dopeness.

I was going to post earlier tonight with a link to listen, but got caught up preparing for an interview with Shawn Chrys. It went great. He’s a really interesting guy, takes risks with his art, and make sure you check the bottom of this post for a link to his free album A City With No Seasons.

You’ll see a post later this week with a link to my interview with him. We did a good 20 minutes so it’ll be broken up into several parts. For past interviews I’ve done you can check the S.A.B. Radio Youtube Channel.

Depending on how things go this week you might get an S.A.B. Radio Podcast. I have papers to write, but finally finished my résumé (it’s perfect!) so we’ll see. Damn it’s 3:20 AM and I’m typing this G’nite.

DOWNLOAD: Shawn Chrys- A City With No Seasons (Free Album)
PREVIOUS: Mickey Factz Interview

From My Screen to Yours: Melinda Boyce

Besides Mr. Martins documenting the tales of struggle and triumph of  a young scholar, gentleman, and emerging wordsmith, I’m hoping to use the site to highlight  all things dope, creative, interesting, and groundbreaking. Basically share anything with you that inspires me. I know I don’t have the largest following now (although I appreciate every one of you who reads this), but when the mega-site/evolved form of Mr. Martins launches my co-sign being featured on the site will be a big deal.

So today, I present to you the work of Melinda Boyce.

She’s pushing the boundaries of what can be done as a comic book artist, how someone can run their website, and what creating as an artist can be. I encourage you to check her out here. In addition to comics, she does portraits of people as well. If you enjoy what she has to offer and have some spare e-change in your pocket, donate towards the cause.

Special thank you to my friend Kadidjha (@Kay143)  for putting me on to the work of Ms. Boyce.

Below is a bonus. Nothing to do with Ms. Boyce, but it’s a really dope song I found, that I’m looking for the mp3 version of.

BONUS: Lupin The 3rd Series- “Take A Chance” (Audio)

I’ve Got to Live Up to This…

Wow. My homegirl (is it awkward to say that because I don’t know her beyond twitter?) Sabrina aka @sabsthegreat definitely gave me something to live up to. She says this because on twitter I sometimes go on about allude to the mega-project that I’m working on which tends to consume my time, thoughts, and energy. The time that would be considered spare time – outside of school, work and other obligations,  I spend either working or thinking about this project.

It’s literally a part of me, and the fabric of what I live and breathe. I hope I don’t lose you here, but it means a lot to me. It’s deep like that. I’m looking to change the way we view things, and what’s on the way is the first step towards accomplishing that.

So Sabs is sort of right, when the evolved form of Mr. Martins comes I’m looking to do something powerful. It’s so much more than just a website. And this is not just empty talk. I assure you, I’m working daily towards making it as memorable an experience as possible. I know it’s the start of something great.

But until then, bear with me. Enjoy this Mr. Martins project. My skills are sharpening. I’m having fun.

Any questions/comments/concerns feel free to leave in comment form. I see the hits coming slowly but surely.

Fear of Falling, Foliage, Sea Fury and Campfires

I owed you some shots of foliage, here’s one.

Been an interesting week overall folks. A lot on my plate. This blog isn’t about venting, but it’s nice to let you know what’s going on behind the scenes. I’ve just found this week to be rather exhausting. An infinite to-do list, a small amount of energy.

Regardless of the pressures of life, school,  the weight of the world and other ventures – I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. I appreciate having options available to me, a bright future ahead of me, and not having to do the job these guys do.

Imagine falling from that distance (It’s not the best shot, but you get what I mean). I wouldn’t want to risk my life just to wash some windows, no sir.

I’m pretty slightly afraid of heights. I basically got over it the summer of 2006 when I took a one-week boat trip around Massachusetts. I lived on and sailed aboard a schooner that went around coastal Massachusetts (left from Boston Harbor and sailed around the Cape area) as a part of an abridged, one week  “semester at sea” program. It was a week out at sea filled with rope burn, socially awkward kids from Vermont, the smell of diesel fuel, no cellphone reception, extensive periods of not seeing land, a day filled with nothing but vomiting, and oh yeah, no showers. I kid you not. I gained a lot though. Moral of the story is on the last day, when we arrived back at Boston Harbor, I climbed up one of the sails (which was several feet high in the air) with no support or harness. (I actually had a harness but it wasn’t connected to anything! When I asked one of the leaders the point of wearing it, I got the response of “insurance purposes!”)

After that experience – being brave in the face of actual danger and rising to the challenge – rollercoasters just weren’t that scary to me anymore. Boy that was a long aside, hope you enjoyed it though.

I’ve reached a point of focus now. As I tweeted last Wednesday night/early Thursday morning:

Not to say I wasn’t focused before, but everything I need is right in front of me. The mega-project/evolved form of this Mr. Martins blog, the internship I’m looking to get, and other goals are laid out in front of me. It’s about navigating these next couple weeks/months and aligning things in my favor. I look forward to the challenge, what the future holds, and hope you’re excited for what I’ll be bringing.

So, I told the story of how I got over, now check how The Roots did below. Also there’s a bonus since I brought up those beloved Turtles again. Be sure to check a nod to one of the best side scrolling fighters ever made.

WATCH: The Roots- “How I Got Over” (Video) (courtesy of The Smoking Section)

BONUS: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time [Level 4: Alleycat Blues] (Video)

Upgrades…

New logo. Still the same tireless work ethic. I know I’ve been gone for the beginning of this week, I apologize. I hope the “Baby Teeth, Videotapes and Popcorn” post held you over (“if I must say so myself that was a classic” ℗ J. Cole).

I really considered blogging a couple things. One being the fact I cooked this past weekend (excellent looking and tasting spaghetti). I try and eat healthy, but not as much as her. The other was the wonderful foliage that is around Boston right now (after we had snow last Sunday, go figure). I took a photo on my phone this morning, but it crashed after I took it.

But back to the logo. I’m pretty proud of myself for making it. I was tampering around with Adobe Illustrator and made it by accident. I’m satisfied with it, but I may tweak it. Let me know what you think.I feel it’s simple, but achieves the sophistication/overall looseness I was looking for.

So much on the horizon folks. The world is wonderful; I hope you share my sentiments.

More will be coming. Thank you for the support. Things are busy.