Eye of the Beholder

The value of a naked woman diminishes everyday unless the woman monetizes it. Before you jump all down my throat let me explain myself. When I was a kid I remember having to put in legitimate effort to see a naked woman. I remember having to manipulate search engines to bypass restrictions and filters. I remember having to stay up late at night and watch scrambled softcore porn quietly so no one knew what I was doing. I remember when the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition was a big thing, because it didn’t carry the same stigma as Playboy or other magazines of that category. Nowadays the Swimsuit Edition comes and goes without as much as a peep, and that’s because the value of a naked woman has diminished so much.

I was listening to Raheem DeVaughn’s most recent album “A Place Called Love Land” and I was struggling trying to decide my thoughts on the album. It’s a pretty enjoyable album, but the music I was listening to felt so strange and I didn’t know why at first. Then I realized it: it was pure R&B music. There are no rap breakdowns. There are no songs about sipping lean with strippers. The only feature is legendary jazz musician Boney James. How did we get to the point where singing songs that didn’t degrade women became the exception and not the norm?

I’m sure all of you have heard of the social media platform Vine, but if not I’ll give a quick synopsis of it for you. Vine is basically a stop-motion camera app where users can upload videos that are 7 seconds or under. There are some pretty dumb vines, there are some ones that are absolutely hilarious, and now I’m realizing there are a lot of videos that feature a ton of nudity. I know that Instagram, YouTube and Facebook have rules in their terms and conditions that don’t allow anything graphic in nature, but apparently no such restriction exists for Vine. As a result in a matter of seconds you can find everything from young women (of possibly illegal ages) disrobing all the way to 7 second clips of people going to Pound Town. With so much nudity at your fingertips it loses the sacredness, the taboo nature, the redeeming factor of having to search for it.

I can’t help but wonder if somehow the decline of relationships is related to the diminishing value of a naked woman. This has nothing to do with strip clubs or prostitution either, as those two establishments have been in existence since the beginning of time. Even with those things at our disposal there wasn’t anywhere near the gender inequality that we have today, even with women being able to do more occupationally than ever before. I’m referring to the seemingly omnipresence of nudity everywhere I turn. It’s almost like with each celebrity sextape we’re less and less surprised. Miley Cyrus goes out of her way to be “ratchet” and it’s almost like we collectively yawn at her attempts to be risqué. Is the term risqué even viable anymore when shows like Teen Mom air on basic cable? How did it get this way? What happened in our society that led to this diminishing of value? How did it reach a point where sending SMS nude images became a requirement for all new relationships? How did it reach a point where it’s not enough to be intimate with someone? It’s almost a rite of passage to record the intimate encounter and share it with as many people as possible via the World Wide Web.

It seems that the diminishing value has coincided with a lack of privacy, decency and tact in regards to a number of topics. Is this from specific factors or just a byproduct of our society striving to become as open as possible? To be honest I don’t have an answer to any of the questions I posed in this article, and that’s the point. The answers can’t come from me and be passed down like the monarch of some kingdom. The answers must come from within our society. We have to take a reflective look at how we’ve allowed ourselves to reach this point of banality, and decide if we’re okay with the downward spiral that we’re currently on or whether we need to adjust course. That won’t happen in a day, in a week, in a month, in a year, but people will need to decide if it happens and then strive to restore the value of women in our society. That is of course unless you enjoy Basketball Wives of LA, then I apologize for wasting your time reading this.

Pastor Disaster

I went to Game 6 of the Hawks/Pacers first round playoff series at Phillips Arena. It was a heartbreaking loss for us Hawks fans, as we were so close to pulling off a monumental upset of the then-in-pure-freefall-mode #1 seeded Pacers. As my friend and I were walking dejectedly back to the CNN Center Marta station, we see someone on the side of the sidewalk handing out CD's. I get one without looking at guy handing it to me and I look at the name on it and it says it's made by none other than Atlanta rap legend Pastor Troy. I go back in shock, wondering why someone would be handing out Pastor Troy CD's in 2014 outside Phillips Arena and I was shocked to find none other than the Pastor himself, even wearing his championship belt in all of it's glory. Of course I immediately went into fan mode and got my picture taken. Sadly I did not get the belt in the picture, but it was the least I could do and it made me forget all about the Game 6 loss.

About a day or so ago I saw this picture pop up on my news feed. It was none other than Pastor Troy, showing up at the Atlanta Falcons mini-camp seemingly just to hang out. My friend sent me the picture and this conversation ensued over text message. It was too amazing, and I felt it needed to be captured somewhere for posterity purposes.

Tyler: Do you think Pastor Troy coordinated that visit or just showed up and said "I'm Pastor Troy, look at my belt?"
Me: Pastor Troy took the picture not with the coaches or the players but just in a random end zone. He probably just showed up and Instagrammed it and the Falcons used the picture. No one coordinates visits with Pastor Troy in 2014. He's famous enough to where we know who he is but unfamous enough to be on Judge Alex
Ahahahaha. He literally doesn't leave home without that belt. "Wallet? Check. Cell phone? Yep. Belt? Oh shit, let me get that."
Wonder if he's ever got drunk or high and left it somewhere. Can you imagine going to a bar the next day like "Hey I left my wrestling belt here last night"
Hahahaha. Or had a one night stand and forgot it and had to go back and the girl's on-again/off-again boyfriend was there and it was highly awkward for all of them. "Just getting my belt cuz, chill."
How many you think he owns? Think he has more than one and rotates them like work pants?
He's got a closet for just the belts. His house is a total shit hole but the belt room has fine Berber carpet and velvet-lined shelves and it's own security system.
He has a gun safe for his belts. He probably got Downs to do it
Hahaha. How many belts can this hold? No, not pants belts, like the one I'm wearing now. Does he have to check it with security at airports? This topic needs to be discussed at your next stand-up
I wonder how much he spends on Brasso every year. He definitely has to check it in his luggage. I'm glad he hasn't upgraded to the new WWE belt. He's sticking with the tried and true WCW Booker T Harlem Heat belt
"I'm sorry sir but the metal detectors picked up something." And he's all "Yeah it's my gold belt, solid gold" and the security guard goes "Sir our equipment only detects steel and brass, not finer metals"
Hahahah. Why has no one challenged him to a rap battle and winner gets the belt?
Hahaha. He's like Floyd Mayweather. He picks his opponents and the rules. "No using any words with vowels or you're disqualified"
What is he champion of? What federation recognizes him as it's champion?
Hahahaha. Is that a sanctioned belt, Pastor Troy?
I've never talked this much about a wrestling belt, ever

I still got love for you though Pastor Troy.

Terrible Rap Names: Yo Gotti Edition

One of my guilty pleasure songs out right now is Snootie Wild's "Stacking & Flipping It". My friend sent that to me, and I loved it instantly. I also couldn't help but wonder if the songs would be much much bigger if perhaps Future or Rich Homie Quan was singing it. Anyway, I looked up the song on Spotify and I was greeted by this album cover artwork.

Apparently Yo Gotti has made it a personal mission to sign 3 artists with some of the worst rap names I've ever seen. Snootie Wild, Zed Zilla and Wave Chappelle sound like characters from a Key & Peele skit. I would be embarassed to tell someone in public that I listened to a rapper named Zed Zilla. And I have to return to Wave Chappelle once again. This is what happens when people give themselves nickname. They all turn out shitty, just like Wave Chappelle. There's no way anyone told him "I think Wave Chappelle is a great rap name" and if they did then they are a part of the problem as well. Stop lying to your rapper friends.

I feel that this chronicling of terrible rapper names will be a recurring thing, as I feel this will happen until the end of time.

Non-Profit Billionaires

I haven't been so vehemently in agreement with a Youtube video in quite some time. This is my first time seeing a John Oliver video, but he seems like a British Jon Stewart. That's not a bad thing at all, because Stewart is hilarious. Oliver summarizes all the reasons why people should be up in arms about the FIFA organization, but instead we're all anticipating the first kick of the ball at this month's World Cup in Brazil. It mirrors a lot of my feelings held towards the NFL and NCAA athletics in this country, but I'll save those thoughts for another article.

My Free Will

I just discovered that I’ve been in love with Sam Smith songs for the past year, but I just didn’t know who Sam Smith was. Well, with the release of his debut album “In The Lonely Hour” I felt that I knew more about Smith, almost on a personal level as well. In this interview with Fader he spoke about the album coming from a very dark place where he was going through unrequited love with a man. Yes that’s correct: a man. Whereas Frank Ocean was very cryptic about maybe kinda sorta loving a man once during the buildup to the release of his “Channel Orange” album Smith almost takes pride in being open about his views on sexuality, and he’s correct in that this wouldn’t matter nearly as much if he was heterosexual.

Smith’s interviews and listening to the album, which I love by the way, made me come face to face with two things that I felt I needed to speak on. The first is that Smith’s album is the first time I’ve encountered an openly gay man struggling to find a partner. I have gay friends, and it seems they have a seemingly endless supply of new men whenever they want a relationship or just some physical sexual gratification. There are gay clubs, gay dating apps, gay associations, all seemingly with the purpose of pairing men looking for interactions with other men of a romantic nature. As a heterosexual male, the ease with which they are able to make these connections was always something I admired, and was envious of. If only going to a bar to find a woman was that simple for heterosexual men, I think the world would be an entirely different place. Smith seems to share what I’ve experienced personally, in terms of the dichotomy of having someone you want that you can’t have while having someone available that you don’t want, for various reasons.

Which brings me to the second item I needed to speak on: unrequited love fucking sucks. Point blank period. One of the lowest points in my life was when my ex-girlfriend told me “I will always love you but we’re too incompatible for us to continue in this relationship.” There’s a certain vulnerability that comes along with being in love, and opening yourself up to someone, and to have that be rejected by another human being is devastating. This has happened to me recently enough where I’m torn between missing my ex, missing human interaction, and simultaneously trying to recreate Ty$ songs. I feel as though my heart is in a pretzel with my mind in a sling. There are obvious voids in my life that will only fill with time and the appropriate changes in my routine. Whether these routine changes involve personal hobbies or meeting someone new, adaptation is a key part of any life and mine is no different. There’s no clear-cut solution to that feeling, and that’s what makes love so special. When you finally do meet that person that you want to spend the rest of forever with, you’ll know it.

And I’ve told you now.

Wait Until Tonite

Not every post needs a lengthy explanation. Sometimes I just like posting songs that I enjoy. This happens to be one of them. Enjoy.



Warning this will be the first Young Gully post of many, as dude is one of my favorite rappers out today

Super Bass

This video rubs me the wrong way and for some reason I can't put my finger on it.

If I was a father and I had a daughter and she was elementary school age I wouldn't let her listen to Nicki Minaj man. Why these girls even know that song well enough to put that routine together? It's not cute when your 7-year-old is singing Nicki Minaj songs. Just like its not cute when little kids use profanity. Kids are the future man. And it's not going to help the future if kids are aspiring to be Nicki Minaj.

Do kids know what Minaj in her name is referring to? They can't possibly. Or do they? Does that little girl singing on the Ellen show know that she wants to be Nicki Threesome when she grows up?

Sure, "Super Bass" is a radio friendly, poppy enough song. But Nicki Minaj got a catalog of shit kids shouldn't be listening to. I wonder if that girl's parents let her listen to the Nicki Minaj verse on Big Sean's "Ass" remix. I bet the parents were looking at their little girl singing a Nicki Minaj song like "She's so talented. She's gonna be famous one day." That's how kids get exploited. Parents having them doing shit they have no business doing because they look "cute".

Seriously, the kids these days are fucked. They don't stand a chance man.

Kids in elementary school having sex, singing explicit rap songs, creating Facebook accounts, having cell phones. Why can't kids just be kids? Innocent, naive, little kids. They shouldn't even be allowed to do those other things.

It might be the 21st century, but the qualities of a good parent haven't changed. People gotta start raising their kids right. I don't have any kids that I know about and I'm in no rush to have any kids. But I wanna make sure they get raised right man. My kids should be worried about playing around outside, getting dirty, and cooties. Not worrying about their Facebook profile picture. If you got a kid in the third grade taking bathroom mirror pictures to update their Facebook profile picture, you fail at being a parent. Facebook is a safe-haven for debauchery for adults. I couldn't even imagine being a child with that at my finger tips.

This whole thing got me feeling deterred man. Kids ain't kids no more. They just young lost souls with no guidance. Nobody guiding these kids. And if they are guiding the kids, they guiding them down the wrong paths.

When I was growing up, I had my dad and my older brother around to let me know if i was fucking up. They didn't try to be my best friend. They were my role models. There's a HUGE fucking difference. You don't gotta act like your child's best friend to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Matter fact, there should be some shit that you don't disclose with your parents. That's what makes the parental bond sacred. There's supposed to be some shit that I can't discuss with my parents until I hit a certain age, or if I do discuss it, its with kid gloves. You shouldn't be talking to your mom about this chick that sucked you off behind the bleachers, or the handjob you got. You shouldn't be talking to your dad about girls giving you hickeys & if you do, your dad should be like "Leave them fast ass girls alone".

I just realized there are no more "fast ass girls" anymore these days. All the kids are sex-deprived superfreaks with camera phones. Nowadays it's not "Do you like me? Yes or No". It's "What's your number? I'ma text you a nekked picture". Kids at 10-11 years old taking pictures in their underwear and sending them to their friends. Like I said man, no guidance.

Kids listening to Nicki Minaj on the radio, watch Basketball Wives on TV WHERE NONE OF THEM ARE EVEN MARRIED. Kids can Google sextapes, porn, play Mature video games. They have Twitter accounts. They can watch "16 & Pregnant" on TV. At some point yall gotta stop expecting school teachers and TV and your favorite rapper to be parenting these kids. It's not a school teachers job to parent a kid. Not everyone needs to be a parent either.

Nicki Minaj is a grown ass woman, with bills to pay, who does what she needs to do to provide for herself and her family. Not Nicki Minaj, or no other person in the entire music industry or sports world, has the responsibility of raising your kids. If your kid does something stupid, you can't blame Lil Wayne. You need to blame your dumbass self for being a poor parent.

Just because you're old enough to get an erection or old enough to have your period doesn't mean you should be a parent. I respect people that get abortions, or put kids up for adoption. If you ain't ready to be a parent, it's simple. DONT BE A PARENT. There are MILLIONS of people who wish they could have kids but can't. And if you can't raise them the right way, give them away.

Know how many gay and lesbian couples are living financially comfortable but physical can't have kids? Let them adopt from unfit parents. Who gives a shit if you have two moms or two dads. If you would have a better chance at being raised right, they need to go with that setup. I'm just fucking tired of seeing kids do dumb shit because parents aren't being parents. This ain't about your work schedule either. If you working 2-3 jobs you can still be a parent. Or foster some type of environment to where your children are being guided properly. Some kids can be raised properly with one parent. Some need more role models. Whatever you gotta do, do it man.

Shit like this just makes me realize that so much of what we entertain and put effort in is meaningless. If it ain't improving my life, or the life of the next generation, then why even do it?