So i just sent my tracks over to P-money, a hip hop producer in New Zealand we interviewed for Roadtrip Nation. I asked if the folks at his label could give it a listen and just provide some feedback and maybe some advice. I've been over analyzing a bit, thinking what if this guys just rips me, but then again all the Kiwis i met were waaaay to chill and dope to react like that, and that's more of an American industry attitude. But well see how this goes, and hopefully if they got time to give it a listen, i can get some valuable advice from em.

Here's one of the hits P-money produced in NZ called stand up for Scribe. P-money's the guy pictured in the still frame right now of the video.

clean slate,
fresh pace,
new beginnings.
different definition,
same old portrait.
refreshed illumination
encased in...
the very essence of
humble oblivion.
blended into a rush,
strokes within a brush,
personified, hanging on the cusp.
deep breaths of a
captivated wasteland.
got visions of a beautiful struggle,
but decide to chase sand.
grains slip,
from wrist to fingertip,
scent of frustration, it's linger strips
the nature of its slow drip
the faint strums of acoustic
and percussion's low hits
attention to detail facing tribulation,
but the moment belongs to the solstice
so the soul quips
in stride with the sole's hit
adjacent to the pavement
action imperative
resounding louder
than any other statement.

Around this time, I start looking back on the year i've had and take inventory on everything that's happened. I can't really look anymore at years as bad or good, cause I guess enough's happened in life for me to just say it's all comes with the territory of walking and journeying on your own personal path. Yeah, i'm one of those it all happens for a reason people, but i truly believe it, and i think accepting that opens up more of the universe and it's possibilites to me.

But i am without a doubt thankful for everything: Thankful for dad's battle, and the chance its given me to have to come home be more responsible and tie up loose ends i needed to have peace with, and the chance it gave me to really value my family, before i hit the road again. I'm endlessly thankful for Roadtrip Nation and New Zealand, the knowledge, inspiration, clarity, self belief, and power it has given me is far beyond anything I could have conceived or tried to make myself believe without that experience. I'm thankful for the different friendships/relationships that came, that went, that reconnected, and that took detours for a minute till we meet down the road again. I know that all those people are living life with a purpose and are striving for something meaningful, so i have no doubt we'll all be working together in the future again.

Everything i guess that happens whether or not we give them a connotation of positive or negative is just a small patchwork that pieces together to truly give you your identity, and show you more of yourself, and the older i get, the more i see that, and the more I can't help but be thankful for it.

I found the AP Year End World Photos, and man this are some powerful, rivetting images, and it reminds me again how much of a world is out there, beyond what we know and experience. It shows me once again, how much I can take life for granted here in the states, and how it makes me complacent to a certain point. It makes you humble, but at the same time fills me with a sense that i need to get out to the rest of the world, and have some effect on other lives out there, and wanna be able to give people the ability to have hope. Hopefully this new year and the opportunities of it, will allow me to.

Check em out here's the link, I posted a few of the 211 total images.
AP Year End World Photos

In this Sept. 16, 2008 file photo, He Pingping from Inner Mongolia, China's autonomous region, the world's smallest man sits underneath Svetlana Pankratova from Russia, the Queen of Longest Legs, as they pose at Trafalgar Square in London. (AP Photo/Sang Tan/FILE)
In this Oct. 8, 2008 file photo, an Indonesian trader reacts on the trading floor of the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim/FILE)
In this Nov. 2, 2008 file photo, Pakistani Sunni Muslims devotees return back to their homes on a packed train after attending annual religious congregation in Multan, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer/FILE)
In this Aug. 3, 2008 file photo, U.S. Army Capt. Charles Ford plays a video game with seven-year-old Wa'ad, who lost an arm and a leg to an improvised bomb, during a visit to the child's home near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo/FILE)
In this May 31, 2008 file photo, earthquake survivor boys have a shower at a temporary bathroom in a refugee camp in Jiangyou town, southwestern Sichuan province, China . (AP Photo/Oded Balilty/FILE)
In this Nov. 13, 2008 file photo, motherless orphans and lost children rest at the Don Bosco Ngangi center in Goma, eastern Congo. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay/FILE)

In this Sept. 12, 2008 file photo, a Palestinian man crawls from a sewage pipe as he tries to avoid detection by Israeli troops on his way to the Al Aqsa Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, as he crosses from the West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty/FILE)
In this July 24, 2008 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves as he arrives at the Victory Column in Berlin. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong/FILE)
In this Nov. 6, 2008 file photo, Protegee, carrying her sibling on her back, cries as she looks for her parents through the village of Kiwanja, 90 kms north of Goma, eastern Congo. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay/FILE)
In this March 5, 2008 file photo, Pakistani women struggle as they try to order food outside of a subsidized food store on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Basic food and fuel prices have soared in Pakistan over the last months, causing many to depend on government subsidies to simply get by. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti/FILE)

For those of who you who used to watch the Midnight Society trade scary stories on Nickolodeon Snick, and sprinkle their magic dust over the fire to commemorate the beginning of an epic story, i've found something for you. Here's access to all the episodes!

http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/13.html

Writing blogs, and lyrics for tracks, i get caught up in a lot of traps that make me stumble, i.e-writers block, lack of inspiration, worried about how other's will perceive it, procrastination, never finishing a piece off completely. But i found an article where Stephen King gives you 7 tips to better your writing. Check it out.

1. Get to the point.

Don’t waste your reader’s time with too much back-story, long intros or longer anecdotes about your life. Reduce the noise. Reduce the babbling. In On Writing King gets to his points quickly. Get to your point quickly too before your reader loses patience and moves on.

2. Write a draft. Then let it rest.

King recommends that you crank out a first draft and then put it in your drawer to let it rest. Now, how long you let your text rest may vary. King puts his manuscripts away for several months before rereading and start the editing process.

I often let a post rest for a day or two before I start editing (as I´m sure many other bloggers do from time to time too).

This enables you to get out of the mindset you had when you wrote the draft and get a more detached and clear perspective on the text. It then becomes easier to edit, add and cut in a sometimes kinda ruthless way. The result is most often a better text.

3. Cut down your text.

When you revisit your text it´s time to kill your darlings and remove all the superfluous words and sentences. Removing will declutter your text and often get your message through with more clarity and a bigger emotional punch.

Don´t remove too much text though or you may achieve the opposite effects instead. King got the advice to cut down his texts by 10 percent from an old rejection-letter and has followed this advice for decades. While editing my blog I´ve found that 10 percent seems to be a pretty good figure not just for mammoth-sized books.

4. Be relatable and honest.

King has an honest voice in his fiction and in his memoir. He tells it like it is and makes us relate to him and his characters. Since King´s fiction often is of an odd kind with strange plots that seldom happen to normal people I think one of his strengths as a writer is being able to write relatable content anyway.

One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and honest characters with both bad and good sides to them. People we can relate to with all of their faults, passions, fears, weaknesses and good moments. King´s characters seem human. That creates a strong connection to the reader who starts caring about the characters.

Another key to being honest and relatable is keeping a conversational style. Keeping it simple and using language that isn’t unnecessarily complicated. Using the words that first come to mind.

5. Don´t care too much what others may think.

King admits to being needy about the emotional feedback he gets when he lets his wife read a new story for the first time. He gets a kick out of hearing her laugh so she cries or just cry because something in manuscript really touched her. But he has also gotten tons of mail over the years from people who confuse his sometimes nasty characters with the writer. Or just thinks he should wind up in hell. And King hasn´t always been a favourite among literary critics either.

But from what I gather he just sits down at his desk and keeps writing every morning anyway. If you listen too much to your critics you won´t get much done. Your writing will probably become worse and less fun. And criticism is often not even about you anyway.

6. Read a lot.

When you read you always pick up things. Sometimes it might be reminders about what you know you should be doing while you write. Sometimes it’s some cool idea or just the world and atmosphere the writer is painting. Sometimes it’s something totally new that makes your jaw drop. That one is my favourite. And sometimes you learn what you should avoid doing. There are almost always lessons you can learn.

If you want to be a better writer you need to read a lot to get fresh input, broaden your horizons and deepen your knowledge. And to evolve you need to mix yourself up with new influences and see what happens.

How do you find time to read more? You can cut down on other evening activities like watching TV-shows you don´t care for that much anyway. Or, as King suggests, you can bring a book to waiting rooms, treadmills or toilets. I like to plug in an audiobook while I´m on the bus or walking somewhere.

7. Write a lot.

I’ve saved the most important tip for last. To become a better writer you probably – and not so surprisingly - need to write more.

Many of the best in different fields – Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods - have gone beyond normal limits of practise. And so they reap extraordinary results.

But what do you do when you don´t feel like writing? Waiting for inspiration can become a long wait.

One good way to get around this is to find an effective solution to reduce procrastination. You may have to try a few before you find one that works for you. Another way is well, just to do it. And if you just get going your emotions changes a lot of the time and any initial resistance becomes fun and enthusiasm instead.

I know the boys back in Irvine, like to do a bit of the jamming, so i messed around with this arp on my keyboard and three drum beats, i just messed around for a bit in one take so forgive the amateurishness, i just switched the beats abruptly, and i mishit keys, but all good!

This is the track we recorded about a month ago, and finally done. I know, I know, I never thought i would write a track based on past relationships either, but i think after a lot of thought i see the similar paths in which most of my relationships ended, and i was able to reflect on it a bit. but here it is!


http://www.last.fm/music/Ray+Ricafort/_/Letting+Go+of+Her?autostart

I know you prob all have heard this song numerous times, but i still can't get enough of the Kid Cudi "Day 'N' Nite" Crookers Remix, and still can't help myself from not getting into it and vibin with it when it plays...OOOOHHHHWEEEEE!

First one's a little jazzy tune i tried to mess around with after reading one of phil lee's posts about jazz. Second ones a little hip hop beat with some sampled i discovered. def. wanna work more and developed these both

Man, i can't believe this, i can't describe how i feel right now, i'm just sitting here all my friends are drinking chillin laughing gettin rowdy, but me i'm content sitting right here on the couch, soaking it up, and contemplating what Pac's win means to me, but especially for the 90 million pinoys in the P.I who need that hope, that inspiration, and that faith, to keep it moving, and keep it going, because if Pacman can come from nothing and leep on grinding, then so can I. I love what it will do for my dad, an unparalleled joy and invigoration that will continue on to further make him battle even harder against cancer. I love how many critics that were holier than thou condemning this match, talking about how Pac was gonna get destroyed and only took this fight for money. But i figure they'll all be changing their tone now acting like they knew all along. Maybe Manny did do it for the money, but you can rest assured that his purse is as good as the Filipino peoples, as he's so quick to give it back to them. He did it to make history, he did it to carry a nation and lift em up, he did it to show that he is the pound for pound number one boxer in the world, all you'll hear him credit God, and his countrymen, but never himself. So thankful, words don't really describe it, Greatest Sporting Event Of My Life, but makes even better HISTORY! Congrats Pacman.

My head is about to explode, im fidgeting like a crackhead, i've never been this excited and felt so deeply about one sporting event in my life, im officially trippin son, GO PACMAN GO!!! shock the world i know it's in you, all of the P.I and all your fans around the world are praying for you!

Holy smizokes! The last episode of Pacquiao DelaHoya 24/7 was probably in my lifetime the most epic, dramatic, hype creating, get my adrenaline going, sports buildup ever! EPIC! Haha but seriously this was some good stuff, really riveting, and I love the inside look you get on the camps of both fighters, but as well as them outside of boxing, and not to mention how well produced this series is.. This will get you flowing with energy if you watch it though, I guarantee it!!!

Also, I was like, that narrator was crazy too! His voice just added this intense vibe to all the episodes. I look it up and i was pretty surprised it was Liev Schreiber, and i was like whoa that can't be his voice. So I looked him up to see if he had that old man voice type within him. I watched some videos and yeah, he's got the voice. Then I opened one video and its outtakes of a movie where Schreiber slaps the back of his movie son's head over fifty times.I thought this was hilarious, I'm wondering what the kid is thinking this whole since he starts getting slapped harder and harder, hair's flailing all over the place.

If you've got 20 minutes and want to hear a master storyteller at work, and seamlessly connect South Carolina and Hungary to each other almost if they were meant to be linked, then check out Mr. Ben Dunlap.

Now this is educational TV for kids! Biz Markie doing his beat of the day for kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba on Nickolodeon.

Wow. Dad made it to his 62nd! So thankful! Too many times over the past year and a half was prepping ourselves for the worse, or thinking about every important date in the near future that we would pray for dad to just make it to. But his faith, and his fighting spirit has gotten him here against some at times insurmountable odds, and I can't really be anything but humbled by it, and even more thankful for those around me that have constantly supported me and lifted up my spirits throughout all this time. I'm also thankful that I got this chance to show Dad and Mom that i could sacrifice just this little bit of time coming home for them, for dedicating their whole lives to me, my bro, and my sis. Happy Birthday Dad, and Thanks God, sincerely, me.

The always trusty Stumble! toolbar button from Stumbleupon.com took me to a site that showcases some crazy Digital Paintings check it!

54 Mind-blowing Digital Paintings

This is what music does for me these days...enjoy!

Fight night is almost here!
Dec. 6, history goes down!
Here's episode 3 of the 24/7 HBO Documentary Series

Dad was feeling kinda weak sauce all day, so i scrapped plans of heading out to Palo Alto with the boys, and just stayed home to make sure he'd be alright. I was bummed i couldn't head out, but i got a nice little blessing in disguise i'd say. I figured i'd just keep working on makin some music, being productive, while hopefully givin pop a little piece of mind that i was around. I have no clue with anything piano and keyboard so i've been reading this little book "Play Piano in a Flash" that I got on clearance from Barnes and Noble, to help me learn a little and move me from totally incompetent about piano and the keys to just pretty much incompetent.

While reading there was a little passage that Scott Houston writes about how many jazz greats made their music through the mantra "less is more". Where everything doesn't need to be of the highest technical quality and is trying to impress the listener at every step. It's something i'm trying to balance being completely new to making beats. But I found this one little guitar rift and it struck a chord in me, and I added some drums to it, and a little effect, and it clicked. It really doesn't sound like too much is going on, but I connected to it, the pacing, the rift, the way it made my head bob, how it made me even bust a little shoulder shimmy, and the way it felt right to me all together. I'll add a couple more things but not change it too much for the most part. I decided that this was gonna be the first beat i've made that I'm gonna record on, and even started writing on it a bit. Here it is, hopefully it'll be a track in the next couple weeks!

i was just in a bit of an introspective mood, hence the last post, so I made this next little beat, still working on the whole thing, so here's a little. let me know what you think.

About an hour before its officially the day we give thanks, thanks for every blessing we've had bestowed upon us, thanks for the family, thanks for the life, and thanks for a perfect meal with all the trimmings, i'm here still thankful and grateful with the life I live, but still unsettled a bit and worrying about my pop's health.

We had to leave a fam party earlier tonight cause dad wasn't feeling to hot, havin some trouble breathing, feeling weak, and just wanted to sleep. In the past weeks, I feel like I might have come to complete terms with being home right now, and while it's not easy and sometimes a complete struggle, it's a struggle i've come at peace with. It's just the frustration and helplessness that trouble more so than anything. The fact that there's nothing humanly possible i can do for dad's health to improve, nothing i could sacrifice, and no act i could do to transfer his ailments into my body. It's seeing your dad, and seeing him fight on the daily, struggling through everday routine mundane tasks that require his concentration and focused energy; and how you just want for him to have one day full of smiles and vibrance, and hoping that today is the day that when you ask,"Hey dad how you feeling today?" that follows a proclamation of, "Son I feel good today". It's wanting dad to be feeling strong on his bday next week, and battling to see Manny Pacquiao fight again, and see another Christmas to share with the fam.

It's seeing subtle physical changes to his body and face daily, and fighting the thought that there's a chance that his health might be deteriorating, and once again there's nothing you can do but pray and keep the faith strong. It's worrying about mom, dad's unquestioned centerpiece and rock in life, and seeing her work at a fever pitch to support the family, working, cooking, doing chores, bringing dad to appointments, seeing her exhausted, falling asleep late nights in the middle of her prayers, still seated upright with rosary in hand, and a dim light still switched on. I worry if what we fear happens. It's wanting to make plans for future and for myself but knowing at this point it's just way too selfish, so i have to put plans on hold.

I feel as sometimes, this solitude at home, and time to reflect, isolates me, as I really just want someone to be able to relate to and share these experiences. I understand fully that most of my friends are cognisant of what's going on, but also in that, i feel like some don't understand, to which i don't fault them, as I don't wanna burden them with my struggles. I see that this is my journey, and I need to continue to live positively and focus on the things that are within my scope to change and affect, and be an example to others, trying to attain for those causes in which i wish to change the world, and still be able to handle my most internal conflicts without losing a sense of thanks, gratitude, and yup, positivity.

But regardless, I see every single lesson, every single necessary aspect of myself that I needed to work on to build more balance in my life, I see the focus now I never thought I might be able to achieve before, and I see that true friends really are never far regardless of physical location. I've seen the effect on a parent knowing that their child's presence is around in their home, and it took 25 years, but i see just how much my family means to me. I've seen the power of losing your own insecurity and disbelief in yourself, and believing and relying on yourself to learn new things, strive towards goals, and inching toward dreams, without the dependancy of others, only on your thirst for it to happen, and it's something I believe one hundred percent that lies within every person.

I also see that this topsy turvy roller coaster ride of life balances itself all out to give you perspective on life, and really lets you realiza what really is important and meaningful in life, and shows you truly how blessed you are. So for that, on this Thanksgiving, I can only be Givingthanks. Thankyou!Peace!EnjoyyourLovedones!

I know a lot of you have prob already heard of Passion, a singer/songwriter, but I just gotta rep for him one more time, just in case you haven't heard of him, cause this man right here possesses about 3 to 4 hundred times the talent I do,he's got too much soul for his own good! so enjoy!

Been awhile since i've just done a free write and just kinda let it rip, without trying to decompress and analyze everything, and I think every once in a while that's necessary for the soul, to release your thoughts as they come out through instinct and what feels natural within your stream of consciousness and train of thought. some of it will seem out of place or random, but im just going through of bunch of diff ideas in my head so that's why it'll be funky in spots. The mood music for writing i chose was Another Reflection by the one and only Nujabes.

comin to that time
when the pressures blowin back
beggin me to free my mind
realizing the blueprints inclined
to fit together presented clue by clue
yielding the facts whether or not you thought them to be true
it's a conflict
a time to follow the vision that could allow me to chine,
but i need to hold back,
for the man who might be living on borrowed time,
God and fam first, and the rest can come after,
comin from a man who only in his latter stages found the power of laughter
but i reside in this chapter, not torn between a decision
but torn because of the guilt of a wish to wanna follow my vision
ride it to the top and overlook the summit,
but without the peace of mind my soul would plummet
so i search for the ways to display,
gifts from God, that im determined never to waste,
displace the doubt,
and disengage from the crowd,
the life of chillin, a life a little too care free,
not losing my manner, optimism, or the child like wonder
its securing my plan so that the rug doesnt get pulled from under,
trying day by day to roll with punches, fate's path
settin me into motion, fighting to believe in the notion
that everything happens for a reason
but i know that path is to one day lead em
lead em from a self imposed prison,
lead em to the way where mistakes equal wisdom,
lead em to the place where rain gives way to prisms,
where a beaten down soul can take all they're givin
and still find the resillience to be driven,
the means? Im not sure,
but i guess its baby steps,
steppin towards disregardin rep
and more towards the forward then recollecting regrets
all in a day to which my mind wanders,
its in between contemplation and what it means to ponder
the possibilities and endless i know are waiting for me
and it allows me to fulfill my familial duty graciously.
In any other time this would be a low in my life,
but just lucky enough to see the tunnel in the distance
and I know through the passage leads to where the soul re-ups
but til then I'll be here preparin waiting for my train to pick me up
never thought i'd reach this level of independance,
even in a sense sequestered into solitude
loud to the multitudes and the crowd, only seems like faint remnants
as the reflections showed myself the side of a solemn dude,
its all about to accrue
experience to balance,
balance leads to different shades to color every graphic
combine it with the talents, to create a masterpiece everlasting.

Here's episode two of Pacquiao-DelaHoya 24/7 on HBO. I love how they pumped up the fight with these dramatic shots and perfectly cued music. The ending montage with both fighters training with Eminem's "Till I Collapse" in the background is about as good as it gets in regards to hyping up a fight, man this ish is gon be crazy...gets my adrenaline going just writing this up!!!

I added a another section at the end, still not done but here's the progress so far.

So I got some new refills for Reason, and I made this next loop, using an upright bass and sax sample, and some drums. The bass has a crackle in it, but I'll fix that, take a listen and let me know what you think, as I could use all the help and feedback as i'm trying to learn this program.Cheers.

So i got a new refill pack of samples for the music program Reason and I've been stuck to my comp for the past 5 hours just messing around with everything, and eventually i tried to make a little drum and bass loop. Once again just like my other loops, it's all unpolished, unfinished, very bare, and very newbish, as I am yup, you guessed it, a newb with music as far as production, and still have multitudes upon multitudes to learn, but i never ever thought i could even try to make something like this but i was able to, so i'm thankful for that.

I don't know if you guys who use blogger, use google analytics, where you can see your stats as far as your hits on your blog and the geography of them, but going over the stats to me is a bit of a trip. You get hits from around the world, from random spots that you don't know anybody from. It's dope though to think that in those mere seconds when someone you don't semi-gives a little about what you have to say, and I think just knowing that does way more for me, confidence and motivation wise than that person on the other end could ever understand, even if you just looked at it for 3 seconds, and was like, "man this dude's an idiot", guess what, I would never know! and i'd still get the motivation to write more by knowing someone just visited. But anyways kind of a pointless entry but just was thinking about that. And yeah, if your from another country, or state, and i don't have the pleasure of knowing ya, drop me a line and complete the connection! -PEACE!

I was just thinking a bit today again what I wanna do with my life and how my dream of honestly and simply changing the world, use to seem so far off, and cliche, and a bit too dreamer. But in the things I have learned in the past months, I see now more than ever anything our generation chooses to believe and act upon can be done, it's no longer a time when having a grand vision will only stay that. With Barack Obama coming in, i truly feel in my heart of hearts that it it in a way a changing of the guard, a passing of the torch to a new generation, and subscribing to a new and optimistic way of thinking. I believe the haven for big thinking and idealistic living will be supported more and more, and I can see the linings of that change coming.

Simply taking into account the vast leaps and bounds technology has taken in the past decade, the options and avenues for one to find themself a niche and passion has multiplied exponentially. It's no longer the days of mom and pop's generation, where you had a few sectors of occupations you could go into, and be considered "successful" or "safe and stable". If there's something you love out there, and you're willing to chase it, there are people out there that feel the sames, and technology these days allows you to find and connect to those people. It's out there, and I believe the time is now. As an interview in New Zealand conveyed to me once,

You just have to project yourself out to the universe with positivity, and projecting your actions towards the causes you believe in and are passionate about. In doing so, you create a cycle that builds and builds upon itself with the seeds you are planting, and in the end it will come back to repay you.

So if you have something, give it a go, and at least at the end of the day be able to know that you didn't do something because you tried and you realized it wasn't for you, but who knows you might even find the passion and cause worth dedicating a lifetime to.

A quote I look at a lot when I've got doubts about what I'm doing and pursuing. Jhus wrote this to me awhile back, you may have also heard some of it in Coach Carter.

Oh man, this is it right here. The Manny Pacquiao/Oscar DelaHoya Fight is coming up on Dec.6, and this is gonna be huge. As a die hard sports fan, a Manny Pacquiao fight by far, easily, over the Warriors winning a championship, the Niners winning a superbowl, and the A's winning the World Series, is what I live for in sports. Nothing gets me more pumped up, inspired, nervous, jumpy, and proud than a PacMan fight. It's so crazy that when I look at him, and I see what he means and represents for me, that it feels very personal, but there are a hundred other million people in the Philippines that probably feel even feel it deeper than I do, as he carries a nation on his shoulders. Literally crime rates in the Philippines come to a grinding halt, the abu sayef rebels, and Philippine armed forced call a cease fire, when PacMan fights. That still blows my mind to this day, how he has transcended sport and has affected his country and dedicates his life to his people, and he will change the face of the Philippines in a major way in his lifetime. So combine that with the fact that people are calling this a mismatch with him having spent all of his career at such a lightweight in comparison with DelaHoya, and the history the two share, its shaping up to have a David vs. Goliath storyline.....I'm rollin with David!


So check out the first episode of HBO's documentary series 24/7 that documents both fighters training camps and lives leading up to the fight, it's well shot and creates intriguing story lines, ENJOY!

Hey guys,

Check out my first couple loops, I'm completely a newb and have so much to learn but i guess i was just excited to create something that actually resembles a beat and a loop. It's not gonna blow your mind or anything, it'll prob underwhelm you, but it's all part of the process. When i first opened up reason and had my keyboard, it all looked like ancient hieroglyph to me, but I tried my best to learn a little on the go, so check it out, and I will def. def. keep working and learning and trying to improve. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement to not be afraid to venture into something new even though I knew nothing about it and still don't pretty much, but here's to learning and improving! Cheers-Ray

I'm officially hanging up the mic after watching this cat.

I've been home now for about 2 and a half months, and more i think back to the way of life and the days of living in Irvine, the more I feel like i've sat in the Star Tours ride and been jetted off at Mach 5 into the present day, and the days of that mindset and specific oblivion is long gone.

After talking with a bunch of friends, I see that moving back home happens either at a point when something beyond your control happens and that responsibility to it must be fulfilled, or you come to a realization that this wondrous phase of your life would be better served as a period of powerful time in your life that will motivate and launch pad you into the next journey of life that will come to see your growth into a full and complete compassionate person come to fruition. I see it more and more these days, and the more i see that, the less i fight the want to move back down south, and I see that it truly might be the end of that particular chapter in my life. Granted, the people involved and influential in my life will always be a part of me and I will carry with them along with me as I grow and use the lessons they've taught me as the gifts i will impart on others as a way to pay it forward for in honor of all you who have taught me something, made me realize anything, and impacted me in any regard.

On the other hand living at home, you also see the power in your friends love and care for you. In those first couple weeks and month or so at home keeping in contact with all of you helped me figure out my doubts, get through my weaknesses and find a little light at the end of the tunnel for some of my insecurities. Just visiting last week was enough to give me a sense of contentment that still presides me as i write this in the moment. In that i see not only am I growing into this stage, but also as long as I keep in contact with you guys I won't and can't lose that optimism and a charge of positivity, and the ability to focus on the truly meaningful things in life.

Living at home also to me, is like a constant practice in self reflection. I almost feel like, sorry if this doesn't make sense, but at times I feel like I am my own best friend and confidant. I feel like I have so much inner conversation and reflection and that I go back and forth on my ideals, values, and thought processes, and I examine much more closely since I spend more of my time independently. But it's def not a bad thing, and I feel like the more i question things and come to a conclusion for them the more I can cement certain aspects of myself and carry them proudly.

Another thing too, is wow, the productivity rate at home is pretty fantabulous. I def know if i stayed back in Irvine/Costa Mesa, I would not have had the chance to learn some of the things about music, my fam, my friends, myself, and also come to peace with many things i left unsettled here. I guess I also live with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. part of me is determined to not let this experience pass without showing myself it made me stronger, and it's a chance for me to shoot for my own personal stars being under the radar in anonimity, having my head down chugging away inch by inch til i reach certain vision quests.

So i look forward to all my visits down south and get that breath of fresh air, and atmosphere of comfortability that will never change regardless of how long the periods of time in between our encounters.

first time in my life ANYTHING has brought tears of joys to my eyes, my mind is just racing with all the possibilities the future holds, with this victory so significant and so powerful and so inspiring...I had to just put this in here to mark this HISTORY!

just a few words about the visit back down south this weekend. It meant more to me than any of those people i visited will know, THANK YOU!

Hello my friends
food for my soul
never skipped a beat a captivating pseudo-boredom,
within it lies captivation & heart strings
comfort in the companionship
realization of the humbling abundance of love that surrounds
therapy for souls filled with angst
astonishingly and astoundingly entertaining
in the same regard so wonderfully simple
relaxation and decompression
came with the carefree to catch-up
left with a purpose
the aura they create providing a tangible lift in energy and spirit
only ever felt in that presence
reaching highs almost foreign from my absence
left with a melody lined with melancholy drear
draped in contemplation
uncovered to be learning and maturation veiled as insecurities
responsibility calls, time to answer
immeasurable thanks
you all recharged my batteries
food for my soul
til i see you again
Goodbye my friends

It was a most excellent weekend and I'm glad that Pep got a chance too to see the vibe, and to see Errol more vibrant than I've ever seen him, and looking damn good, fully acclimated down south!

soooo many highlights from the weekend...just a few
-Thurs night arrival, and going right back into pass out mode
-5$ Chaya Teriyaki
-Omar and Kenny chill spot in the room
-FIFA!
-Watching the Warriors w/ GSW Fans down south
-Berty being Buster of the Week! it was hilarious!
-HARDFEST! It was Daft Punk to me for that hour, til we found out it was DJ AM
-Justice, Deadmau5
-Bus ride to and from
-Mike Song ridiculous light show
-talkin to Big Jeremy bout makin a move to Hawaii, he's gonna do big things!
-impromptu 4 on 4 bball 5 game series
-Just seeing and feeling everyone's positive mother freakin energy!
-bowling
-high risk high reward food choice at Mitsuwa, but no reward!
-Big Boys Club 4 team league
-Texas Tech vs. Texas - IMMORRRTTAAALLLITTTY!
-The multiple multiple multiple sessions with everyone
-Poker
-Seeing the sun come up after HARDfest with the homies in J-Dot's room
-Being together for about 80 hours straight
-reminiscing about everything
-Swirls and Belle and Omar's dirty mouth stories
-talking to all of you and reminding me of why i miss that place so DAMN much...

peep some of the pictures of the weekend

In making a couple tracks lately, I've really been thinking about the implications of sharing my life and feelings and experiences to an unknown audience. I especially started thinking about it when I actually sang on the track we just finished recording. When i hear myself I feel like all i can do is squirm and cringe, yet, to me there's a sense of accomplishment in it, and a satisfaction and contentment in some way making my life relevant in the big scheme of things I guess. But either way the process itself has taught me so much and has really shown me how I knew didley squat about making tracks.

When i started working with DL he told me, "You know what Ray, you can freestyle, but freestyling and making tracks are completely different things". I remember thinking in my head, how could this be possibly hard, I freestyle, I practice at it a lot, I write, and I can express myself pretty well, so it can't be. Well, let's just say DL was right, the first track Personal to Universal actually took about 8 hours to finish. Haha, man there was so much about fitting syllables in, breath control at the right times, line structure, intonation, a bunch more little things that I had failed to account for. But i'm glad I had that awakening that really made me feel like an amateur, to make me see that it is hard work, but its hard work i wanna do and really make and create something from life's journey.

I felt like writing a little something as DL will prob finish mastering the new track down within the next couple days, and I just wanted to share a little about the process. But when it's done check it out, and let me know what you think!

Been thinking all day today about making the decision to really buckle down and go for this music/expression journey...Moving back home and making the adjustments I've had to with certain relationships from Irvine to those back here in the Bay, have in a way solidified and cemented to me the person I want to be, and the things I want to strive for and learn. It's the adjustment to learn on how to do it by being a self starter and proactive, with mostly me having to back myself, and believe that I can achieve it regardless, that seems daunting.

In seeing the community of blogs I am encouraged, cause I see our different situations and different points in life, yet we share a common bond in the way we look at the world and have an idealistic visions, while understanding we ourselves are works in progress in dealing with our short comings, but trying to find the resolve to let our lights shine without being apologetic for illuminating it to the rest of the world.

A wise man (omar) once wrote in my notebook "All colors shine in different shades", I see that in those that surround me ,and those that influence and inspire me, and in that regard you all empower me to further be myself and nothing more, and be content in it. So thanks! It's funny, when you are so reassured of the positivity and optimism that surrounds you, when you get down or something difficult is staring you down straight on, you're not worried because though you know it will be a strugggle, you have the folks around you that will highlight the lessons and tidbits of wisdom that you have to gain from an experience. I am constantly provided with that light at the end of the tunnel by those around me, so I feel blessed to be able embrace struggle with the confidence that I'll be better for it at the end of the day.

So if you got the time to share with me, I'm going to start posting up a picture every so often and just free write on it from my perspective, and what I gather, I would love if you had the time if you could write and post anything on it, as short or as long as you want, no matter who you are, how you perceive the picture, how it strikes you, what it makes you feel, literally anything. Just the gesture of taking your time to share with me would mean more than you know. So here's the picture and here's to shining in each of our own shades!

emanations of illuminating guidance; streamline ettiquette for part time nobility
checkpoints navigate brightly; only to be abandoned then reduced to utilities
if these lanterns could only talk, patrolling square feet in ubiquity,
from car jacking, to bass slapping, and reactions of couples arguing lividly,
from 9-5s most wanted, to solitude concrete embossed in
the mundane pillars holding up structure, earning keep enough to observe
blocked by the happenings in the daylights by cars parked "reserved"
but free to gaze when the actions headed home for they day
off to gyms, pickin up children, praising hymns, living for the rest of their lives to be filled in
at least there's no hectic, no rush, its all peace,
this garage is livin all good with this clear view of its symmetry,
but in the same regard its the clarity of its solitude

When i saw this i thought about how what if garages weren't inanimate. I noticed that they are always symmetrical and so streamlined and at times are so hallowed and so fought over for its spaces, during times of peoples great personal needs, like rushing to work, shopping at the mall, or going to class. But at the end of the day, the same rush in which people come, they also leave, and it then leaves the garage for the whole rest of the day completely useless and empty.