Mixologi: A Year in Review from Mixologi on Vimeo.

I KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM.  I AM EVERYTHING I WANTED TO BE.

“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”

“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”

In light of the recent news revealing that Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa has filed for divorce, I thought it would be interesting to go over Kobe’s top 5 off the court moments. Kobe is an amazing basketball player and it would be nearly impossible to weed out 5 great moments out of his long list of accomplishments without leaving out some, swish is moments of the basketball court are quite memorable.

1. Kobe calls out Shaq during interview with Jim Gray.

Kobe took upon himself to call Jim Gray to conduct an interview where he proceeds to just rip in to Shaq. He calls him fat, lazy, and said he was milking a minor toe injury…..ouch. Shaq discusses this situation in detail in his new book: Shaq Uncut

2. Phil releases a book titled The Last Season and says Kobe is “un-coachable.”

Phil had quite a few less than pleasant things to say about my boy Kobe. He even went on to speak to Jerry Buss, the Lakers’ owner, and request Kobe be traded for Jason Kidd. Kobe never officially commented on the book, but they seemingly repaired their relationship and ended up winning two more championships together.

3. Kobe’s radio tour requesting trade from Lakers

Kobe goes on three different radio stations and says he wants to be traded, then backtracks, then says he would play anywhere, including the former planet Pluto.

4. Kobe is accused of sexual assault in Colorado

This was obviously a tough moment for Kobe. Not only was he caught cheating on his wife, but was accused of rape. Athletes have dealt with these accusations for a long time and Kobe found himself in a world of trouble. This was also the time when he supposedly snitched on Shaq, but I never necessarily believed that.

5. Vanessa Bryant files for divorce.

Kobe’s wife recently filed for divorce. I understand this is a difficult situation and the Bryants are requesting that everyone respects their privacy for the sake of their children. Laker fans are worried that it’s gonna affect Kobe and ultimately the team. But hey, if the man was able to play with the possibility of prison looming, I think he can play through this.

Two years ago I got  a Twitter account for one simple reason:  I was applying for a job at the popular start-up company and needed a Twitter account.  What the fuck was Twitter exactly?  I didn’t know nor did I care. What could I say in 140 characters that meant anything?  Who knows.

Since then I’ve hopped on the band wagon and am now following 300+ people with 1100+ followers.  Gadamn.  Sometimes, I feel as if I can’t even keep up.  Ever check your timeline after 2 hours and find 500 tweets?  That’s a ridiculous number of things to read through, especially if all of these tweets are exactly the same.  What am I talking about?  The following tweets are examples of why I now hate checking my timeline:

1: “Do you, I’ma do me.”  Can someone please tell me what or who exactly I’ve been doing all this time?  I thought I WAS doing me?  According to you, apparently not.

2: “Look at what fabulously gluttonous thing I’m eating today.” I am the biggest offender when it comes to this.  But at least I can eat my own food porn.  WTF am I gonna do with a picture of your food?  It’s not even scratch and sniff.

3: “That awkward moment no one gives a fuck about.”  Because honestly, we all encounter awkward moments.  Not all of them are funny and/or worth speaking on.

4: “Look at how drunk I am again this weekend.” (insert pic of Hennessy/Jameson/Grey Goose here).  You’re having a great time this weekend?  Awesome.  But you posted the same picture of bottle service 3 weekends in a row.  What else do you do besides get shit faced drunk?

5: “Me and my boo.” (insert 76541839476th pic of you and your boo.) Y’all are hella cute.  And I’m happy that you’re happy.  It’s just that…. well… that last picture looks exactly like the other 300 pictures you posted of you and your boo.  I know you have a life outside of each other.  I KNOW IT.  If you don’t, you should.

6: Irrelevant complaint #67 for the day to be closed out with the letters “FML.” I don’t really care that the people at your job suck.  Everyone’s coworkers suck.  I don’t care that you can’t find your keys, or your dog ate your homework, or that it took you 6 minutes longer to get home than normal.  I don’t give a fuck.  In fact, you cannot imagine the immensity of the fuck I do not give.  Yes.  Fuck YOUR life.

7: Yet another Instagram’d closeup picture of yourself. With no makeup. Throwing up the peace sign/middle finger.  You’re so vain.  You probably think this one is about you.

8: Mundane life detail #89. “work is going by so slooowwww.” …..AND?!

Step your Twitter game up people.  Say something funny.  Say something witty or clever or just don’t say anything at all.  My timeline used to be refreshing.  Now I don’t even want to refresh the feed.

Calling all DJs and remix lovers alike! Take wind of a new blend and free download of ‘International Coffee Break’, a snippet taken from my latest mixtape project. This custom Silverhammer blend combines Bun-B and (the late) Pimp C’s verses from one of my favorite Outkast joints, International Player’s Anthem & UK dubstep duo’s incredibly catchy re-make of Aretha’s I Say A Little Prayer, renamed as Coffee Break. Thus the title, International Coffee Break. Teaser hints of outgoing and incoming tracks from my mixtape can also be heard in the if you listen closely…

Click below to listen, share and of course, reap the benefits of a FREE download.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks proved all their doubters wrong by defeating the self proclaimed “3 Kings” of the Miami Heat and winning their first NBA championship. The Mavs won with one of most most deep and versatile teams the league has seen. They had a hall of fame point guard in Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler to anchor the defense, former 6th man of the year Jason Terry to provide scoring off he bench, and a plethora of three point shooters to surround Dirk when he was doubled by opposing teams. On top of that, Rick Carlisle is an underrated coach who places a strong emphasis on defense, something that Dallas has severely lacked in prior years.

In the NBA, and sports in general, it is difficult to keep championship teams together. Players have break out series and command more salary for their services and Dallas happened to have three free agents that most people around the league felt were essential to them repeating. Everyone assumed that if anything, the Mavs would do everything they could to retain Tyson Chandler, but instead they let him go and join the Knicks. JJ Barrea, who did an excellent job throughout the playoffs, demanded a larger payday than the Mavs were willing to provide and ended up signing with the Timberwolves. Lastly, Caron Butler, who was injured during the middle of last season and ended up missing the entire playoffs, signed with the Clippers. One would think that losing these pieces would hinder Dallas’ chancessat competing for their second ring, but the organizationtide a great job of replacing the players they lost with some quality talent. They signed Vince Carter for cheap, Delonte West, and pulled off a hell of a deal by trading for Lamar Odom without having to give up anything.

They will miss Chandler’s pretense in the middle leaving Brendon Haywood to patrol the paint. But they still have versatile team with a number of different combinations that Carlisle can throw out on the floor for any type of situation. I’m interested to see how Odom will play in a new system with more freedom and less pressure; his presence could really open up the floor for Dirk and the shooters surrounding him. Even with loss of a couple players who contributed to their championship run, the changes to the roster an the versatility of their roster with a coompressed NBA schedule still keeps them in the hunt as one of the top teams in the league.

Season Prediction: 50-16, 1st seed in the Western Conference

Lupe Fiasco: SLR by Mixologi