HOW SICK ARE THESE SHOES?

It's 6am in the morning on my day off and I'm online looking at shoes?!!


Well these shoes are gangsta! I'm getting a pair! Adidas NBA superstars $99 US. If you didn't get me a b'day present/xmas present, now you know.

"A Superstar like no other. The adidas Men's NBA Superstar is inspired by the greatness of the NBA courts. This high-caliber court shoe features a smooth leather upper with a classic rubber shell toe "

And to think I was at the Nike factory yesterday @ Auburn looking for new shoes! For the whole NBA collection, click here.



THE QUESTION NOW IS - WHICH ONE?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also digging the Nike Cortez with the major capital cities. If your a sneaker fiend you know what I am talking about. They've got sneakers for major cities with pic of landmark like London's Big Ben, The Jesus statute in Rio De Janiero, the Tokyo shoe and Brooklyn. Ohhh I love sneakers!

New School: The M3 Carmelo Anthony shoes

I saw these at Footlocker the other day for $225. These are the new Melo shoes. Check out the new ad!

MELO ELEVATE YOUR GAME


Old School: The history of Nike Air Force

The Nike Website has the history of Nike Air Force 25 with bios on Moses Malone, Sir Charles, Jamaal Wilkes, Michael Cooper. This is crazy plus they got all the new players as well. And upping the ante is the commentary by none other than Rakim Allah. I reckonise that voice from anywhere.

I'm out like Adidias NBA Superstars,

DJ Ho

Go to Church cause the remix hurts

Chapter 1, Verse 1: The DJ Ho Diaries

Currently listening to Nathan Tasker.

It's not often that I bump to Christian music @ 8am in the morning. In fact, I don't listen to Christian music ain't all unless I'm at Church. Earlier in the year, I went to the Katoomba Youth Convention @ Blue Mountains. I heard Nathan Tasker play and he was awesome. So good in fact, that I bought his CD and got it autographed.

These days, you can't be an artist without a myspace can you? So no surprise, he's got one too. One of the motivators behind purchasing the CD was that as a Christian we should have some QT (quiet time) with the Lord and spend time reading the bible, praying, and so on.

Honesty can be a ...............


To be honest, I generally never do that. I rarely pick up a bible. I only pray when I eat or if there is something I need from him. It's a bit selfish I know. So I bought the CD and listen to it as my way of worshipping the Lord. It's kinda strange way to do it, but my friend Amy does the same thing. Trust me, its so much easier listening to uptempo Christian rock music then reading the bible. That stuff is dense!


I ain't trying to bible bash you. I don't even write about my religion on my blog. Ever. I write more about the Muslim religion than Christianity! Perhaps its time to change that a bit.


For those that don't know, I became a Christian approximately 4 years ago. Pretty much on my 21st birthday. These days, I help out in the Church on Sundays. We have a rotating roster and occassionally I am the worship leader. That means, I am responsible for leading the prayers, introducing the speaker, announcements, reading the bible and whatever else needs to be done. Kinda like being an MC (just without the rapping).


Bible Study? On Friday Nights?


I used to go Bible Study group on Friday nights. We used to crash at someone's house. A different person would make dinner each friday night and then we do our bible study. That would be my Friday night. Bible study kinda died out and these days, you'll find me drinking and clubbing in the city. Ever since I started working, that's been my routine.


I tried to make the bible study we have at work during our lunchtimes. But that didn't correlate well with my eating habits. I just don't want to be doing bible study during my lunch break. It's like I see it a chore. I used to be all keen and eager to go when I started working, and it was good to see other Christians at work. But I'm always automatically cancelling the invite everytime it pops up in my email.

21 Questions

Why is it that I can find the time to play basketball during lunch time but can't find the time to go to bible study?


Why is it that when its my turn to be the worship leader, i'm out til 1 or 2 in tha morning?


Why is it that I do the bare minimum as a Christian?


Why is it that I cringe everytime my mum says I should meet a nice girl at Church?!!!


Mum: "DJ, you should go to X Church, and meet a nice Christian girl!"

DJ: "But ma, the girls at clubs are so much better!"


I'm out like rocking to Christian music,


DJ Ho.

My Space is up!

I'm finally jumping on this myspace bandwagon. I figure its a good way to keep in contact with friends. I'm still a blogger til i die though and i'll keep updating my entries regularly.

The website is http://www.myspace.com/dj_ho . check it. If you've got a myspace, add me in.

I'm out like the myspace bandwagon,

DJ Ho

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

It's Xmas eve and there's only two hours to go!

Tonite I'm at home with my family and just watching some DVD's. A quiet night in for once. Saturday, I was all over the place and Friday.........that's a different story! I met up with DJ Crayzee and Plunkett @ Verandah Bar. Then we went loose @ Privilege with the $3 drinks. Met up with Rahul and then it real derty coz we ended up at Space (the nightclub above Shark Bar). Spaceth man spaceth.

We clubbed til the lights came on (which was like 4am if you were curious). That place was absolutely crowded and I really didn't want to go there, but i had not much choice cause everyone else wanted to. What an Asian joint! I was like with the only two white people in the whole club! Turned out to be a good night in the end.




Love this D'Angelo album. His best track actually ain't on the album, it's on the Space Jam soundtrack. In fact, he doesn't even sing that much in it! It's called "I've Found My Smile Again" and the instrumentals are just crazy. D'Angelo is such a good crooner and his got that old soul style/jazzy flavour......ya feel me? Before Justin Timberlake's song, D'Angelo was bringing sexy back! Check out the other Brown Sugar's myspace page.

I'm out like Christmas Eve.

DJ Ho

p.s. I'm up for one more night of clubbing before 2006 finishes up. You know where to find me.

B'day pics from the Pumphouse

From left to right: The other birthday boy (Ivan), Jerm, Abbi, Alvin who thinks he's drinking Dom P

Self Titled Portrait: DJ Ho

We bringing sexy back: PJ and Sharon

The DJ wearing his PJ's

The Nic and I

It's 4 in tha morning, and we getting it on

Aerial view of the pumphouse

Don't Smack That........

This is a catchup post more than anything. How y'all doing btw? I've been busy, going out, doing my thing.

Been a interesting weekend. Friday night we had our work Xmas party in Darling Harbour. There was another party going on next door @ Watershed and they looked they like were having fun......so we did the next best thing..... we crashed it and joined them on the dance floor. That was cool but me, PJ and another friend needed another fix of clubbing.

We walked up to Oxford St and supported my mate's charity party @ Burdekin Hotel. The place was a bit dead at 1 in tha morning. They weren't many people on the dance floor, so we did what we normally do....we danced anyway. We got down to the sounds of electro beats and house music.

Next up, we were still pumped up and fueled by alcohol.......so then we went to Stonewall. Yes, that Stonewall. The gay and lesbian club Stonewall. Hadn't been there before, so I was a bit concerned about being some guy's "butt buddy" or if they played the song "smack that" and they got animated with the hand actions.

Be careful if you ask for cocktails on Oxford St

We went up to the second level and it was packed out. They were like guys openly making out, dykes getting it on, 60 year old women dancing around like their 18, crazy mohawk hairstyles and drawn on Bono glasses. Basically, a totally different crowd to what I used to. Oxford St attracts all types I guess.

Some dude (I presume he was a dude) touched my back and I was like "you better get your hands up off me!". My mates just laughed. The locals know when your not interested when you give them THE LOOK - like you've been zapped by electricity and want to run away. Your reaction tells them everything.

Maybe I was a lil tense in the club, but I still had fun on the dancefloor. This dyke actually liked one of my female friend and verbally abused me with something like "You stealing our good women! This ain't a RNB club. This is my house! There ain't no equal opportunities here!".

It actually occured to me even if i was busting to go the bathroom, there was no way I was venturing into the toilets @ that place. Who knows what kind of extracurricular activities are going on in there. In fact, I was told that I was much better off going into the female toilets! Let's not have a repeat of the shower from hell post.

After this experience, I have never been more assured about my heterosexuality.

I'm out like clubbers on Oxford St,

DJ Ho.

Philadelphia Blues

My man A.I aka "The Answer" aka the one and only Allen Iverson is apparently out of Philly! What the deal yo? All signs point to him being traded. It's been a long time coming. Philly have been shopping him for years and it looks like this is it. I know the 76ers suck and need a trade to upgrade, but I love seeing star players being associated with one club.


Like Jordan was to the Bulls, The Admiral & the Spurs, Barkley and the land of the rising Suns, Olajuwon to the Rockets, and Reggie to the Pacers. Admittedly, some of these players were traded and joined other teams in the twlight of their careers, but we associate them with the main club they were at. I'm sure in years to come, Iverson & Illadeph will still remain tight. But its a sad trend in the NBA and in other sports that players can't play out their careers with one club.


Due to a range of factors players change teams such as salary cap restrictions, fickle management and fans that demand instant results, rebuilding projects that fail, players wanting a chance at success and the chase for mo' cheddar. Trades are exciting to read about however you kind of lose that connection with the players because they change teams so much these days.

Blog Loyalty? What happened to player loyalty?

Go get'em A.I. You have done everything you could for Philly. Everything you played you gave them 100%. You played hurt, you played injured, you played til winter froze. You carried them when they were down, you led them to the finals in 2001, you won the MVP, you held the scoring titles. You are a legend. It's management's fault that they assembled such a crappy cast to support you. I still can't fatom how they offered these huge contracts to chumps like Dalembert, Aaron Mckie, Eric Snow, Kyle Korver, etc...... that really tied down the team and led them to languish at the bottom of the league tables.

I'm out like A.I in Philly

DJ Ho.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done - Music Update

I'm trying to get myself a copy of the new Jigga LP "Kingdom Come". It's produced by Kanye, Dr Dre and Just Blaze. Can't wait! I've heard the track that's been leaked onto the radio stations a few months ago, and it was hot. Check out a preview here.

Good news, Lupe Fiasco (pictured above)- the dude on Kanye's "Touch The Sky" track - is coming to Sydney. He's playing at the Metro on 23rd January and also at Big Day Out. Kick, Push fool! I've also been checking out his myspace page. Doesn't have much other than a couple of tracks from his LP "Food & Liquor". i gotta cop that album too.

In other rnb news, John Legend is back! He just dropped his second opus - "Once Again". Just started listening to it, it's not too bad. I loved Legend;s first album and I was at his first concert in Sydney, when he wasn't that big in Australia. Apparently this album has less piano (which is his trademark!) and more guitar riffs and heavier bass lines. I'll let y'all know how it is.

I really want to go to Good Vibrations this year. The headline act is Beastie Boyz, Jurrasic 5, Rahzel, and a bunch of House, Breakbeat acts. I've always heard positive things about Good Vibes, and this year should be no different. And have to see Saul Williams when he comes out and does the Sydney Festival again. I missed him last year. He's one of the best spoken word artists and the track "Black Stacey" is off the hook.

And to round it off, here are my local peeps doing their thang. My man 2B# is climbing the charts on 96.1FM and onlyKC has got a demo tape doing the rounds. Good luck to you guys! Last but not least, I've caught up with old school friend of mine, Daniel Karunaharan (now Daniel Chelliah) who's launched a website called UrbanRebirth. It's about Christian urban artists - rappers, RNB singers, etc.. Cool concept, though I have yet to hear any of these artists. They appear to be mainly U.S. based because the genre is huge over there.

I'm out like new albums before Christmas,

DJ Ho.

Two Five

Why do we celebrate birthdays?

On one hand we celebrate because we've been on this earth for another year. The fact that we've lived for another 365 days.

However, on the other hand, should we be mourning the fact we are one year closer to death? The older we become, the more inevitable that we will meet the end of the line.

I choose the glass half full option. I look at it in a positive light. Originally, I wasn't planning to do anything for my birthday but screw it, I'm going all out - the only one I know how - going to the Pumphouse nightclub in the city! I'll be celebrating with another person who shares the exact same birthdate.

It's a nice club too. Two levels, central location, AND it plays the right kind of music - hip hop and RNB (mandatory). You know how we do.

But wait, there's more! I'll be 25. What a crazy age to be. A quarter century.

I don't even feel 25. In fact I don't even feel 24, 21, or 18. I feel ageless. Like I've never grown up since 18. Once your past that age, man it kinda gets mixed up.

The last 7 years have been a blur. I spent 5 of those years at uni. 2 of them working full time. Like Biggie said "I've been around the world". Well not quite. I've seen China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan and Bankstown.

Caught up with old high school friends last night for drinks @ Privilege. Funny how things done changed. But funny how some things don't change. Big Bird's still 6'6 and stands out amongst a crowd of asians. Fozz is still trying to beat the odds. Nugget's still working the females (there's your shoutout punk!). Gargy's still got a huge nose and trying to bet $5 on everything. As E-40 would say, it's all gravy.We all on top of our game, moving on up in the world. Talking about working, making $$$, girls, music and life.

Maybe being 25 ain't so bad after all. As long as I've got my friends, my health, I'm achieving things with my career, play ball, go to concerts. That's all I want. And that's all I need.

I'm out like 24,

DJ Ho.

To Russia, with polonium 210

If you wanted to whack somebody would you use a weapon that is only available to a select group of people? In fact, would you use polonium 210, a rare radioactive agent found in specialized nuclear facilities? Well that's what happened to former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

It has conspiracy theory written all over it. Straight from some "Spy who came in from the cold" type ish. Former KGB spy who defects to the West gets taken out by some secret chemical agent. Everyone but Tony Blair is pointing fingers at the Kremlin (Russian government). Its pretty obvious that this spy who has been critising the Russian government was silenced by his former masters.

Or can it be so simple?

What if someone wanted to make the Russian government look bad? To cast suspicion and doubt on them. That would be the perfect ploy. Take out this guy with some top secret radioactive material, get huge publicity and everyone would look to the usual suspects. Hmmmmmm....makes you think.

Youtubin'



Been checking out this dude called Aries Spears. He's a comedian who does these really cool impersonations. His impersonations aren't perfect, but they are still pretty dead on - 'specially the Jay-Z one. Check it:





and this one too, a free style of Jay-Z, DMX, Snoop and LL......

I'm out like polonium 210,

DJ Ho

HAPPY B'DAY ASHBY!

The big man turned 25!!!!!!!

Congrats.

There are some boundaries that cannot be crossed.

There are some things that we must do even if we don't want to.

There are moments in life where we look back and laugh, cry, and reminisce.

There are times when we have to move forward and live our lives.

That's life.

DJ Ho.

The Heckler

Just watched the video where Kramer (Michael Richards) basically ends his career. The video isn't bad. It's very very bad. You know when your just absolutely shocked and your jaw just drops to the floor in amazement? That pretty much sums it up.

I know its hard to apologise after the event as he did on Letterman. But I don't think we should crucify the man. We all make mistakes, and he made a big one in public. He flipped out. Cracked under pressure. Couldn't hack it when someone heckled him. Yeah, he probably should have retorted with a smart ass comment without resorting to angry racist remarks.

I mean far out, he didn't even attempt to be funny - he just ripped those two black guys to shreds. I was waiting for the punchline, but there wasn't any! It is disgraceful behaviour. However, I don't believe that deep down he is racist. He just lost the plot.

Maybe, i'm a bit more lenient towards him cause I love Kramer on seinfeld. But should I separate the character from the man?

I'm out like Kramer's comedy career

or

I'm out like the Thorpedo

If it ain't broke, don't funk with it.

"I know you got soul!" - Eric B & Rakim

Last Friday night, when the rest of y'all were either drinking, clubbing in the city, crashing into bed after a long day in the office, or catching Borat at the cinemas, I ventured out into the white elephant formerly known as Fox Studios.

I rocked up at 9.45pm hoping to be entertained for the night. Damn, I'd been working 12 hour days for the past week or so and needed a break. Something to look forward to. What better way than to spend it watching a live funk/soul band called Breakstra?

I must admit I've never heard of Breakstra before last Friday. In fact, I was just hoping to not be ripped off after spending $45 on a group I've never heard of. Hailing out of Cali-for-ni-a, they brought the funk (and loads of it).

Performing live, they used a mixture of electric guitars, saxophones, keyboards, and drums. There actually wasn't much singing, though they did have female vocalist who was mediocre at best. But Breakstra brought it, playing song after song continuosly for about 1.5 hours. There wasn't a break inbetween songs, and seamlessly floated into the next song. It was a just a fusion of live instruments, funk (that's right funk, not crunk), solo performances, riffs, breakbeats, and some crazy renditions of classic songs.

I think the best part was when they played classics like James Brown and The Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache". There were even a few beats I reckonised from the Roots - I've actually read that the ?uestlove of the Roots sampled some of their stuff so I'm not surprised. It really was like James Brown meets the Roots while jamming to George Clinton. In short Breakstra was off the hook!

Interesting sidenote, I must have been the only Asian in the whole club. Ok, Ok, there were a few other token Asians, but it was a predominatly white (Caucasian) crowd. I reckon that the people that truly appreciate true soul/funk music in Australia are predominatly white.

Anyhow, awesome band though some of their stuff did start to sound repetitive but they broke up with some vocals and nice solo jams. And the saxophonist (if that's a word) was just amazing. He did an excellent vesion of DJ Kool's "Let me clear my throat" and the crowd went off!

DJ Ho rating: 9 outta 10.

I'm out like token asians at Breakestra,

DJ Ho

p.s. for an awesome rnb and soul podcast check out Chromegat's (obifromsouthlondon) playlist. Where you at dude?

Dunk you very much

It's a Saturday morning, and I've been up since 7Am on youtubes checking out the top 30 NBA dunks of all time. After this, I'm going to my mates house to watch game of the week: Miami Heat v New Jersey Nets.

The Dunkoff by DJ Ho

Perhaps your into the classics like Jordan and Domnique
The newer versions are Kobe and J-Rich who are a lil more sleek
Bringing the ball between the legs for a dunk
But the original was the East Bay Funk
Perfected by none other than Isiah Rider
However, the purists say there's nothing finer
Than a reverse dunk by Harold Miner
Cedric ceballos and Dee Brown did it blind
Little guys like Spud Webb and Nate Rob blew my mind

I can't choose between a 360 degree pump by T-Mac
Versus the rocket explosion of Franchise to the rack
How did Nique get 45? The judges must be on crack
Bring an extra backboard if Shaq attacks
The Reign Man comes down with the raw power
But I prefer the finesee of Stanbury's 360 tower

Dr J defied gravity by taking off from the free throw line
23 then wowed us with his hang time
So I didn't think mankind could jump any higher
Until I saw Josh Smith a frequent flyer
He elevates and gets up so quick
Like Neyo said, he's "so sick"

However, the greatest dunker in my mind
Has a combination that is one of kind
Strength, vertical, finesse, footwork and flair
More than just hanging in the air up there
Taking a lil bit from Jordan, Dr J and Dominque
Adapting it with his own style making it unqiue
It's Vince Carter, just ask Federic Weis.

I want.......

"Human wants are limited only by one’s imagination. Through human development, the more an individual sees and learns, the more their curiosity is awakened. This leads to the desire for different objects to rapidly intensify and multiply. Effectively, this causes human wants to be unlimited in number.................... "

- Gide

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want my own car
I want to move out of home
I want to go travelling overseas
I want a masters qualification without doing the study
I want Boris Diaw to put up decent stats
I want to be able to cook
I want to dive into a pool
I want to work in the NBA
I want to be able to speak Mandarin fluently
I want a Grant Hill throwback jersey
I want to dominate in a basketball game
I want an arcade pinball machine
I want to be a kung fu master
I want $$$ and lots of it
I want it all

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

".........However, wants are limited in capacity because a fixed quantity of resources can satisfy these wants. If one is thirsty, a certain amount of water can satisfy that need" - Gide

Black Donnellys v Dirty Pop

Been introduced to this new TV series by Rahul called the "Black Donnellys". I've only seen the pilot episode but its an interesting twist on the typical mob genre with these 4 Irish brothers (pictured above):

"The Black Donnellys follows the exploits of four young, working-class Irish brothers. Their involvement in organized crime in New York City will put their life at risk and they will do anything to protect each other from the hostility between them and the others New York families who want their territory. The series is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Blackfriars"


The first episode shows three brothers getting into deep do-do by robbing a truck of Hawaiian shirts, kidnapping a mob boss's nephew and then indirectly taking over the neighbourhood by killing the Italian and Irish mob boss.

DJ Ho @ Dirty Pop, Tank Nightclub



Checked out Tank Nightclub for the opening of their new night Dirty Pop. Went with Ed, Chuck, Rahul, Jen x 2, and a host of Sydney Techers. It was pretty good. The top level is the back of the Establishment and the bottom level is the basement of the Establishment. They had two rooms going downstairs, new/old skool rnb in one room, and 80's/90's pop in the other room.

I didn't realise at the time but that there was a second entrance at the back of the basement. When I eventually arrived downstairs the main area was empty, but everyone had filtered into the 80's/90's pop room from the back entrance.


Highlight of the night would have been this impromptu break dance battle. These guys decked out in semi-break dance gear were doing their thing. They started krumping, popping and locking, doing headstands, etc... A mate of mine, Ian couldn't stand it any longer, and jumped in and battled one of them wearing his work clothes - suit and all! He actually was pretty good. But then these guys who were obviously pros, didn't want to be embarrassed in public by some guy from an accounting firm, decided to blow everyone away with windmills and an inverted hollowback (I checked with my bro for the proper term, see pic below).



My chiropractor doesn't recommend this

Overall it was a good atmosphere, diverse crowd, expensive drinks (but all clubs are), excellent music.

il rated v shiekn & stirred

Il Rated (The Kim Jong remix)

Kim Jong Il, the North Korean dictator is a huge............Chicago Bulls fan? Get out of here, I hear you say! Well according to the San Diego Union Tribune:

"While the rest of the world watches Kim Jong Il, fearful of North Korea's nuclear threat, the dictator often can't take his eyes off the NBA......."

"By most accounts, Kim is a totalitarian despot who is hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons to gain diplomatic leverage against the rest of the planet and who may or may not sell that technology to raise cash for his impoverished nation. But he also is an avid basketball fan, experts on North Korea say, so much so that he is said to have regulation courts at most of his palaces plus a video library of practically every game Michael Jordan ever played for the Bulls."

“Kim doesn't want to die,” Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said a few years ago after one of Kim's missile tests sent waves of fear across the globe. “He wants to watch NBA basketball.”

Think the Miami Heat will win again this year? I might get Kim Jong to nuke you!

Shiek(n) and stirred


Yes, I'm glad Shiek Hilaly stood down (DJ Ho edit: Apparently he hasn't stepped down, only because of his illness). You can't blame women for getting raped for wearing skimpy clothing. In the one speech he said the following stuff below. I've paraphrased but if you want the full english translation click here.

"But in the event of adultery, the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time with women not men. Why? Because the woman possesses the weapon of seduction."

No! Men and women are equally responsible for their actions. Men also posses the weapon of seduction (well, we think we do!). That statistic is hugely skewed.


"She is the one who takes her clothes off, cuts them short, acts flirtatious, puts on make up, shows off and goes on the streets acting silly. She is the one wearing the short dress, lifting it up, lowering it down, then a look, then a smile, then a word, then a greeting, then a word, then a date, then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay Jail (laughs), then comes a merciless judge who gives you 65 years... "

I'm not even going to comment on this one. That is just wrong. I can't even fathom how he could even say that stuff.

"If one puts uncovered meat out in the street, or on the footpath, or in the garden, or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover and then the cats come and eat it, is it the fault of the cat or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem. If it was covered the cat wouldn't have... it would have circled around it and circled around it, then given up and gone."

What an idiot! This analogy is degrading to women. He is squarely putting the blame on women that get raped, not the sexual predators themselves. A woman should be able to wear whatever she wants without feeling a shred of guilt. They should not be held accountable for the reactions of men. Being "uncovered" does not invite the unwanted sexual advances of men. It might encourage it but a woman should be able to refuse it if she so desires.

I am suprised that the Muslim community has put up with his views for so long. The current comments outlined above have marginalised and divided the Muslim community. And I would think, based on what I have been reading in the newspaper by other prominent Muslims, that the majority do not agree with what he has said.

I'm out like Kim Jong Il's Michael Jordan video collection,

DJ Ho

Music Recommendations

Yo, what up punks?! I haven't blogged about music in a while or gone to any concerts recently. Been caught in the 9 to 5 work game for too long. Here are two music recommendations for y'all.


Dance with Me debuts on 96.1FM

A good mate of mine Bosco aka 2Bsharp is a fledging producer and has made his first radio debut. The Edge 96.1 FM featured his hot new track "Dance With Me" in its rotation yesterday. The track features 2bsharp laying down a soulful speedup beat with OnlyKC supplying the buttery smooth vocals. You can check out his music on his myspace page. The song has a really catchy chorus and we'll soon be singing "What up Ma, come and dance with me " in da club.


Jesus Signs

Wow, this a piece of genius right here. It's an excellent parody of the Snoop Dogg/Justin Timberlake song "Signs" remixed into a Christian song. When you first hear it, it sounds a bit lame but trust me its really good. Even if you ain't religious, you should check it out cause its funny and just amazing how they actually put it together. Props to Howard for giving me the heads up. The video is produced and features a dude called Joseph Smith, who was a few grades above me in high school and might have been the school captain.

What's your fantasy? (NBA)

It's NBA season soon and of course that means Fantasy NBA season is on. I'm in 2 Fantasy NBA drafts at the moment. These are my random points for this season:

- I hope Darko Milic becomes the player we all want him to be. To realise his potential and put to bed those ideas that he was a bust. Redemption baby. I believe this guy has talent but didn't have the confidence or opportunity with the Pistons. In a way, I'm rooting for him cause he's kinda reminds me of myself.

- Rajon Rondo v Sebastian Telfair: Unfortunately, I didn't stay up for the 11pm fantasy draft on sunday so i got auto picks. I didn't get a decent point guard, so I had to take a free agent gamble. I picked up Rondo and I know this sounds bad - but I'm banking on Telfair going to jail over his involvement in shooting the rapper Fabolous.

- Somehow I managed to pick up 3 triple double threats: Lebron James, Lamar Odom, Boris Diaw. Luck or genius in letting the computer pick for me?

- J.R. Smith: Again, I hope he does well. The Hornets traded him, and the Bulls basically gave him away to the Denver so they could acquire Adrian Griffin. You never like to see a young player with loads of talent get labelled with a attitude problem. Play some D son!

- The darkhorse this year I reckon will be the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard is low post monster and is a beast. Once he refines his offensive game and meshes with Darko Milic - who complements him quite well with his shooting, they will be unstoppable. Add in the improving Jameer Nelson and the so called "best shooter in the world" JJ Reddick, they should make some noise. And they have this guy called Grant Hill on the team?

- Will the three headed monster of Jason Maxiell/Nazr Mohammed/Dice be enough to replace Ben Wallace?

- Will the game change with more uptempo style with skilled smaller players ala Phoenix Suns/Mavericks? I reckon its awesome how the Suns force other teams to go with smaller lineups by using Boris Diaw at centre. Now with Amare back will that change their style?

Only time will tell.

I'm out like the NBA off season,

DJ Ho.

I wonder where my life will take me. What is to be and what is to come. At the moment I have some idea where I want to go. No definite ideas, perhaps a few dreams. Are they real, will they ever come to fruition?

I just want to be successful in life. Is that asking too much? Perhaps we should be striving to be satisfied in life. Not meaning that we should be content to be happy with what we have (and that's perfectly fine) but looking to obtain a good quality of life. It's hard to express what I really mean, but I don't need to be filthy rich (though that'd be nice!) or the CEO of a fortune 500 company (yet!)

I want to be satisfied that I've achieved the goals that I've set for myself, have a healthy work/life balance, to grow as a person, to have good friends that I can laugh with and occassionally bitch to when things aren't going so well.

My career is important to me, and a lot of times I put this above everything else. I've worked my whole life for this. Or perhaps its that my parents worked their whole life for my career. Everything has been a stepping stone and a sacrifice. From the moment I entered primary school, then high school, uni and now the workforce. Working is just the next phase of my life - well for about 40 years or so.

I gotta find some things that I'm really passionate about and to really go after it. Unfortunately, there aren't many jobs for full-time bloggers. Or basketball players that are 6 foot that are slow, unfit and don't have a consistent jumpshot.

Bob's Your Uncle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Bob's your uncle is a slang expression in British English meaning "no problem" or "the solution is simple", as in: "insert the plug, press the switch, and Bob's your uncle."

Is it not an outrage that Bobby Flynn has been kicked out of Australian Idol?

With a voice that is so calm, relaxing and soulful. A voice that hails back to an era long gone. The guy that stunned the nation with his remake of the Rick James classic "Superfreak". Bobby is just so easy to listen to. If he releases an album, i'll be the first to download it.....oops I meant buy.

It's typical of these so called fans that vote on Australian idol to go for the hot guy, the young girl that they can identify with, rather than someone with true talent. Yeah, he has an afro. He can't dance. He's been called a "full mong" by one of the judges. He's not your conventional pop star. His hand shakes uncontrollably when he sings.

BUT HE'S GOT TALENT!!!!! HE CAN SING!!!!

Bobby Flynn should be in Australian Idol. And Bob's your uncle.

Hot Off The Press

Didn't I tell you two weeks ago? Yes, Aleks you read it here first!

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Private equity squeezes $202bn profit from an increasingly sceptical world

The Australian
Tom Bawden, New York
October 17, 2006

PRIVATE equity firms have earned worldwide profits of $US152 billion ($202.5 billion) in disposals made in the past year, a figure that will fuel the backlash against the industry's rapidly growing economic power.

Firms including Permira, Blackstone and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) jointly returned $US130 billion of profits to investors and retained a further $US22 billion themselves from sales, floats and refinancings, according to Private Equity Intelligence, a research group.

Bain Capital, Texas Pacific and Goldman Sachs are expected to net about $US2 billion in profits by the time they finish divesting their stakes in Burger King, which they floated in May after three years' joint ownership.

Debenhams, the chain store, which also floated in May, is on course to yield CVC Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch and Texas Pacific more than pound stg. 500 million ($1.24 billion).

The bulk of private equity profits are made from the sale of investments that are between three and seven years old - the typical period of ownership. (DJ Ho - I quoted approximately 5 to 10 years)

Last week, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into possible collusion among leading private equity firms to keep down the prices they pay for companies. The buyout firms KKR, Carlyle Group and Silver Lake Partners are understood to be among firms from which the department has requested information.

Institutions have argued that management buyouts - as distinct from those private equity deals not involving the target company's executives - are an area of particular concern to institutions because, they say, these deals pose significant conflicts of interest.

The managers had a fiduciary duty to get the best possible price for their company, but, on a personal level, the lower the price the greater their potential payout when the business was next sold.

Survivior: Race Wars

I've had a really busy week. Been putting in the long hours. Went to work on Saturday, clocked in at 11.30am and left at 11pm. Then went to Martin Place Bar and went clubbing til 3am in the morning. Was going to leave at 1am but then I met M* (see footnote).

Outwit, outplay, outlast , ............outrace. This year's Surivor: Cook Island series is very interesting because they included players reppin' 4 different races and divided up the tribes into racial groups. It's sparked a whole new level of interest in the show. And controversy. But hey, controversy has always been good for ratings right?

It's no longer just a match of brains v braun, young v old, male v female. It's race against race, player. African-American. Asian. Caucasian. Latino's.

So far, the Asians have been kicking ass. REPRESENT! But honestly though, I think it's good how they have done this way. It's a social experiment so see how people perform when they are put into their own racial groups and unite against other races. And it's also interesting seeing how even within the racial groups, there are similarities and differences. Take the Asian group for example, you've got Koreans, Chinese (I think), Viet, and a Filo.

Sure it creates controversy and I'm sure the viewers make a lot of inappropriate racial comments when watching the show - it's a natural reaction. But who cares? It's entertaining TV!

Do people perform better when they work with others of similar racial backgrounds?

I work with a lot of Asian people but I'm not sure how to answer this question appropriately. I believe that some people would feel more comfortable working with others of similar cultural/religious descent. Sometimes at work, I might be more comfortable bringing up a issue with another person of the same background. But that's just natural. You are going to more likely click with people of the same race because you have something in common.

Maybe an alternative question could be put this way: If you could choose to work with people of the same race, would you choose that option?

$64 million dollar question: Where did they get those Asian guys in the show from?

These guys are like....really built. Cut. With 6 packs. I've never come across any Asian guy that have bodies like them. Of course, these guys are not representative of the stereotypical asian male. I'm sure there was some underlying factor why they chose them i.e. to assist the Asians to win some of the more physical challenges.

I'm out like Surivior race wars,

DJ Ho.

*You'd like to know more wouldn't you?

Sneaker Pimps

Air Jordan 11

"The first thing people notice about you is your shoes"
- Anonymous

There's something about walking into a sneaker store. Scanning your eyes from the top to the bottom of the racks to check out the latest kicks. You grab one off the wall, check out its exterior, rotate it, flip it, peer inside, examine the price tag, and admire it in all its glory.

When I was in primary school, I was one of the first kids to be rocking a pair Nike Air Force. Kids would be staring at my kicks and whispering "where did you get them from?". I was quite lucky - a relative in Hong Kong had sent me a pair as a gift. I had no idea the ripple they would cause in the ashphalt playgrounds of primary school.

Soon I graduated to High School and also graduated to Converse. Although Nike was dominating at the time, a kid had to roll differently. Somehow I convinced my mum to buy me a pair of Kevin Johnson Converse React's. Black with blue wavy stripe down the side, the sole contained a yellow blob of react juice. It was supposed to make you jump and play like KJ (that obviously didn't happen).

After the react juice blob fell out of the shoe's sole, I desperately took it to the shoe tailor and pleaded with him to repair it. Unfortunately, I was told it was too expensive to repair and was better off buying a new pair.

Sole to Sole

Distraught from the Converse experience (How could a shoe made in China fall apart like that?), my love affair with Nike was rekindled as I remained loyal to the brand for the next decade. The Nike Air Max shoes had come back into vogue and I must have gone through 3 or 4 pairs of them in high school. You see a kid had to upgrade each year. With each pair, the bubble extended further to encompass the length of the shoe.

Graduating high school, I then moved onto uni and my Nike collection again expanded to include my first pair of casual low cut Nike sneakers: Nike Air Cortez which I still wear today. I could have gone with the Adidias Superstars, but hey I was a Nike man and I was going to stick with them.

Only recently, I have bought my first pair of sneakers that haven't been Nike. A flashy pair of And1's, the new shoe for wannabe ballers.

Even though I don't have an extensive collection of sneakers, I still love the smell of fresh sneakers, reading about them, visiting the old Nike factory at Petersham (RIP), and now the one in Auburn. There's nothing like the feeling of walking into a store searching for a pair of cheap kicks.

Pimp my sneaker

I've spent most of this Sunday afternoon checking out various sneaker websites. I started watching a couple of videos of the top sneaker stores in New York (if you click on the link - scroll down to the bottom and click on the picture of Flight Club, Dave's Quality Meats or ATMOS). The Dimemag crew go to Flight Club in New York, which is a store that sells sneakers on a commission basis. Members of the public bring in their shoes and split the proceeds 80/20 in favour of the seller, so the store keeps 20% of the sale price. The sell their shoes through the vintage kicks website.
Air Jordan 1 Retro

Then there's Dave's Quality Meats, which is a store in New York modeled on a butcher shop style concept. The sneakers are like the prime Cuts, and the t-shirts are on a meat rack. Just watch the video, it explains it better. Of course, Japs do it better with ATMOS. I also came across this store in Boston called Bodega, which is just unreal. The shop front is like a convenience store but hidden in the back is a state of the art sneaker store complete with DJ Booth!

Keeping with the food concept, check out Pharrell's Reebok Ice Creams. You know that line in Drop It like It's Hot where Pharrell says: "Uh! I'm a nice dude, with some nice dreams/See these ice cubes, see these Ice Creams?". And I gotta mention the BAPE shoes (A Bathing Ape). It's a popular Japanese streetwear lable and now mainstream in the US. All the shoes look like they are very similar to Nike Air Force 1's - check'em out.

I'm out like Ice Creams,

DJ Ho.

Barbarians at the Gate

It's Private

One thing that I've been interested in lately is an industry known as "private equity". I must say that its been in the news a lot lately. Especially after the biggest private equity deal in Australia with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) buying a part of Brambles. There has also been rumours that the Coles supermarket might also be bought by KKR.

Everytime I pick up a financial newspaper or a business magazine, the phrase "private equity" is coming up more often. I'm not sure why I'm interested in it, but its definently more than a trend. It's becoming a lot more prominent in the business world.


I guess the starting point is - what is private equity?

A lot of people get it confused with the term "venture capital" and perhaps even "hedge funds".

I would argue that private equity is a form of financing. It is commonly used when a company (typically an unlisted company) is seeking finance but might not be able to go down the traditional route and obtain a loan from a bank. What happens instead, is that a private equity firm would provide the finance in exchange for a controlling stake in the business. It might even buy 100% of the business and gain control of it.

The private equity firm would seek to shake things up in the company by streamlining operations, making the business more profitable, installing more appropriate management, basically restructuring the business.

The aim of all this is simple: it is to invest in the business for the medium term and exit in 5-10 years. Exit typically happens via:

- IPO (initial public offering),
- sale of the business to someone else e.g. management, another company, or even a another private equity firm.

To analogise, private equity (PE) is similar to a property investor who buys a bargain house and renovates it, hoping to resell it at higher price in 5-10 years. The difference is that your buying a business instead of a house. Private equity houses usually seek to buy an underperforming business at a discount, pump it full of debt finance, renovate and resell.

The reason that they have to resell in 5 to 10 years (or a similar approximate timeframe) is that they raise the money via funds from investors and must return the money to the investors in 5 to 10 years. Hence they must "unwind" all their investments after 5 years.

Private equity firms sometimes concentrate on a particular industry sector while the bigger ones simply buy any kind of business from health care, transport, consumer goods, etc... Half the time is spent looking after their current investments and the other half in originating new deals (e.g. scouring for new investments).

Venture Capital

Private equity is to be contrasted with venture capital (VC's) which typically seek to fund businesses in the earlier stage of the life cycle. You often hear about entrepreneurs going to VC firms to finance new business. I guess you could say that venture capital is a form of private equity aimed at start up businesses.

Usually these businesses backed by VC firms are in IT companies, biotechnology, health care or have higher risk profiles than your normal mom and dad type business. The reason is that your normal bank is not going to touch these types of businesses with a 10 foot pole. Financial institutions typically look for stable businesses with predictable returns. VC's and private equity houses are have a bigger appetitie to take on more risk for higher returns.

What makes VC's and PE finance attractive is the people that supply these finance offer more than just money. They are willing to get involved in the business and offer their expertise in finance, strategy, marketing or general business nous. That is why you find VC's and PE houses stocked with ex-investment bankers, strategy consultants and people with expertise in the fields that the houses specialise in (i.e. health care business managers in health care VC's).

The Major Players

The big US firms (i.e. the major players) in private equity are Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Carlye Group, Blackstone, Texas Pacific Group and Bain Capital. In Australia, we have firms such as Ironbridge Capital, Allen & Buckeridge, Private Equity Partners, and Champ Ventures.

The biggest and most famous private equity buyout was by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, who paid $33 billion dollars for the biscuit company RJR Nabisco. It is by far the biggest amount of debt paid by a private equity firm which is never to be repeated again. They even made a book and a movie about it titled "Barbarians at the Gate" to emphasise the corporate greed of the 1980's.

A Hip Hop Snapshot

Mobb Deep @ Metro

Havoc and Prodigy rapping at the Metro @ Town Hall.

I can clearly say that this is one of the worst hip hop concerts I've been to. It was an hour of performing all their new stuff from their latest albums before they finally did their classic songs like Shook Ones and Quiet Storm. Meanwhile they kept screaming out "G-Unit" every chance they could.

The Alkaholiks @ Gaelic Club

J-Ro (White hat) and Tash (Blue shirt) rocked the Gaelic Club.

The GZA @ Home

The Genius rapping til the sun came up.

Racism still alive they just be concealing it

Racism still alive they just be concealing it/

But I know they don't want me in the damn club/

They even made me show I.D to get inside of Sam's club/

It really pisses me off when I get refused entry into a bar or a nightclub. It hasn't happened to me that often (I struggle to recall the last time), but last Friday was really something. A work friend was having her farewell drinks at The Loft @ King Street Wharf.

I arrived at 7pm, rocked up to the door and said "Hi, How's it going?". The door bitch didn't sound so excited so see me there. There were two bouncers also at the door. The one carrying the "Black book" asked me if we were on the guest list. I was thinking "What? Oh, we are with A from work". I knew that our friend wouldn't have any guest list being a last minute decision. And I knew by the way that he looked at me, he wasn't going to let me in.

"You are not on the guest list and we are full tonight. Perhaps you should try next door at Bungalow 8?"

That really annoyed me, the fact that he probably didn't even check the guest list which we both knew we were not on and his excuse that it was full. Me and my two companions trudge to the sidewalk, and call up our friends inside. Their response "It's not even full!? That's BS!!"

This picture is taken from a website which orginally took it from the Loft website. How's this for publicity?

As soon as we hang up on our phones and turn around, the bouncers let in a flood of (let's be politically correct) here, a bunch of white females. Then an Australian couple rock up and they have no problem getting in. And to really top if off, one of our friends rocks up by herself. She happens to be another Australian white female. Just out of earshot, they gave her the preliminary question "are you on the guest list"? She says "No, but my friends are upstairs" and points inside. The bouncers motion at her, and again, the magic door opens for her.

I think out of all the people they let in, the last person who we knew, that really made me mad. Here we are, going to the same bar to meet the same people. She was allowed in essentially with no questions asked.

My only crime? Being an Asian male.

Crime by association? I was with another Asian male and Asian female.

Victim of fashion perhaps ? The fact that I was dressed casually but they let in a whole bunch of other people in casual clothing.

More pictures of the dungeon known as the Loft

I could have walked up to the bouncers and the door bitch and given them an earful. But I was too mad, too worked up, too embarrassed, too ashamed, too pissed off.

I could have called up some of our friends to help us get in but I guess I wasn't in the mood to go into a place where the staff are giving me attitude.

The fact is the three of us were there to farewell a good friend of ours and simply looking for a good time. And that just ruined it.

We tried our luck at Bungalow 8, and again we were refused entry. Apparently we were dressed too casual, the bouncer pointing at me and my other friend. But the funny thing was, there were other people inside that we dressed casually. I have never had a problem going there but usually I've been in work clothes.

I had enough of this attitude from the bouncers at King St Wharf and went to O'Donoghues and an Irish pub nearby. One of the few places in that part of the city that don't question what you wear or what nationality you happen to be, as long as you produce evidence that your over 18. then it was off to a high class joint like Scruffy Murphy and Pavillion, where all they want to check is if you are carrying weapons.

Charlie Murphy! Scruffy Murphy! An uber high class bar in the Chinatown precint

Hey, I'm Asian, we all must be carrying machetes, knives and guns. That's why they don't let me into places like The Loft.

I'm out like racist bouncers at the Loft,

DJ Ho.

To Live and Die A Rap Immortal

I hear the doctor standing over me/

Screamin I can make it/

Got a body full of bullet holes layin here naked/

Still I, can't breathe, somethings evil in my IV/

Cause everytime I breathe, I think they killin me /

I'm having nightmares, homicidal fantansies/

I wake up stranglin, danglin my bed sheets/

I call the nurse cause it hurts, to reminisce

How did it come to this? I wish they didn't miss/

Somebody help me, tell me where to go from here/

Cause even Thugs cry, but do the Lord care?

Only God Can Judge Me - 2pac

I didn't realise it at the time when Nate sent around this article about 2pac yesterday, but it was 10 years since the very day that 2pac passed away.

He was a great rapper - in my top 5 of all time. Admittedly all his songs aren't that great, but he's definently got some really good songs in there. I first heard 2pac on his All Eyez on Me album, he just seemed like some glorified thug. To some of us he still is. It wasn't really until I got his older album "Me Against The World" and the album released 13 days after his death "Makaveli" that I really started to appreciate his work.

He had the deep lyrical songs like "Life Goes On", "Only God Can Judge Me", "Brenda's got a baby", and "Dear Mama" which made you sit up and think. Switching it up he had the songs with the party vibe like "California Love", "How Do You Want It" and "Toss It Up". And who could forget the straight up angry Pac with "Hit'em up"?

To live and die in LA, where everyday we try to fatten our pockets/

Us niggaz hustle for the cash so it's hard to knock it/

Everybody got they own thang, currency chasin/

Worldwide through the hard times, warrior faces/

Shed tears as we bury niggaz close to heart/

What was a friend now a ghost in the dark, cold hearted bout it

- To Live and Die in LA by Tupac Shakur

Did the world change on September 11, 2001?

Today's date probably doesn't mean anything. It's September 10, 2006. In a few hours tomorrow will come and mark the anniversary of one of man kind's most tragic days. The day that the skies of New York were filled with smoke, ash and the smell of death in the air. The day that the world trade centre came crumbling down (for the second time), and with it the lives of thousands of people. The day that New York, America and the world was never the same again.

It's one of those moments in history, where we all remember where we were. Like how old folks recall when JFK was shot, when the Berlin wall came down, when DJ Kool Herc had his first block party, when Jordan hit that jumpshot in the 98 Finals.

Some of us were up late at night on September 11 watching the news before The Mother Of All Exclusive News break came on. Me? I was sound asleep! I woke up the next morning to the shock of the photograph on the front page of the morning newspaper. I still remember that image. The image that became synonmous with that date:

I come now to the crux of my post: Did the world change on September 11, 2001? Without a doubt it did. The loss of life and the destruction of one of New York's icons shook the Western world to its core. I mean it was New York that was being attacked! America's homeland became the new doorstep of terrorism activity. American lives would never be the same again.

The fact that it could and DID happen in the backyard of the world's most powerful nation. The image that was so symbolic of American capitalism and everything that it stood for had just been torn down into a pile of melted steel and ash. The land of the free lost their sense of security and their ability to move freely without intense scrutiny.

But it was more than that. It affected people in other nations. We came to the stark realisation that a terrorist attack could happen anywhere, anytime. Suddenly New York and major tourist destinations didn't become such "hot" destinations. In the back of our minds, plane travel became a lil different. We became suspicious of people of Middle Eastern appearance. Fear and hatred develped a heightened sense of racism towards anything associated with Arabic people.

September 11 created a butterfly effect. It set off a chain reaction of events. The war on terror. The attack on Afghanistan. The Madrid Bombings. Bali Bombings. London subway bombings. The invasion of Iraq. The countless bombing plots that were thwarted. And many more lives were lost along the way.

Although the world did change since that fateful day, I'm not sure if my own life really changed as a result. I didn't lose anyone due to any of the bombings. I still went to uni, work, in the same way I did pre-September 11. Maybe in Australia we were too remote from the situation, being halfway around the world from New York, New York. But I recognise that the world around me did change and it changed the lives of many people, for the worse.

I'm out like September 11,

DJ Ho.