Big Brown Dad’s Secret Connection To Obama Finally Revealed, 10 Years Ago Today
My friend (and comedian) Paul Kim visited me at work 10 years ago today. And that’s when I decided to disclose my secret connection to the Big Kahuna Hussein Obama.
Book Review: The Roots of Rap
I love practicing hip hop as a heuristic. It provides entry into a range of important skills for kids, adolescents and adults alike. Off top, I’m talking vocabulary development, literary interpretation, creative writing, engaged listening, choreography, design, performance …and the list goes on, er, can’t stop, won’t stop.
Similar to your favorite religion or political philosophy, an orthodoxy has been established. And the twin pillars of any good orthodoxy are 1) shared history and 2) shared meaning.
I came across Carole Boston Weatherford’s The Roots of Rap at a bookstore while my kids were picking out a Wimpy this and a Harry that. The illustrations (by Frank Morrison) were arresting. The format, a free flowing rhyme, takes readers down hip hop’s history row.
The book opens
“Folk tales, street rhymes, spiritual–rooted in spoken word. Props to Hughes and Dunbar; published. Ain’t you heard?”
As you can see, Weatherford is playing ZERO games. She roots hip hop history in cosmopolitan folklore, street life, the church and African-American literary pioneers.
Now that’s a word.
Joaquin (7) dove right in.
I can’t say enough about the artwork. I wonder if they’d publish a poster pack as part of the series, or a limited drop with signed artwork.
Visit Weatherford’s site and you’ll note that she’s written books on The Tuskegee Airmen, Gordon Parks, Harriet Tubman and the Civil Rights movement. And her son Jefferey is an accomplished artist, too. Clearly, the Weatherfords value arts education. Big propers.
And props to Little Bee Books for putting this out. This is a book our family highly recommends.
Quip Pro Quo Vol. 5
There’s a lot of noise competing for your attention.
Sometimes, you have to turn it all off and look for that wisdom that can only be found within…
…a bottle of Mezcal.
Here’s Vol. 5 of how I quip from the tip of the lip, punching out hits like Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Each time you repeat your drive-thru order, you actually DECREASE the likelihood of getting it right by a factor of 1.
Be the rhymin’ dynamo you want to see in the world.
This holiday season (more than ever), let us remember to judge a man not by the color of his skin but by the contents of his candy bowl.
Coffee by extraction.
Truth by distillation.
Less is more.
Nothing says “I have an ankle tattoo” like a wrist tattoo.
If prayer is ineffectual on the grounds it’s a one-sided conversation without anyone to care on the other end, tell me again why you post on social media?
If you’re not putting the bathroom key on a javelin, it’s like “Do you even own a gas station, bruh?”
If you need guidance, follow the light at the end of the tunnel of a train in life’s peaks and valleys of love and truth and purpose and now and go and be and see and do and buy and sell and buy and buy and buy.
But if you want to laugh some more, check QPQ Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Buying and Selling A Home in the San Gabriel Valley
When it comes getting that paper, you can keep it real or you can keep it real estate.
Big Brown Dad recently chopped it up with Realtor Vincent Ramos to get an update on what’s happening with housing in the San Gabriel Valley.
It’s November 2020, what trends are you noticing in the San Gabriel Valley housing market?
Great question. But the SGV is a large market with a tremendous range in both price and style of homes. Both have an impact on trends. The San Gabriel Valley includes multi million dollar estates in cities like South Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge, Claremont, Diamond Bar and Glendora to name a few. In those cities properties will sit on the market a little longer and take some real effort on the part of the agent to get them sold. But they do sell.
On the lower side of the spectrum, the SGV also includes entry level cities like Baldwin Park, La Puente, El Monte, Pomona and others. In those cities, properties that are priced appropriately, sell very quickly and sometimes for far more than the appraised value. I’m seeing 20k+ and more on average.
Historically low interest rates continue to drive buyer purchasing power up and up. As the rates go down, the buyer’s affordable sales price keeps going up. (the Fed justdropped the rate again by .25%). We will however see a reduction in the number of homes sold over the next 3 months. That is not to say we will see a price drop. Just less inventory.
It happens every year. Real estate agents go on vacation and stop doing good business over the holidays (the bad ones at least). But, this presents a great opportunity for savvy buyers. Just like the average realtor going on vacation over the holidays, so does the average buyer. That means less competition in the market and a great opportunity to score a deal!!!
2. What’s the most popular misconception prospective buyers have about the purchasing a home?
That you can buy a home for less than you rent today.
I don’t understand why so many of my colleagues continue to perpetuate this myth. You CANNOT buy a home for less than you can rent. Not the same size home in the same market you’re currently renting in. That’s for sure.
Sure, you can buy something in Victorville for about the same as you pay in rent in Alhambra. Maybe. I wish my colleagues would stop with this nonsense. It does a massive disservice to the public.
Having said that, another popular misconception is that buying a home is hard. It isn’t. You just need a plan. After my clients sit down with my lender (or over the phone), they can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve helped some buy their 1st home 3 months after meeting them. They often believe homeownership is out of their reach. It isn’t.
Some see that light is years away. I tell them “Time is going to pass anyway. Either time is going to pass by and you’re going to be ready at the end of it, or time is goingto pass by and you’ll still be in the same situation. The choice is yours.” I’m a no pressure agent. I’ve been doing this for 17 years. I’ll still be doing this for years to come. I’ll be ready when they are.
What was the last home you helped someone sell?
Last property I helped somebody sell was a four bedroom two bath home in La Puente for $555,000. Sold with only two days on the market.
What was the last home you helped someone buy?
Last property I helped Somebody buy was a 5 bedroom 3 bath 4 car garage 3500 square foot property in Riverside for $682,000
What’s a current problem you’re helping a current client solve?
My clients are generally unaware of problems in a deal. Most of the time problems arise from a lack of communication or a lack of experience in real estate. I like to prevent problems more than fixing problems, though i’m good at fixing them as well. It’s important to be clear and transparent from the start. We are not selling pies here. Real estate tends to be the largest financial transaction most people will be involved in. You must be truthful, honest and efficient in any real estate transaction. I’m great at all 3.
Educating the client about the process and the potential pitfalls in any deal goes a long way to preventing potential problems in the first place.
I do help clients solve problems outside of a deal all the time. Problems with their credit or financing tend to be on the top of the list. But just like during a deal, a little education and communication go a long way.
I have been known to out maneuver newer or less experienced agents often. Saving my buyers and sellers thousands of dollars in most cases. These contracts we use to write up offers allows for several places to take advantage of these part time agents. Contingencies, inspection times, request for repairs and many more allow a contract expert like myself the opportunity to provide more value for my clients. I won’t be out maneuvered in a deal.
What’s a tell tale sign your prospective real estate agent doesn’t have her shit together?
- They work for a discount brokerage!! Stay away!!!
- They work real estate part time.
- Check their online reviews.
- See how long it takes for them to return a call or text. Follow up is massive in this business
- Talk to them. You’ll know within minutes if they are full of shit or not. Go with your gut.
If you’re interested in buying or selling a home, reach out to Vince below.
Tell’em Big Brown Dad sent you and he’ll take you out to eat to discuss your options.
FB @TheVRamosMethod
IG @TheVRamosMethod
Remax Top Producers
626.523.1776
Email vramos3@gmail.com
You’re Saying “Tortilla” Wrong. Sorry, Not Sorry.
Can I blame you?
Yes.
But I’d rather educate you. I’ll let me daughter Maya learn ya.
Did You Write It Down, Tho?
How many of you use a 📓 on a regular basis?
What’s your methodology?
Pencil?
Colored pens?
Stickers?
Signed in blood?
My wife’s calendar game is next level, color code “platinum”, subsection “dope” in baby blue gel pen type fresh.
I tend to keep two notebooks, one for scratch and another for, um, ‘elevated’ scratch.
I often use The Cornell Notetaking Method, first foisted upon me as a Harvey Mudd College Upward Bound student.
That’s general info on left, and key points and summary in the hand-drawn margin to the right.
Matter of fact, let me check to see if I’ve been doing it right these past 25 years.
By the looks of my notes, my notes on Cornell notes were note great.
I’ve recently started to graph and box and arrow and circle when attempting to articulate an idea. Prolly some old man brain wiring at work. So I just copped this new journal w variable graph paper for $6 on Amazon. ‘Twas a come up.
Of course, as an emcee, I’ve reams of notebooks.
Those ‘lyrical miracles’ will be forwarded to The Smithsonian upon my untimely demise.
Quip Pro Quo: Volume 4
We’re back on the block with more wisdom than you can stuff into a wet, stale fortune cookie.
Everybody wants a dog but nobody wants to pick up dog shit.
Be careful when you say you want it all. You just might end up with an everything bagel.
Don’t play the savior and then act surprised when they want to crucify you.
Show me a man’s friends and I’ll show you the man. Show me what he bought for team halftime snacks and I’ll show you a man who thought violet grape airheads were a fruit snack.
Some look to hymns, others to folk and soul. But the deepest of joys is found in the Duck Tales theme song.
There are enough faded Aztec Calendar tattoos at the Coliseum to get us through a thousand millennia.
I don’t know who needs to hear this but the White Dad with sleeve tattoos on your kids’ soccer team is a COP!
Ruminate and/or hate other divinations w/ QPQ Volumes 1, 2 and 3.
Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle on PBS
If you’ve never heard of Ruben Salazar, you’re not alone. Our stories are seldom told. That’s starting to change.
This Friday, October 4th, #PBS is re-airing Phillip Rodriguez‘ critically acclaimed Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle at 10p EST (Rodriguez followed up the Salazar film with the groundbreaking PBS documentary, The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo).
To help raise awareness for this Friday’s airing, they got the memes popping. Here are a few.
Yo, let’s show up, tune in and let #pbs know that we support our stories.
UPDATE: Click here to stream the documentary for free now on PBS.org.
God, Philosophy of Language and Ethics with the Kids
I have a funny superstitious belief. I don’t know when I acquired it or why I continue to believe it but it’s stuck around.
Here it is:
I think kids have special access to a mystical knowledge. I know, it sounds crazy but when the kids were younger, I low-key wondered if my deceased family members were transmitting knowledge to them or some shit. I know, it’s kind of freaky and naive but there you have it. On a related tip, I wondered if God herself might be communicating through my children.
Yeah, man.
That’s one reason I’d stop everything and listen closely when the kids mentioned anything remotely theological, like this conversation where they take me to task for using ‘bad words.’
Current TV Throwback: Cystic Fibrosis Emcee
Yo.
This is the most meaningful documentary I produced for Current TV…by a fucking long shot.
Sometime in 08, I was invited to Yuma, Arizona by the homies Johnny Awesome and Legal Alien to perform with Odd Thomas and the crew. I took that opportunity to bring a camera crew and document the challenges the homie CJ (Citizen Aim) was experiencing with his illness, Cystic Fibrosis.
I didn’t know jack shit about CF when we started. When we got there, I saw its impacts up close and personal, though.
Fuck, it wasn’t long after this that CJ passed away.
He left a deep impact in Yuma, hip hop and beyond. I’m happy that this video helps, in some small way, to preserve his legacy. One love to the #openaired family for life and through death.
Quip Pro Quo: Volume 3
Wisdom in its truncated form.
If you can’t judge a book by its cover, then it was a shitty design job.
Watch enough back cracking videos on YouTube and you’ll start to believe Jesus was wandering chiropractor.
You known you’re Mexican when there’s one person in your family designated to read all the important mail.
Hi, I’m Carlos. I’m Mexican-American and I put store bought salsa on cream cheese and call it dip. Where do I drop off my Latino card?
The very same people who protest participation trophies were recipients of participation high school diplomas.
Easy Ice should be a standard unit of measurement, not an approximation rooted in prejudiced notions of race and class.
An expansive life > An expensive life.
Walk This Way
Walking.
You know, one foot in front of another and all that.
It’s one of our most powerful metaphors.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will leave Fontana.”
Ezekiel 2:10
And don’t forget:
B-Really Real
And my favorite, embodied in this video shot while hiking San Dimas’ Antonovich Trail,
“Walk by face, not by sight.”
Big Brown Dad & Son