Human Interest
Meet Britain’s Jason Coghlan: A Criminal Turned Criminal Attorney (Documentary)
May 31, 2016
Better Call Saul Goodman… Or, maybe since this is gangster stuff, we should go with Tom Hagen – consigliere and legal counsel for the Corleone Family (The Godfather)… Real-life crime and punishment and reform and organized crime. Whew! Law and Order on steroids with no chill. The whole story brought to you as only VICE can.
This is the story of one of Britain’s most notorious reformed criminals, Jason Coghlan, who spent 16 years behind bars before he found an even more dangerous and effective pastime: studying the law. VICE gained intimate access to Jason’s life over two years, witnessing the rise of his legal firm, which explicitly caters to the gangsters of the Costa Del Sol in Spain. However, the echoes of his old life are never far away and a gang feud in Jason’s native Manchester threatens to unravel his new amicable existence.
Posted in Film, Human Interest, Lifestyle, Series, Travel, Videos | 
Tags: Attorney, Britain, Criminal, Great Britain, Jason Coghlan, Lawyer, Manchester, Meet One of Britain's Most Notorious Reformed Criminals, Studying law, VICE, Walking Heavy | 
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How Jogging Was Once A Thing For Weirdos (Video)
May 23, 2016
One of the great short vids of recent times. Watch this clip, please… If only to hear why/how the late pro-segregation Congressman Strom Thurman was once himself followed by the cops at the end. This will give you a new perspective on one of the first recognized aerobic exercises that regular folks would come to regularly do…nowadays.
Today, it seems like everybody’s a runner. But it wasn’t always that way. Vox’s Phil Edwards looked into running’s history.
Posted in Health and Wellness, History, Human Interest, Videos | Tags: excercise, Jogging, Phil Edwards, trend | No Comments »
Education: Ronald Nelson Chose To Attend The University Of Alabama… Over EVERY Ivy League School (Video)
May 23, 2016
This hits, and hits ME, hard!
I was once a high school senior with eyes on an Ivy League acceptance prize. I was this close…THIIIISSS (like three out of seven admission board votes) close to getting in, too. However, I fell way below Merit-Based financial aid thresholds; and with out-of-state fees, had I been accepted to Cornell University, I might have been even further in college debt than I am now.
(Spoiler Alert: I’m DEEP in that debt sh!t, yo. So deep that my poor Tuskegee, Alabama accent just went BK NY. Even though I’m 4-6 ’til the deep-six… son! And before you ask, homie, hometown Tuskegee University’s fees got higher than folks on the best Cali Bud just when I was ready to apply there. I definitely would’ve got gaffled with that debt, homie… Oh no, my accent just went ’90s West Coast Hip-Hop… poorly. Haaaaaa!)
But I did not get accepted to the one Ivy League college I pursued, unlike Ronald Nelson – an incoming Freshman to The Capstone (aka The University Of Alabama). Ronald, wise beyond his years, has made a bold decision to turn down offers (and aid) from EVERY Ivy League school that accepted him (ALL of them), and several other colleges, to attend UA.
Ronald did the math, and he kept the faith about his post-graduate future which will be rife with so many options.
“With people being in debt for years and years, it wasn’t a burden that Ronald wanted to take on and it wasn’t a burden that we wanted to deal with for a number of years after undergraduate,” Ronald Sr. said. “We can put that money away and spend it on his medical school, or any other graduate school.”
Plus, though I do not know Ronald’s overall ‘tude at his current age, I would have been SUCH an Ivy League azz-jack. I believe I am a better person for going Crimson Tide (UA) instead of Big Red (Cornell). An Ivy League a-hole in the hole financially. And noooo, going Ivy League does not make folks ‘holes (ex: our hella cool U.S. President went to Harvard)… I am just talking about me.
And to Ronald, who I praise for exhibiting such wisdom at such an early age: Bravo, sir… and ROLL TIDE!
READ MORE: RONALD NELSON TURNED DOWN EVERY IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL
– @ojones1
John Lewis: Bad Ass Vegan (Exclusive Interview)
May 17, 2016
Photo Credit: Eye Recap Photography
A favorite phrase that I love is Health is Wealth something I state quite regularly. Sometimes when the conversation starts to get organic people start to check out. Alkaline water, Vegan food, juicing that’s not Hip Hop or is it? Rappers and liquor companies have partnered for decades Sprite and Taco Bell have used Hip Hop in campaigns also. Times are changing, some artists are promoting exercise and nutrition rather than beers & popping pills. I had the pleasure of speaking with John Lewis better known as BadAss Vegan about Nutrition and business. We also discuss his new partnership with Styles P of the Lox regarding his Vegan Smart product. John is not your typical Vegan so this is not your typical interview. He provides tips on how you can transition into the Vegan lifestyle. Before you ask trust me John knows your struggle he is not some hippie that grew up on nuts and berries. Rather someone who grew up in Ferguson/St. Louis an area known for their Beer & BBQ. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi so he knows about college campus eating habits as well. We cover it all and he also provides encouragement about taking that entrepreneurial leap. So now get ready to learn what it takes to be a BadAss Vegan!
-ArtByOdell Twitter/SoundCloud
Posted in Cover Story, Health and Wellness, Human Interest, Interview, Lifestyle | Tags: BadAss Vegan, Health, Interview, John Lewis, Nutrition, Styles P, The LOX, vegan | No Comments »
The President Goes To Flint: Meet Eight-Year-Old Amariyanna Copeny  (Video)
May 7, 2016
Eight-year-old Amariyanna Copeny, American citizen, Flint, Michigan, resident called on her President… and he responded. He came to see her in Flint to do so. Check out the AWESOME video of their interaction and President Barack Obama addressing the crowd that gathered.
(Little Miss Flint is so precious.)
– @ojones1
Posted in Human Interest, Politics, Videos | Tags: Amariyanna Copeny, Barack Obama, Little Miss Flint, Mari Copeny, President Barack Obama | No Comments »
Africa’s Biggest Mall Opens In South Africa (Video)
April 30, 2016
Just a mall opening. That’s all. The continent’s biggest mall. Sure, but big or small, a mall’s a mall… Oh wait, the continent is Africa; which is big. And this Mall Of Africa grand opening was HUGE!
By 1:30pm, 70,000 people had walked into Mall of Africa. [Morné] Wilken said many customers were taking advantage of opening sales by large stores such as clothing retailers H&M and Cotton On and electronics group Dion Wired. Starbucks had also opened its second branch in the country and was “trading extremely well.”
“We are really excited about what this mall can do. It is located in an extremely good position. Shopping mall culture is very much entrenched in South Africans. In Gauteng, we hang out at malls. Families go to malls. It’s what we do. We feel we have built a centre which has a strong choice of tenants, more space and more facilities than any other shopping centre in SA,” said Mr. Wilken.
Posted in Business, Cover Story, EVENTS, Human Interest, Videos | Tags: Mall Of Africa | No Comments »
Standing Bears Entertain Tourists on Bus (Video)
April 21, 2016
Would you look at that. Baaaahahaaaaa! Hey there, Boo-Boo. Maybe if we walk alongside the people rolling by they’ll open up their picnic baskets and feed us.
All kidding (and very dated Yogi Bear references) aside, these are bad bears. Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good… incredible. Watch these quadrupeds go bipedal; welcoming the attention (maybe) and food (definitely!) from the group of astonished passersby.
A group of tourists are entertained by bears walking on hind legs in exchange for snacks.
Posted in Human Interest, Nature, Videos | Tags: Bears, Bus, Feed the bears, Standing Bears, Tourists | No Comments »
Innocent Man Befriends The Crooked Cop Who Sent Him To Jail For Four Years (Video)
April 20, 2016
An innocent man is now friends with the corrupt cop who framed him and got him sent to jail for four years??? Let me go on and say it: If it was me, I couldn’t forgive. No hell NO!
But for this case… Not gonna spoil this clip for you. After watching, not sure how you will feel about the story, but it will make you say, “Wooowwwww.” One way or the other.
Posted in Faith, Human Interest, Interview, Television, Videos | Tags: Abuse of authority, abuse of power, Andrew Collins, Benton Harbor, forgiveness, Friendship, Jameel McGee, Michigan, police corruption | No Comments »
Marshawn Lynch And Colleagues Teach American Football At A Camp In Egypt (Video)
March 23, 2016
Marshawn Lynch. He ’bout that action, boss!’ And above you see a great way Beast Mode is taking action on the other side of the world – teaching American football to a full camp of eager attendees in Egypt. See more about this global sports education effort – American Football Without Barriers (AFWB) – after the jump.
Posted in Celebrity, EVENTS, Human Interest, Sports, Travel, Videos | Tags: AFWB, American football, American Football Without Barriers, Beast Mode, BeastMode, Breno Giacomini, Colby Cameron, Craig Loston, DeAngelo Williams, EFAF, Egypt, Egyptian Federation of American Football, Erik Lorig, Football, Gary Barnidge, Joe Tronzo, Johnson Bademosi, Jordan Cameron, Marshawn Lynch, non-profit, nonprofit, not-for-profit, Oday Aboushi | No Comments »
Stevie Williams: From Homeless Teen To Skate Mogul (Documentary)
March 17, 2016
Stevie Williams isn’t just one of the greatest skateboarders of all time, he’s the successful entrepreneur behind Dirty Ghetto Kids and a host of other ventures – but it wasn’t always that way. Stevie ran away from his home in Philly at age 15 and hitchhiked his way across to the West Coast where he found himself homeless in San Francisco. In this episode of VICE Sports Meets, Stevie takes us through his old Frisco stomping grounds and talks about his full evolution from “degenerate to celebrity.”
– VICE Sports
Posted in Human Interest, Lifestyle, Series, Videos | Tags: Dirty Ghetto Kids, homeless, Skate Mogul, Stevie Williams, teen, VICE, VICE Sports, VICE Sports Meets | No Comments »
Angela Bassett Gives Answers To Your Google Searches (Video)
March 15, 2016
Folks hit the Google when they want answers…about Angela Bassett. Imagine if folks could pose their web searches in the form of questions to Angela herself. You could do that OR… just click play above and watch as she answers some of those Googles.
(Heh heh… you heard her say she went ‘raw’ right? And she likes bacon. There’s a really naughty joke on all that just waiting on her if she ever falls through the spot. Just jokes, but so serious. Angela is so damn sexy!)
Posted in Celebrity, Human Interest, Series | Tags: Angela Bassett, GOOGLE, Google Auto-Complete | No Comments »
Technology: Cosmo Meet Spot…The Robot ‘Dog’ (Video)
March 14, 2016
Man made the tech sort of mimicking dog movement, obviously; but how would a dog react? Well… let’s just say it’ll take more work to fool a real dog. Spot, Boston Dynamics’ 160-pound quadruped robot, was built for navigating uneven terrain. The doggieness was a side-benefit. In the video above, see venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson’s video of actual dog Cosmo playing with Spot. Cosmo belongs to Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android.
Posted in Human Interest, Technology, Videos | Tags: Andy Rubin, Animal vs. Robot, Boston Dynamics, Cosmo, Fido vs. Spot, Spot, Steve Jurvetson | No Comments »
Regular People Wrestle Sumo Champions (Video)
March 8, 2016
Bwaaahahaaaa! Some of these folks really went at it with the Sumos. Well, if you gone do it… For though, I like the way that the pros in this segment are not that brash, and willing to share in their sport. One even took a ‘L’ and not so much as a frown. We could learn a thing or three in The States from them.
– @ojones1
Posted in Human Interest, Series, Sports, Travel, Videos | Tags: BuzzFeed, BuzzFeedBlue, Japan, Sumo, Sumo Champions, Sumo Wrestling, Wrestling | No Comments »
Finding Your Roots: LL Cool J & Puffy Explore Their Ancestry (Video)
February 21, 2016
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, as host of the long-running PBS series, “Finding Your Roots,” takes guests LL Cool J (aka James Todd Smith) and Puffy (aka Sean Combs) on a journey of exploration… of their family trees.
Uncover family mysteries about two legends of Hip-Hop through the use of DNA technology.
– PBS Video
Posted in Celebrity, Hip-Hop, Human Interest, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: Ancestry, Diddy, DNA, family tree, Finding Your Roots, Henry Louis Gates, James Todd Smith, LL Cool J, P. Diddy, PBS, PBS Video, Public Television, Puffy, Sean Combs | No Comments »
Compton Awards The ‘Key To The City’ To Kendrick Lamar (Video)
February 18, 2016
Man, I’m overwhelmed… y’all got to give me a second…
Kendrick Lamar. Yes, the Dr. Dre protege; the Grammy winner (winning on stage, too); the dude doing good from the Hood to the [White] House; and now, recipient of the Key To The City Of Compton. Watch him in all graciousness, and almost no glamorizing. Love shown by the city for the love he has and always will show right back. Respect!
Shout out to Jeandra LeBeauf and BadCulture.net for capturing this proud moment for us all.
Posted in Celebrity, EVENTS, Hip-Hop, Human Interest, Speech, Videos | Tags: acceptance speech, Compton, Kendrick Lamar, Key to the City | 1 Comment »
Too Black For Brazil (Documentary)
February 15, 2016
Color bias… you know, the light skin vs. dark skin thing… it’s EVERYWHERE! In Brazil though, to seemingly a greater extent than elsewhere, the darker-skinned people play into the preference toward lighter skin. The preference is persistent in the culture even today. And just when some Brazilians thought the people were ready to take a huge step forward, they took a big step back; kicked the throne from under their lovely carnival queen down in the process.
Nayara Justino thought her dreams had come true when she was selected as the Globeleza carnival queen in 2013 after a public vote on one of Brazil’s biggest TV shows. But some regarded her complexion to be too dark to be an acceptable queen. Nayara and her family wonder what this says about racial roles in modern Brazil.
Damn. Watch the documentary above.
Posted in Celebrity, Film, Human Interest, Politics, Videos | Tags: Brasil, Brazil, dark skinned, Globeleza, light skinned, Mulatta, Mulatto, Nayara Justino | No Comments »
Barbie Doll Evolves To Match The Reality Of A Diverse World (Video)
February 2, 2016
Remember when Nicki Minaj used to holler ‘Barbie’ this and that? Were you mumbling (aloud or in your head) to yourself, “Cute, but not for real. Barbie ain’t shaped nothing like you, Nicki!” Well, I did. And arguments about cultural representation in our kids toys aside, I wasn’t mad about it. It just was what it was… like having a Black U.S. President. President Bill Clinton was pretty cool, and President Nelson Mandela had South Africa for us. I figured that was as close as we would get.
Then we got a Black President, but Mattel (maker of Barbie dolls) wasn’t budging. Y’all better chill with this sharp-nosed White girl with a tan and keep telling your daughters they’re beautiful. Yeah, it WAS like that. Then SOMEBODY at Mattel must have bumped their head and had a thought… Folks are REALLY not wanting to deal with ‘generic’ anything anymore, including toys. Music, Film and TV (the stuff with the characters that dolls mimic) has changed – lotta more shapes, sizes and colors in there. Parents (read: people that might stop buying Mattel’s stuff) are likely looking for that diversity in their babies’ toys, too. Looks like Mattel is back ready to do business…. and so #TheDollEvoles
(Smart business move. Miss me with any other explanation though. They changed for M-O-N–E-Y! That all. But at least our babies can play with something that looks closer to what they look like.)
Good thing, too. My Mom still collects Barbie dolls. I will be making her Christmas merry with some righteous Mattel newness!
– @ojones1
Posted in Business, Human Interest, Product, Recreation, Videos, Youth | Tags: All Lives Matter, Barbie Doll, Barbie Doll Evolves, Black Girls Rock, Mattel | No Comments »
18 Countries, One ‘Ideal’ Image Of The Perfect Female Body (Video)
February 1, 2016
Interesting. And by interesting, I mean, somebody get me a plane to South Africa, or Spain or like, the Philippines!! Yes, a plane; not a ticket. I need to find these ‘models’ and bring ’em back with me on a private (wink) flight.
Oh.
These women don’t exist? The ‘perfect’ woman doesn’t exist? MESSAGE!
Alright, in all seriousness, can someone get me the number of the original model? She’s cute and I’ll holler. You KNOW I will. She is thick like I like!
Oh, and that photoshop software. Get me some of that. I will SHOW you a ‘perfect woman’ (with much cakes, holding a stack of pancakes… hahahaaaaa)!
– @ojones1
Posted in Health and Wellness, Honeyz, Human Interest, Podcast, Series, Videos | Tags: Beauty standards, Body image, female form, Ideal Female, Perfect Female, photoshop | No Comments »
Monitor Lizards Face Off And Fight (Video)
January 29, 2016
This Reptilian Wrestling League smackdown clip has been making its way around web world. (Like that? RWL? Just made it up. Copyright. Don’t bite!)
Crazy! It’s like we just missed the part where these two beasts talked their way into major beef (some “What the f#ck you say to me? What? Alright then SCRAP!”). And now it’s ON! Lizards locked in leg-to-leg-to-leg-to-leg combat to settle… whatever it is that’s got ’em so heated they ignore the camera man, people and busy street.
Posted in Human Interest, Nature, Travel, Videos | Tags: BEEF, Caught On Video, Lizard, Lizard Fight, Monitor Lizard Fight, Monitor Lizards, Street | No Comments »
Al Elliott Shares His Story: Reasons For Rap
January 24, 2016
Really proud to say I know Al Elliott, and that I fondly remember his days with Chip Records, and another thing… well, I’ll save that for after the jump.
But peep this perspective he gives on Hip-Hop and his reasons for rapping, then and now. Wow. I’ve used the music for therapy. So have you, I’ll bet. But for speech therapy… not to mention for teaching and bonding with his son. Check out the audio stream above in which Al gives a talk for Arc Stories.
Al Elliott tells of overcoming his childhood stuttering through discovering rap music. The theme for the night was “Out with the Old: Stories About Change.”
– Arc Stories (arcstories.com)
Love Hip-Hop maaaan! And I will always have love for Brother Elliott (hit the jump).
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Human Interest, Performance, Series, Speech, Throwback, Videos, Vintage | Tags: Al Elliot, Arc Stories, Better Than I Can Tell You, Birmingham, Live From, Reasons For Rap, Thed Weller | No Comments »
