Real Rad Magazine : Summer Quarterly 2015

the donut and of course the hit of the summer, the
swan. These over-sized toy balloons are the perfect
addition to the fun and they look great in photos too.
They serve as a floating island for drinks, a potential
component to the reenactment of the movie Water
World or Jaws, and they allow a totally rad way to
relax and catch some rays.
Smart Machines: We talked about smart
phones and the age of transparency, as well as the
potential for these devices in these modern times
to expose vast amounts of data by users. Well, that
concept and reality is not limited to
just phones. Imagine a world where
nearly every electrical device is
connected to the internet and
collects data on the user of
said device. Imagine stop lights
recognizing each car that passes its
intersection everyday and logging that
data for a multitude of uses. Imagine your
thermostat being adjusted from your phone or your
television being controlled by your phone while all
the ways you use said devices are being logged and
tracked. Imagine no more. That world now exist. The
internet of things. Smart Machines. I know, I’ve said
this before, but it needs to be reiterated because it
will never be untrue. Information is Knowledge and
Knowledge is Power. Imagine what can be done if
nearly every interaction a human has with an electric
device can be recorded, logged, and tracked. We
believe this new frontier can be a scary thing to come
to grips with but it is happening so we might as well
embrace it or regulate it, or both. We think there are
great efficiencies that can be maximized with this data
but we must find a way that it does not take us to
“1984.”
Hip Hop Beefs settled by the music:
Hip Hop is a sport. It’s like boxing. Hip Hop not only
thrives off of competition, it survives because of it. A
war of words creates interest because the audience
wants to know who is going to win. Who has the skill
to sound better than the other? This is more than
just a pissing contest. This is a battle of wits, a clash
of the minds, this is big boy stuntin’. You can’t get
anywhere or anything in life without communicating.
Hip Hop is the art of communicating in style. There are
multiple skills that must be required in order to make
a meaningful Hip Hop song, reading, writing, rhyming,
storytelling, musical rhythm, rapping and performing
are all needed. These skills must be developed to
create a decent rap. In a world where communication
is revered, to be the best at communicating is to be
the top dog. If your thoughts, ideas, and sound are
considered the best, then your thoughts, ideas, and
sound are considered to be the most influential and
influence sways minds.
Gypsy Cop: Have
you ever heard this term?
I was recently introduced
to this slang term for law
enforcement who jumps
from one department
to the next regardless of, or because of misconduct
or poor performance on the job. This term gained
popularity after the infamous Tulia drug bust, where
officer Tom Coleman allegedly entrapped innocent
people, with the majority being African-American,
as part of an undercover operation. There have
been multiple documented cases in states including
Alaska and Texas. These states are so big that often
times these misbehaving cops evade administrative
discipline due to the sheer size of the states and the
number of agencies. In some cases departments
have been known to give good recommendations to
poor performing cops to “pass the trash,” and get rid
of rotten apples.
Villain Worship: In recent times it has become
cool to root for the bad guy and/or the anti-hero.
Is society seeing its reflection through this age of
transparency and discovering that we may have
flaws? Are we celebrating those flaws through relating
to the imperfect human condition or are we celebrating
gangsterism by worshiping the villain? With recent