funky49's blog has MOVED!

That's right! I'm in comfy Wordpress digs now at http://www.funky49.com and loving it!

funky49 goes to Fermilab...

Clips from my trip to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. ENJOY!

funky49 on WBIG (now in mp3)

Would you like to hear funky49 be interviewed by Brian at WBIG 1280AM The Big Wake Up Call from Chicago, Illinois? Would you like to make fun of my UHMS and general inarticulation?

YES I DO!

NO I DON'T!

Fermilab Photo Album

Thank you Google/Picasa!

Fermilab Photo Album is now available so check out the pictures!

Science Outreach via Rap + "Particle Business" Mastering

The "Science Outreach via Rap" speech/paper/presentation hit the web today. You can get it on Rapbassador.com. Be sure to post in the comments section with suggestions so that all the teachers that read that page can hear your examples too.

Also, The HT is in the midst of the mastering process for the "Particle Business". YES THE HT FROM EMPULSE RECORDS STUDIO 6 THE HT. For posterity's sake, the credit will look like this:

"Mixed and Mastered by The HT @ Studio 6, Port Orange, FL"

Particle Business Ringtones!

Particle Business (Fermilab Rap) Ring Tones now available!

http://www.rapbassador.com/?page_id=138

Get'em while they're hot! These ring tones will give you an idea of the musical awesome behind the song, Particle Business.

WBIG AM1280 Radio Interview

I just got off the phone with the Big Wake Up Call, WBIG AM1280 out of Chicago. I totally feel like the "Fresh Prince of Batavia" again! Thank you Chicago!!!

Things went well because before the interview, I was laughing at the sports guy reporting about how the "Cougars" did last night. I made sure to plug Dan Lamoureux of Chicagoland's Crapbot Productions. What's odd is they didn't ask any of the questions they sent me! I got to mention how I was taking the "triple beam scale" back from the rappers talking about cocaine and put it back into the science lab.

What is super-awesome is that earlier this morning, Jonathan Coulton was on the radio too! He was part of a music industry report on NPR.

Fermilab Friday

Sadly, there were no children in this corn.

Today Christy got to see some Fermilab! We stopped by the Lederman Center and then Wilson Hall. I gave the pictures from my camera to Tona in Communications and chatted with her and ??? for a bit before heading to the 15th floor. A great view! We walked the little exhibits and took in a bit of a Fermilab tour movie. After the movie the tour guide pointed me out as the Fermilab rapper! 15 minutes about to end... :) We took off to see the bison and Christy got to see her first cornfield! We also went by the 15 foot wide bubble chamber. Back to the Wilson Hall (HIGHRISE!) to have some wine and chat with Aaron (bassman!), Kyle from Master Control and Robin from 'Atom Smashers' before headed down to see the recently approved results from D0 and CDF. We minds were melted hardcore with the high-energy particle physics business.

DAN could not come out tonight! He was either going to hang with us and shoot more and watch the Drug Sniffing Dogs rock or go watch his friend rock out with the Blizzard of Oz. Dan was so wacked out from his swine flu and allergies being on the prairie that he was going to stay home and take care of himself. Sometimes you gotta do that. Get well Dan Lamoureux! Ben G from the Former Fat Boys could also not make it (he went fishing, the pic looks relaxing!) but my new Illinois friends are dropping like flies!

funky49 rapping for some scientists!

We leave during the Q&A part of the CDF results (D0+CDF are pretty much listening better to the signal-to-background, no Higgs yet yo!) to get ready for the show. Arrive and start pizza and beering and beering it up. We chat with Eric who, along with Ben, are supposed to be on a tv show about rollercoasters. Eric brought along an accelerometer that hung like a Flavor Flav clock around his neck while Ben jailbroke his iPhone so it could run his custom accerlerometer app.

Drug Sniffing Dogs!

Such awesome! Anyway, we drink, the Drug Sniffing Dogs rock, funky49 rocked a set and more Drug Sniffing Dogs bringing it. We made our own after party with me and Ben and Christy and Britany. After that Christy and I had our own party. A great time. Thank you so much Ben Kilminster and Fermilab for having me speak, rap and shoot a music video. I'm so thankful!

Ben Kilminster rocking out!

Science Outreach via Rap Presentation

Last Tuesday I gave a presentation in the Wilson Hall at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. It was about Science Outreach via Rap. If you don't mind RealPlayer, please give it a watch.

Science Outreach via Rap

Fermilab Thursday

A very multicultural breakfast: Today started with breakfast with Dan and Ben. Ben had the Hobo Platter that we were laughing about yesterday. Do hobos know they have their own platter hear? Dan had the Italian Skillet again which cheesed me off. I was gonna get it today but he was complaining about it yesterday. I bet it was full of deliciousness! I got a breakfast burrito. Ben was a French Hobo with his Hobo platter /w French Toast, I was Mexican and Dan was Italian.

Dan shooting buffalo like its 1867!

Dan and I go see the bison. People were honking at us from the road which was hilarious while we were filming. A lady with some kids asked to take my picture with them. I asked if I could have my picture taken with them too! It was an honor. After the bison (with the Wilson Hall in the background!) we bounced out to D0. We shot in their datacenter, control room and their experiment build hall. Dan was really happy with the last one. He also got to shoot Marc from the control room using a geiger counter on something. I was busy tweeting what we were doing.

Dan after shooting Marc from the D0 Control Room

After that, we go to the CDF offices and shoot with Dr. Ben Kilmister. Dan shot him explaining how Higgs events and shot me being confused. We stepped outside where he shot us bullshirting and doing the 'Atom Smasher' handshake that we came up with. It starts with daps and then a first bump "collision" that results in particles being sprayed outward. Keep it nerdy.

Dan and Dr. Ben Kilminster

Dans Tips for Successful Video Shoots:
* Rapper needs to know their lyrics
* Rapper needs to be presentable
* Rapper needs tote all of their clothing every day of the shoot (oops!)
* Dan hates shadows
* Other stuff why are you asking me to remember?

Steve & Christy on the train - huzzah public transportation!

Afterward I race to the airport to pick up my girlfriend, we park the car and train into the city. We peep a giant Picasso metal sculpture, the Cloud Gate, fountains, find our hotel, have a drink 95 floors up in the John Handcock Tower (seriously, why pay $15 to go to the 94th floor, when you can pay $15 for an adult beverage on the 95th floor?) and then to Ed Devevic's for dinner (thanks Gary!). Train back to the car to drive back to Naperville.

Another Great Day. Thanks Illinois!

Fermilab Wednesday

Us humans are but such small creatures on this planet...


It must be a slow news day because I'm in it. :)

The Beacon News & Daily Herald & symmetry breaking

Check out the pictures! They did a really good job taking pictures with their cameras!

Today I get to meet Dan Lamoureux (from Nerdcore for Life documentary and the LOLCats & Buggin Out videos!) for the first time. We are going to eat mad breakfast foods and talk about video location shoots. more to come....
....

So Dan and I scarf some breakfast and we drive through Fermilab to get our sweet Visitor Passes. We shoot some in front of the Wilson Hall and run to get batteries for his boombox because we didn't want to be stuck without music for the next stops. We signed our radiation agreements (I think we can blame but not sue Fermilab if we turn sterile or something) and were escorted down into the CDF collision hall with Dee and Brittany. NO ONE GETS TO GO HERE. WE WERE SPECIAL! It was awesome. Crazy cramped. Lots of electronics. The muon scintillators were most visible because they are the outermost sensor package. We got shots with some guys and Brittany and Dee. Too much fun. Amazing stuff.

Dan Lamoureux shooting funky49

We bounce out from CDF to go to the Wilson Hall and meet up with Tona & Rachel from Fermilab Communications. We get taken to the huge room where the Cockcroft-Walton is and shoot there! They have two so obviously we went in the second one but only after it was grounded. We don't need any stray electrons!

We then had this GREAT shoot in the Tevatron Master Control Room. We even were able to get someone's blog in the shot who has their own Star Wars fan film in post-production! I even got to shoot DAN as a worker in the MCR! It was great! From there we went up to the 15th floor of the Wilson Hall and Dan got some footage up there. It's really beautiful up there. We stop by CDF and Dan and Ben got to meet. I think I'm hungry. We have been running around since breakfast. Everyone at Fermilab has been so nice. Dan has been great to be around. Because I was in their daily intranet/Fermilab Today website, people I haven't met wanted to say hi which was really cool.

Fermilab Tuesday

TODAY ROCKED! First, check out what's on a bulletin board at the Wilson Hall


I guess mainly because this day was going to stress me out the most. Giving a speech to a room full of scientists when the most education I have is a simple Bachelors degree?

Today couldn't have started off any worse. That Taco Bell Volcano Nachos I had last night? Bad idea. I was getting torn up from the inside. Breakfast was some yogurt and a few grapes and a vitamin (which made my stomach even more upset!)

I shaved with store brand disposable razor blades. Let's call them Mach Faux's because they kinda suck. Drove out to Fermilab bumpin Kanye. It's a good liiiiiiife I told myself. I started to believe. Took this great shot of the Wilson Hall (errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr HIGHRISE) and sent a tweet bout it. I hung out in the room the presentation was going to be in and talked with the AV guys, Al and Jim a bit. They were cool. I wanted to spend as much time as possible in the room to get used to it. Around 10:30 I met up with Aria and she took me on a tour of cool stuff... like where the anti-matter is stored! First was the Cockcroft-Walton where things start with a simple bottle of hydrogen (H) and they hit it with an extra electron so its H-. From there we saw a bit of the Linac which starts to accelerate the H- in a pulse.

funky49 with Cockcroft-Walton generator

Did I mention I saw where anti-matter gets stored? We had to walk down there with a real Geiger counter!

Aww! But I wanna see the Linac! (not that bad tho)



Panning shot of the main control room of the Tevatron

Chillin with Aria in the Master Control Room

After the awesome tour with Aria, I got to have lunch with her and her boyfriend Aaron. Aaron plays bass for the Drug Sniffing Dog and Aria will sing with them. Aaron works at Fermilab too. He is in the communications center between CERN & Fermilab, the Remote Operations Center. They went back to work (ha! ha!) and I did mic checks with the Al and Jim the AV guys. I also spoke with Rachel from Fermilab communications and tried to chill out. I was getting more nervous by the minute. I went outside to go over my notecards again and thought the wind almost took them from my hands! The person who chilled me out the most was Kevin the security guy. We spoke about Chicago and the Cubs and Wrigley field. Thanks Kevin! He directed someone with a mad grip of cameras on the neck to the room I was speaking in! WOW! The press is gonna be here! Ben didn't tell me about this until today! Even tho Kevin chilled me out I was still very nervous. Ben introduced me to the audience and I could feel my lower legs tremble.

BUT when I got into the speech and was getting such a positive reaction from people I relaxed a LOT! I started to speak quicker but slowed myself down. We did a Q&A immediately afterward and there were some good questions asked. Thankfully Ben helped answer them! After the presentation I changed from my button down shirt and put on my grey funky #49 jersey complete with 'geek bling' that mCRT & his fiancee Katcha gave me at Nerdapalooza. (Weirded me out having the press' cameras still flashing while I'm taking off my shirt...) Thus equipped, I did a performance of the Fermilab Rap "Particle Business" and afterward went over my lyrics. To close, I played some science-rap videos and had some more one-on-one time with people. I left a bunch of funky49 Starblazer CDs on the table and they were all taken. Some people also had me sign them! A few members of the press chatted with me little bit afterwards. I hope they spoke with Ben and other Fermilab people too.

Afterward Ben told me I did a good job and we went out for beer. Mmm beer!

With Ben just after the "Science Outreach via Rap" presentation

Hanging with 3.5 Atom Smashers
(Ben Kilminster, John Conroy, Robin Erbacher and Ian)
from the PBS documentary, The Atom Smashers

Fermilab Monday

I wonder if these bison make Fermilab cheese? Anyway...


Breakfast with yogurt and fruit again. Drove to Fermilab and saw the bison closer up for the first time. I also visited the Lederman Science Center. It has that video I LOVE that shows you the metric powers of 10. You know the one, it starts with some couple chillin on a blanket next to Lake Michigan and zooms out so you can see the Milky Way galaxy and beyond and will zoom in to the guys hand? The rest of the Lederman Science Center is pretty cool and a MUST before you go and see the stuff on the 15th floor of the Wilson Hall. I also spent some cheddar on Fermilab tattoos and car decal and a onesie for my cousin Tracy who is having a bay-bee.

Meet up with Ben at the Highrise (remember, that's what you are supposed to call the Wilson Hall!) and we put up a bunch of flyers. Ben must know a ton of people because we handed off like half the flyers to volunteers who did most of Wilson Hall (err, the Highrise). Next we flyered up the D0 office as well as the Users Center where we will be performing Friday night. We also flyered up the CDF offices as well as the CDF building where their control room is (along with a bunch of scissor lifts, a huge mural of the CDF experiment and displays explaining sensor elements of the CDF array of equipment.

Check out this 15 foot wide bubble chamber!

Ben made up the flyers to promote the Friday show (funky49 with Fermilab's Drug Sniffing Dogs!) as well as the Tuesday "Science Outreach via Rap" presentation. Pretty cool! When we came back I had the best souvenir ever! A parking ticket from Fermilab's security! Too sweet!

Went back to the hotel and crashed until it was time to battle traffic on the way to the Drug Sniffing Dogs practice. They rocked hard last night but rocked EXTRA hard with their brass section! Sax (got a reed actually) plus trombone and trumpet.

TACO BELL VOLCANO NACHO FOR DINNER FTW!

Fermilab Sunday 1

First, Dr. Ben Kilminster is beer powered awesome. But before that...


Sunday afternoon. I couldn't stand it. I had to drive out to Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory today. Did I mention this weather is hot and the ToYOta from MinneSOta has crappy AC?

Do you remember when that guy from Close Encounters of the Third Kind is haunted by imagery of the Devil's Tower... and then he finally sees it? That's how I felt! I've been seeing the Wilson Hall* in pictures and video for the past few months. First I see the top of it for a second through some trees. Then I see more of it as I drive closer. Finally the building appears in full view and I have to stop the car and take it in.


*Fermilab peeps don't call it the Wilson Hall. They call it the 'Highrise'.

I drove around and found the D0 and CDF sites. Saw the bison. Drove down Power Line Road (it has power lines next to it! crazy road naming scientists!). I also kicked it in the atrium of the Wilson Hall/Highrise. They have a Faucault Pendulum there! Dave and I tried to get some funky49 'press shots' with one for our MOSI photo shoot! I wrote some new note cards while alone in the cafeteria area. I went for Thai food thinking I'd get some vegetarian dish and be good. NOPE! Nearest Thai joint was closed so I found somewhere for a Chicago style hot dog (Vienna Beef) and chili. Took a nap and headed off to see the Drug Sniffing Dogs practice.

The Drug Sniffing Dogs are mainly musician/experimenters from Fermilab's CDF group. They ROCK! Steve Z liked the instrumental and most were enthused about the raps (except for the drummer who will be a harder nut to crack?). I got an invite from Aria to see where anti-matter is made on Tuesday. YES! I basically cracked a few beers and listened to a bunch of rawk in an unfinished basement! My second in two days! What else did I have twice in two days? White Castle. No more, I promise. Watched some Penn & Teller Bulls hit before going to bed.

Fermilab Caturday #1

Fermilab Caturday #1

Yesterday lil' Redd took me to the airport and we said goodbye to each other like we're "that couple" that embarrass all y'all in public. Like John Legend says, we just don't care, we just don't care.

Flight, aiight. Car rental, got a Yaris mainly because it was a Toyota from Minnesota (says the license plate). Hotel, simple but pleasing. There is two of every utensil so call me Noah. I needed food and wasn't going to eat from some spot that I have in FL. What to do? WHITE CASTLE. Haven't had that since living in Jersey (what part? the south). It's like food mush you inhale and don't have to chew. Everything that The End of Overeating says is bad. Mmm... so good though.

Came back to shower and nap and piss around until meeting up with Ben G, aka $ucksex aka Ben G of the Former Fat Boys. I'm glad we got to chill. He's very cool and centering and a good host. I got a shirt from him to wear in the Fermilab video because I want to put him up like that. Hard Corey and their sneaky 'Laotian' friend and Rock Girl Kelly also rolled up. Ben has a great artistic vision. He makes the music and videos that he wants to make to entertain himself first. He's got some sweet stuff planned so you need to keep both eyes out (BACK TO THE FUTURE DELOREAN! MAD BTTF REFERENCES!)

Right now its Sunday morning and I'm eating yogurt like I'm Michael Westin. And fruit. And healthy stuff to push out that evil White Castle. Gotta make a good poop soon.

car mp3 cd playlist: TI, Kanye, Magitek, Madhatter, Kabuto & Justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4R_oswROic

ScientificBlogging.com hearts me!

Check out this writeup on the Rapbassador album on ScientificBlogging.com!

Finally! Science Rap Music For Children
http://www.scientificblogging.com/alternate_allele/finally_science_rap_music_children

Just imagine, all the cool and funky beats of rap music coupled with the wholesome words we use in science class. What a concept! And please, don't be hate'n on me because you didn't think of it first.

To lead this movement, I nominate Tampa's own Steven Rush, also known as, "Funky49." Funky is the self proclaimed Rap Ambassador of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). Funky49 takes pride in his hella tight Beastie Boy-ish style.

funky49 is in print!

There is a M-F newspaper in Tampa Bay called the TBT (Tampa Bay Times). funky49 was pimped in the TBT on Friday, 20 March! It was on page 42 (that’s like a blessing from Douglas Adams). I always love a reference between me and the Beastie Boys!

Here is the text from the article:

funky49
Nerdcore is alive and well in Tampa!

funky49, a.k.a. Steven Rush of Temple Terrace, was once mentioned in a Wired article about hip-hop that caters to computer programmers and other proud geeks. He recently released Rapbassador, a digital album about the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry. You’d roll your eyes at the sheer geekiness of it — “Wait a sec, let your eyes focus/ you’re face to face with a diplodocus!” — if only funky49’s Beasties-esque dance-rap wasn’t so tight. “If I can have fun and draw some attention to Tampa’s MOSI,” Rush said, “it is a win.” funky49.com.

Rapbassador ready for you to DOWNLOAD!

Visit Rapbassador.com for download and full info!

Final Tracklisting:

01 mad science
02 thats not imax
03 the future is calling
04 your body (is a world)
05 mosi got the party
06 still nerdy
07 still nerdy [chopped & funked mix]
08 starblazer [2009 mixdown]

Visit Rapbassador.com for download and full info!

Check out redvoid's blog!

Tune in to the mind of redvoid. The first post is on minimalism.
http://www.redvoidmusic.com/blog/

edit: He's all fancy and neato and he inspired me to rework my blog. In my blog, can you find the recipe for jello shots? :)

Rapbassador Final Stretch!

We're in the final stretch for the completion of Rapbassador! I'm waiting on some collabo bass+guitar parts and some time to do cover art. Miquiel will be doing post-production mastering. Yesterday I went by MOSI Tampa to take some pictures of their Recyclosaurus for cover art. I also scanned a special piece of awesome to be included with the release. The tracklisting is as follows:

RAPBASSADOR by funky49
01 mad science (cover of a fanatical/jaylyn coffin song)
02 thats not imax
03 the future is calling
04 your body (is a world)
05 mosi got the party
06 still nerdy
07 still nerdy (chopped and screwed remix)

After Rapbassador is done, I've got some music with Kabuto and MC Lars.

Tampa MOSI EP in production!

Guess what? (what?)

I'm working on a new album. It's to support and promote my local MOSI... Museum of Science and Industry. Tampa's MOSI has a brand new exhibit called Body Worlds. That's one of the songs. Here are some lyrics to "Your Body is a World"

shatter apathy of anatomy, physiology
Doc Gunther thanks for your discovery
MOSI, Science and Industry
hooks it up (yeah) for all to see
what's under the skin of humanity
ignore what's in store? insanity.
see where I'm coming from with this
go and witness the epididymis

Another song is about MOSI itself. It's called "MOSI got the Party" Sample lyrics:

Mariposa, butterfly in Spanish, got
MOSI in your town and that's an advantage,
manage to adopt, so that these fliers, can't be stopped,
Bio Works Butterfly Garden rocks

Another song pimps the IMAX theater at MOSI. This one is called "That's Not IMAX!"
Check it!

so whatcha, whatcha wanna watch?
whateverrr, you'll like it a lot!
animated features, ones about creatures
documentaries for all to see, what
did my Aunt Rose Marie like best?
BRRR - the sound track to Everest!
so, doesn't matter what you got at home
it's nothing like the MOSI Dome!

The fourth song for the EP is a bit more personal. The song is called "Still Nerdy". Here are 32 bars of it.

got
Lil 'Debbie hunches, Star Crunches, in my
lunches, never throwin punches in school,
never was a fool, made to feel foolish
toolish, like a big dork, cause endomorph
my body type, now I rhyme right
fat then, fat pockets now outrageous
cause voracious I'm a reader
it took some patience, girls got flirtatious,
metamorphosis from that to this
gettin' dissed to being on the guest list
transformed outside and paradigm to be a
winner, took girls to dinner and got in her
never stopped rockin with the PCs, mp3s
and a MC they helped make me, PS
three the new Atari twenty-six fix,
never gonna stop nerd being in the mix

no chicks, no girls, no opposite sex
twenty-four baud I would connect
enter cyberspace, hello to BBS
use that smart mind that I was blessed
Coke made my glasses, my frames the worst
everyday had a pimple to burst, cursed
by feelin' like a schlemiel, had to deal with
depression, aggression, ka turned the wheel
now i don't feel that trouble, rubble at my feet
butterfly busted out of the geek, I speak
with faith in self, confidence wealth
retired the old me on the shelf
new school me got savour faire
now whatcha wanna compare?
sizes of the pee-pee or SATs?
scrotums or intelligence quotients?

Honestly, this is some of my proudest work as of late. 2009 is going to be a good year for rhyme! I'm also working on the music for these songs too.... using my newly upgraded Pro Tools LE 8 baby!

If I can get one extra person to Tampa's MOSI... then its worth it! What inspired all this? Julia @ Brandtampa.com and her "Virtual Ambassador" program. I'm not much of a blogger, but I can hook up a rhyme and deliver it over my beats! I appointed myself the unofficial rapbassador (rap+ambassador) to Tampa's MOSI. I've been the Chicago's MOSI, the Franklin Institute in Philly as well as science museums in NYC and Munich. I want Tampa's to shine the brightest!

FUNK

p.s.

sorry if i'm not the best, most prolific blogger. i feel that who the hell wants to hear from me? As Q-Tip says, check the rhyme yo.