Martin Luther King day is one of the few holidays that I actually take some time to reflect on why we're celebrating the holiday. Forgive me for not thinking about what Casmir Pulaski has done for me or meditating about ferns on Arbor Day. After reading two very good books on Dr. King's life (Bearing The Cross and The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.) I found more personal reasons to admire his life.

Of course, the strides that he made for the civil rights movement are admirable enough. But King's devotion to a belief and his willingness to work towards the accomplishment of a goal despite very human personal doubts and fears is what draws me to him. His even temper in most public responses (despite anger and fear in private) is something I try, but often fail, to emulate. It's quite hard for me to exactly articulate why I view his way of living his life as one to follow. I think reading one of the two books, particularly Bearing The Cross, would help people understand the qualities he possessed that aren't brought out in grade school.

Anyhow, as an example of the even tempered nature that I so admire, and as a great reminder of the struggles he endured for the cause of civil rights, every year on Martin Luther King day I read his Letter From a Birmingham Jail. If you haven't read it yet, it is a little long (King says so himself), but it is a powerful letter. I can't even imagine how I would respond if I was imprisoned for a cause, the organization I was leading was in jeopardy, and my peers turned against me (the "fellow clergymen" he referred to were eight prominent spiritual leaders that publicly objected to the protest he joined in Birmingham).

I am sure though that my response would not be as eloquent and rational as Dr. King's was.

The Postal Disservice

In addition to many people having the day off, many government services aren't operating today. That, combined with the US Postal Service's general incompetence, probably has screwed me. Last week I submitted a 30 minute mix for BPM Magazine's Next On The Decks 2 competition. I was quite proud of the mix and thought it had a legitimate shot of winning (thereby getting me gigs in LA and Miami at the Winter Music Conference).

I paid an extra 50 cents to track the Postal Service's progress (which I normally never do). Last night I decided to double check just to make sure that my mix arrived on Friday (the deadline for arrival was today, January 15, so it needed to be there by Friday or Saturday since it could not be delivered on Monday). There should have been NO PROBLEM as I paid extra for delivery and mailed it early.

However, USPS's tracking system now says the package was "Missent" and that it was "misrouted" on Friday. Which therefore means, there is no way it will get to BPM in time for it to be considered.

I know my chances for winning this contest were statistically low. But I felt good about that mix, and after seeing Jessica win a different BPM contest, I thought it was possible. And while I'm furious that there is now no chance I'll be going to Miami, I'm ultimately disappointed that my mix won't even be considered. If I was going to lose this, I might as well lose it after they heard my mix.

Bottom line: Fuck the US Postal Service... there's a reason why the internet is putting it out of business.

Anyhow, for today's song, I'm posting up the mix. Check it out. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Pase Rock with Spank Rock and Santogold - Lindsay Lohan's Revenge (CDR)
2. Justin Martin - The Fugitive (BuzzinFly)
3. Edu K - Hot Mama (Sinden Remix) (Man Germany)
4. Missy Elliot - We Run This (X-Press 2 Rave 'n' Bleep Mix) (Atlantic)
5. Benedict X - A Bit Boxy (CDR)
6. Diplo - Shhake It Up (Uppercuts)
7. Jesse Rose & Sinden - Me Mobile (Duckbeats Ringtone Riddim) (Made To Play)
8. Mr. Zim & Pablo Ingles - Peanut Butter Jelly Time (Undefeated)
9. Round Table Knights - Baltimore Clock Rock (CDR)

Mertz - BPM Contest Mix