10 Honest things

Been tagged by my spirit-brother David to do some more truetrue things about myself. Like David I'll try to refrain from repeating the things I did in my two previous posts, here and here. I will also doubly duplicate the love/hate theme. Here goes.

1. I love watching people performing things they've completely dedicated themselves to, ie: martial artists, acrobats, musicians, etc.

2. I hate nagging. HATE IT! Do not nag me, AT ALL!

3. I love a well proportioned woman. I'm not an ass-man or tit-man but a whole body-man.

4. I hate arrogance.

5. I love a good story, be it a book, film, song, or a recollection.

6. I hate blind violence. Ethnic cleansing, border wars, holy lands, etc., all bullshit.

7. I love Nature. Though there are some things I have a healthy fear of I love nature.

8. I hate poachers and people who hunt for sport. And by extension people who wear real animal furs they didn't hunt and clean.

9. I love salmon. My favorite fish to eat. Baked or broiled is best. One day I need to go salmon fishing.

10. I hate religious zealots(nuts!).

Bonus: I love Love.

Well, I have absolutely no one to tag so anyone I know that reads my blog wants to do a list just comment here and let me know where your list is. It doesn't have to be a blog, hint to the myspace and faacebook friends I have.

Don't tell me ethinicity(race) doesn't matter anymore!!!!!

The following is a excerpt from this rather disturbing but not surprising article.

The witness shows me a home video he recorded shortly after the storm. On the tape, three white Algiers Point men discuss the incident. One says it might be a bad idea to talk candidly about the crime. Another dismisses the notion, claiming, "No jury would convict."

If you haven't clicked the link and read the article, the above references the blatantly ethnically charged vigilantism perpetrated against Black men in New Orleans, specifically in Algiers Point, a predominantly white neighborhood, in the weeks following hurricane katrina.

There's a whole lot I wanted to write while I was reading this article and now I'm just blah. This is the country I live in. I'm SICK of this shit! I can't wait until I see an america where there is no one alive who was born before 1970. Yes, I realize that includes my parents and many of my friends' parents but, oh well. I love my parents but this is bigger picture shit I'm talking about. I can't help you if you don't understand. I'm TIRED! I've read and learned about stuff happening like in this article in history as I grew up and I shouldn't be reading about shit like this happening NOW!

And if you haven't seen Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke I suggest you watch it. It's a very important documentary of how this government once again failed it's citizens miserably.

Crazy ass SNL

Thses dudes be coming up with some seriously retarded yet good stuff!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Plain WRONG!!!

This is just sick. This kid's momma needs to get her ass kicked, or whoever used that damn box to put that kids clothes in. This kid's momma actually said, "look at the camera and cry," THEN said, "don't you like the box? It's a nice box." And everyone in the room laughing needs their ass kicked too. You just don't do shit like this to a child. People wonder why I can't stand ghetto-ass people. Simple ignorant shit like this. Oh yeah, and there is a special circle reserved in hell for the guy in the background that thinks this is so hilarious and is loudly cracking up.

Kid Gets and Xbox for Xmas...NOT!

Adrenaline Rush

Now this looks like fun. I always wanted to go skydiving and now I have something else to move towards. I like mountain hiking/climbing so that's not a problem for me either. Yeah, I can do this. Would you?

Check out this video: Speed Riding

Are You Serious?!

Here is an article on the incident of the teacher who used two black students, girls, to demonstrate slavery conditions to a class. And another.
This was bought up yesterday in my American History class during a discussion about the country's current status. This is just absolutely retarded, however, reading Free Speech's opinion on eataddict.com of the incident, I'm not as upset as I was because he makes some very valid points. BUT this teacher needs to be seriously reprimanded and disciplined in some way. I would like to believe the teacher had the best of intentions of educating the students but I just can't. This was either a serious lack of proper judgment or something very sinister. Based on the article, the teacher is only sorry one of the girl's was upset, NOT at what she did to upset her, which leans me more toward sinister. If the teacher had used at least one white student, since it was only an educational demonstration, then I wouldn't be as upset. But, just because the slaves of the american past were African, this teacher goes out of their way to pick two black kids? And both of them girls?! Ultimately, though, the ethnicity of the girls is secondary to the fact that the teacher actually physically bound two students and had them crawl around. And it doesn't matter that one of the girls volunteered either. You don't do that.

Also, the fact that these were young children exacerbates the situation. Unfortunately, most decent, law abiding parents tell their children to listen and obey when any adult tells them to do something. Well, this is how situations like this happen and how pedophiles are able to take advantage of children. My father NEVER EVER told my brother and I to blindly obey anyone, especially strangers, which is what teacher's are essentially. Even at the age of these girls this would have never happened to me or my brother, but, we were taught different. Better. Taught to think for ourselves from a very early age and to defend our position as long as we knew we were right or what someone, anyone was telling us was wrong.

If this teacher honestly doesn't see anything wrong with what she did she does not need to be teaching young children anymore, period.

Strange art inspiration

This guy uses genitalia as his starting points but ends up with some good stuff. May be a bit of a perv but he's definitely got talent.



Not exactly what you think - very funny - video powered by Metacafe

More things that make me different than you

I just had to do an addition to the previous post. Some of these were my original thoughts but when I sat down to do the first one I actually drew a blank, so I had to come up with others. Here's more.

11. I'm shy as hell! Most of my friends would be like, "You ain't shy at all!" That's true mostly 'cause I'm comfortable around them, so I don't give a fuck about anything. However, I am shy when it comes to women I find attractive. I don't have a problem talking to a woman once I've been introduced to them but I usually don't take the initiative to introduce myself. And once introduced I'll hold a conversation but I don't initiate anything beyond. There are rare exceptions though. On rare occasions I do chase, as a very few women can attest to but that's not my normal modus operandi.

12. I can drink. A LOT! I was eighteen the very first time I got plastered drunk. I'll never forget that. My Mom got me drunk, too! I was working at the same club as she was and it was my last day working there before I left for the Air Force. Man! I had a taste for white russians at the time, so, my mom made me a BIG one. I had a white russian in a tall glass, three shots of Cuervo Gold tequila, and three Newports. I was DONE! I'm a small guy but I can drink. I've impressed people with how much I can handle and keep going.

13. I keep secrets forever or until relieved of the obligation. For some reason people sense, know, and understand that I am very trustworthy and like to tell me secrets. I've been told so many in my life I've forgotten many of them. That's how long I hold on to them.

14. I'm an excellent mediator for others. I have the ability to meld logic with emotion and people listen. Can't do the shit for myself, though.

15. All I've ever wanted since I was a kid was to have a family. Wife, children, house. That was always my goal for being an adult. The means to maintain these things, job/career, was secondary. I thought this up way before I ever saw The Cosby Show, too.

16. I still love every girlfriend I've ever had. Nothing fanatical, just, for me, love does not diminish. Love is a very real thing to me and once felt and given it always remains. I'm talking about since early childhood, too. I realized and understood my attraction to the opposite sex at a very early age. My very first girlfriend was when I was around 4 or 5 years old. Her name was Kenti. We were in a private school, Mwamko Wa Siasa Shule(I think that's how it was spelled). We were so tight that kids in the higher grades above us threw us a wedding. How crazy is that? We were together pretty much from the time the school began to the time it ended, which was a couple of years. Some real marriages don't last that long. I've ALWAYS taken my relationships with women seriously.

17. I have never had a one night stand. It seems just about everyone I know has and they always find it weird that I haven't. Interestingly no one has ever not believed me. I still wonder what that says about me.

I just might do more but I think I've told enough. We'll see.

Amazing

Wow. David hates shit like this (coincidences) but I gotta do it because he JUST blogged about it. I've been planning on doing a post on The Cosby Show for a couple of days now. I bought the 25th Anniversary Box set of the whole season last Friday. I've been watching it pretty much ever since and was constantly reminded of why it is the BEST show there ever was on american television. There has never been a more balanced american family on american television, period. Interesting how our tastes coincide considering the title of his post. Naturally, I had to copy the scene he used to illustrate the brilliance of the show because it is one of the most memorable scenes in the history of the show. Whenever I think of the show I get a mental picture of Phylicia Rashad as Claire Huxtable(I did a post on this previously) and the scene below. Yeah, I just finished the first season and started the second and am amazed, yet not surprised in the least, at how well the show stands up to the test of time and how great it was and still is. This was the only show my brother and I were really allowed to watch as we ate dinner when we were young.




And one little note. Bill Cosby did this show to show a good, decent, and loving american family not a Black family. It just so happened that the family happened to be Black. This was so needed at the time and, sad to say, still is. As an end I'd like to say thanks to Bill Cosby and all of the cast and crew who worked on the show on it's run.

Oh yeah, unlike David I had a HUGE crush on Lisa Bonet from the time this show first aired. Smokin' Hot don't begin to cover that woman. Dayum! indeed.

Of course, at the time this particular show aired I didn't realize how sexually charged this Ray Charles song was until I got older and especially after I saw the biographical film starring Jamie Foxx. However it is also a very loving song as well, which is why I'm sure Bill used the song. Plus it's a GREAT song. Bill Cosby had/has BALLS for doing this, but he had balls for doing the show period. I say thanks again!!

10 Things That Make Me Different From You - Relly Version

My man David did a rather interesting post on his blog in which he put up some interesting info about himself. And though we know each other very, very well, I did learn something about him. So, I figured I'd do the same, hence "Relly version" in the title, and see who I surprise or just intrigue a bit. If you don't have a blog of your own and want to participate, just put it in my comments (or whatever page you have, like myspace or facebook, and leave a link in the comments). Heeeeere we go:

1. I am constantly thinking evil thoughts. Like ALL the time. Example: If I happen to be standing behind you I'm most likely thinking of how easy it would be to reach out and break your neck. Shit like that. I know fighters/martial artists normally size people up as potential adversaries as a matter of training but this is different. And it doesnt' matter if you're a stranger or someone I hold close, can't stop the thoughts from runnin'.

2. This is no surprise but I have a bad temper. As I've grown into a rational adult I've learned how to check my temper but it is a constant battle for me.

3. Coinciding with #2, I have no patience whatsoever, especially when it comes to dumb shit and blatant stupidity. Can't stand stupid shit. I've been working on this for years with minor results. Very low tolerance for idiots and idiotic behavior.

4. I love to take pictures. I love to pose and play in front of the camera, especially with friends, but I really don't like to see myself in the damn pictures. The only time I liked seeing myself in pictures was when I was a little kid, love those, and all the pictures I ever took with Veronica. It's not that I don't think that I look good, I know I do, I just don't like to see pictures of myself.

5. This one everyone should know and is for those who don't: I HATE BUGS! Especially roaches. Specifically, especially waterbugs, the BIG roaches. I have damn phobia of those things. I had a friend tell me once that I shouldn't tell people about that particular weakness because someone might use it against me in some way or play a practical joke or something. My reply, "I want people to know so if they were to do something so phenomenally stupid as to play a joke on me they'd know why they woke up in the hospital." For real, no rubber bugs or nothing. I WILL seriously fuck you up.

6.I really do long for a feudal type of society. I love modern technology and all but sometimes some people just need to be shot or cut down with a master stroke of a sword. (I think points 1-3 are showing here a bit.) There needs to be some type of blend of the old ways of justice and modern society.

7. I absolutely hate bad grammar. I hate making grammatical mistakes in my writing and really hate reading them. And don't get me started on spoken or written slang. My particular pet peeve is people mixing up 'there' and 'their'. I hate that! Don't think I've seen anyone use 'they're' in place of either of the other two but I know it's coming and it's going to piss me off. I know english is an evil language but damnit if you're going to speak it and write it, LEARN IT FIRST!!!! Shit, they begin teaching it in elementary school. Really, you begin learning it at home but the technicalities are learned in school. Pay attention! I know I need some work myself, as far as punctuation, but I'm talking about blatant shit. I love an intelligent play on words but 'their' and 'there' are NOT interchangeable! (If you think this is petty I really don't give a shit. Which leads right into #8.)

8. I honestly don't give a shit what people think about me. I know some people say it but don't really mean it. I mean it. Your opinion of me is yours. It affects me not in the least. I'm not saying never and no one but in general, 99.9% of the time, yeah, I could care less what anyone thinks of me. I only ever let one person's opinion of me truly affect me. Veronica.

9. I'm really, really cool with life. After the accident with my eye and surviving the car accident I was in, me and life are cool. The accident with my eye was a freak accident and therefore I could have been blinded in both eyes. I have one good one and I still have perfect vision in it so cool. I saw my car after I left the hospital after waking up two days later. The front of it looked like an accordian squeezed shut and my airbag didn't deploy. A few cuts and bruises, a broken left clavicle, and some head trauma (to this day I have know recollection whatsoever of the accident. Know memory) and I still walked out of the hospital. I was unconscious for two and a half days but I woke up. Minor injuries and I can still walk and see and use both my arms, and aside from the memory block of the accident all my mind is still mine and works. I know for a fact it could be worse. I'm not worried about shit!

10. I worry about the people I care about constantly. This is not contradictory to #9. #9 applies to me, I don't worry about myself. I always tell my friends, I'ma be all right. I don't tell them that I worry about them.

I could go on but David started this with 10 so I'll limit it to that for this post. I probably revealed more than I needed to, but that's me. I might do a part 2. Let me know. HOLLA!

Pluto Nash

I have to address this. I just watched Pluto Nash again and just like the first time I viewed it a few years ago I find it to be an excellent sci-fi film. I really, really don't see what peoples problem is with this film. The script was done very well and superbly delivered by the actors. Eddie Murphy is a master. PERIOD! He is still one of my favorite actors and he has more than proven himself. He created his own niche in the machine and he's comfortable there but he is far from stuck there. Also, I love Eddie for doing this film because it is the first truly sci-fi film that is told from a non-white pov. And if you've been paying attention, like I have, Eddie has been doing this his whole career. Yes, there are Black actors that have been doing it long before Eddie came along, and doing it well, but Eddie was next-gen. His role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop was a paradigm shift in hollywood. I remember that movie vividly and every time I see it is like the first time. It is still one of my favorite action films. Anyways, I just felt like publicly expressing a positive view of the film Pluto Nash.

You know what really sealed my admiration for this film, besides Eddie and Rosario Dawson's fine ass? It was Luis Guzman's character, Felix Laranga. Yo, this dude comes on screen in his moon rover blasting his Puerto Rican music, just jammin' like Puerto Rican cats do here on earth in modern times. I just thought that was so cool. It reminded me of a comedy skit that Eddie Griffin did. In the skit Eddie talks about how white people area all about going into space and they have this fantasy of leaving all of us non-white people here on earth. He said, "If ya'll go to the moon, then damnit, we goin' to the moon, too!"

But aside from liking this movie for ethnic reasons, I like it all around because it really is a well done sci-fi film, period. The dialog alone was too cool. How sci-fi is this:
"She got rich by making a whole basketball team by cloning one old guy."
"Oh yeah, the Air Jordans."

COME ON!!! How cool is that! Who, today, will not get the joke in that. And the movie was filled with cool lines like this, which is totally good sci-fi to me 'cause the setting wasn't far future. Anyways, I'd recommend The Adventures of Pluto Nash to anyone wanting to check out a sci-fi film for two reasons: It's good sci-fi and it's not lily white sci-fi which most sci-fi has been.

Take it how you want it but don't judge me if you don't know me.

Hello, I'm still around---I met a real man on Sunday

Hey ya'll. Haven't really felt like writing recently. I have a lot of stuff running around in my mind, Most of it is in the background but it still has an effect on the everyday goings ons. Anyways, I'd been wanting to write about what happened last Sunday morning when I got off of work, so here goes:

Well, I left work and get to the Delancey st. F train to begin my journey home. Well this particular day the uptown tracks were being worked on so I had to ride the downtown to Jay st in Brooklyn to ride the A up to the F or D. D is what gets me home. Well it took the downtown F a while to get to Delancey. It finally came and I got up from the bench to get on. I'm standing behind this guy as the train comes to a stop. I kind of shift forward a bit in anticipation of the doors opening and the guy turns and aggressively says, "Yo! Wait!"
I'm like, "What you talking about?"
"You bumped me! Don't be pushin'!"
"I didn't touch you, man."
"Yeah you did! Just chill the fuck out! For real, you better chill!"
"Whatever yo, I ain't touch you! You chill!"
So, this whole convo is going on as we are getting on the train. We going back and forth, adrenaline rising. He tell me to sit and I'm like I'll sit when I fuckin' feel like it. Now, I don't want to fight this dude but my natural personality is to reciprocate the energy I'm given. Plus I'm a native New York cat and we really just don't back down to naked aggression. But, I realize this is not the right course of action right now. He crosses to the side of the train I'm on and gets in the ready to fight position with his right hand half-cocked for a blow. So, I take the high road and say, "Look I ain't tryin' to fight you, dude." He's still agitated but he backs off, still talking shit for a minute or so. And just so you don't get it twisted I'm not afraid to fight , it's just not always the necessary thing to do all the time. SO, I sit down. I'm no longer making eye contact with this dude. And I'm smiling to myself 'cause I'm wondering if I didn't stop myself and deflate the situation, would I have been calm enough to apply what I've been learning in Aikido or would I have stabbed him in the neck with the knife I had my hand on the whole time (Note: Don't fuck with me. :-). Also, I realized that part of my big ass coat probably did touch him and I just didn't feel it but he still overreacted. Anyways, a few minutes goes by and I see him coming back over to my side of the train. He seems a bit calmer but after our recent exchange my hand slips back into my pocket. He sits in the seat in front of me. He looks me dead in the eye and says, "Yo man, I apologize. Really man, I'm sorry." Then he actually apologizes to everyone on the train car 'cause he had been rather loud. He turns back to me and proceeds to tell me that he's just having a bad morning, the train was mad late, etc. I'm like, "It's cool man. I understand. Everybody has bad days." Etc. He offers to buy me breakfast to make up for the minor altercation. At first I wasn't really going to go but we were getting off at the same stop and I could tell he genuinely felt bad about popping off like that, so I went up with him and we sat at Dunkin' Donuts, ate and talked. He was a good guy just having a bad morning. He told me to just hold on to that patience I had. He said, "I know it can't be easy dealing with ignorant niggas but just keep that patience." He actually bought one of my books. Naturally I signed it for him. I wrote, "Here's to avoiding negative energy. Glad I met you. Stay cool!" He got a laugh out of that. I hope he got something out of my book, if nothing else a few laughs.

The remarkable thing about this experience to me is that he actually apologized. Most dudes after poppin' off like that publicly wouldn't have the balls to apologize. I would, but I'm me. Most dudes who grew up in the streets, which I don't know his whole life story but I could tell he wasn't a stranger to them, never reach that level of maturity. I mean, from talking to him he's not in the streets now. He's holding down 2 jobs. I figure there's a real reason for that and that's what was probably stressing him so much. But yeah, it takes a real man to apologize, especially in those circumstances. His name was Justin.

So that was the beginning of the week, actually the end of a work week for me. Goes to show, you never know. I need to work on my initial reactions a bit, channel some Kwai Chang Kane energy. But I checked my shit in time and it worked out for the best and I probably have a new fan of my work, which is always good.

Bayou: an online comic

If you like comic stories, check out Bayou. This has to be the first fantasy comic I've ever read that is told from a strictly Afican american point of view. It is slightly reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth but it obviously touches me on a much more personal level. I'm mesmerized reading this. It's almost a shame it's free online, 'cause this I'd pay for. I've been wondering about the level of literature written by folks of African descent in america for a while now. Octavia Butler has left us with a master's worth of Master Works. I've loved Steven Barnes' writings since I was a teenager, I've recently been introduced to his wife, Tananarive Due's excellent works, Chris chambers, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnede MBachu Okorafor, and I've long been a fan of Walter Mosley (especially since he delved into sci-fi speculative fiction). Mosley's Future Land is still the best Speculative Fiction story that I have ever read. I've been introduced to and impressed with a host of other Black authors and this latest, especially in the form of a comic, is, to me, simply wonderful. I implore you to please check it out and actually take the time to read the comic, Bayou. I am very optimistic of the future my children will be a part of as far as literature is concerned. Having Black authors of Sci-fi and fantasy won't be a novelty or a "special" circumstance like it was for me. You have know idea and cannot imagine the level of personal pride and enjoyment I had when I first read, Steven Barnes' excellent story, Street Lethal. It was literally the first modern Specualtive Fiction novel I'd read that had a Protagonist that looked like me. To this day Aubry Knight is still my favorite literary character of all time. And to top it off Steven continued Aubry's story through two more books. A trilogy! Damn near unheard of. The last couple of years I've seen and read many Speculative Fiction stories by many Black authors. Octavia and Steve and Samuel Delaney have been blazing a trail by themselves for a long time but I think their damn near herculean efforts are slowly paying off. Soon I will join the pantheon of Speculative fiction story writers and novelists. I'd just like to say thanks to those who blazed the path. And R.I.P. to Octavia Butler. I hope to see you on the other side darlin'.

Now go check out Bayou.

The Black Crowes

Amorica has to be one of my favorite albums. The songwriting on this album is just awesome! Absolutely fuckin' AWESOME! Chris Robinson is one of the best songwriters I've ever listened to. I wasn't even planning to listen to this but as soon as it started playing I just had to let it play all the way through. I pretty much sing along to every single song on the album every time I listen to it. That is very very rare for me. An album that everysinglesongisgreat is so not common. This is one of the few and I love it. The Black Crowes is one of my favorite bands naturally and I have all of their albums all of which are great. I haven't really listened to the last album, Warpaint, that much but I have listened to it and I do like it. I haven't really listened to much music since I've gotten so busy in the last couple of months. I've been buying music but not immersing myself in it like I used to. But, yeah, Amorica is a great album. To me it's the best one they've done. The others are great, too, but I just connected on some very deep viscerally emotional level to Amorica at the time it came out. Needed to get that out.

Update: You know what? I'm now listening to the album By Your Side and singing along to it. I'm on the third song and just realized I've been singing along. I love the Black Crowes. I pretty much have the same reaction to all of their albums. Great music, Great songs.

Once again, we have an excellent parody of Barack Obama. This guy is too good. Check out the first one.



Tell me this wasn't well done and funny!

MY minor Quantum of Solace Review

I really, really don't see where people are having a problem with this movie. For those who are OLD and like the way the Bond films used to be done, GET OVER IT. Yes, for the first time in the Bond films they've done a real sequel. A story arc that continues from one movie to the next. For those stuck in the old Bond ways, welcome to the 21st century! I couldn't be happier. Now, I've read that there weren't any scenes of Bond dealing with the emotional aspects of Vesper's death in Casino Royale. My only question to people who say this is, "What the fuck movie were you watching?" 'Cause from what I was watching the whole damn movie, Quantum of Solace, was Bond dealing with the loss of Vesper! I mean, this is NOT a normal world and Bond is definitely NOT a "normal" individual, SO, he is not going to deal with the emotional loss of a loved one like the average person in the real world. If you're looking for a private break down of a man lost deep in the throes of loss go watch Magnolia or some other drama. THIS IS BOND!!! WE DO NOT DO GIRLIE-MAN SHIT!!!! I'm all for emotion in films, as long as it makes sense within the context of the STORY! I loved the return of Jeffery Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter. Despite the short screen time he was wonderful and fit nicely in the story. And I really loved the return of Giancarlo Giannini, reprising the role of Mathis. This was wonderfully wonderful and a superbly performed performance. I liked Mathis in Casino Royale and was really disappointed that he "seemed" to be a double agent. The fact that this particular story arc was addressed in QoS was a VERY welcome surprise. Talk about emotional growth on screen and all that. I loved the screen time and dialog between Bond and Mathis. It was worth the film being made for that alone, personally. The introduction of Olga Kurylenko was actually pretty cool too. I wasn't too impressed with her in the movie Hitman, but she really shined in QoS. Her story rolled along nicely with Bond's without taking away or distracting from Bond's story. I do admit that they relied on action a little too much, most likely from rushing the script to avoid the writer's strike, but it still worked for me. There was still an excellent story here. As a follow up to Casino Royale, I'm not sure how much more really needed to be done in QoS. For the next film, yes, there definitely needs to be more between the action lines, but this WORKS. If you want a slightly less vitriolic review of QoS go to my man David's blog, The Bimillenial Man.

To recap an important point, in order to TRULY enjoy QoS you need to have seen and REMEMBERED Casino Royale because this IS a sequel. It is a well done sequel. If you don't like it, get over it or shut the fuck up if you do not have any intelligent reasoning. And so far I haven't seen any intelligent reasoning for not liking this film.

Quantum of Solace is a great addition to the Bond legacy. This is Tarrell Childs and I approve this message.

Good Samaritan

I played the part of a good samaritan today. I got on the train today on my way to Aikido class. I saw this old man, not that old but gray, sitting kind of sideways, his leg blocking the seat next to him. He kind of had the mean mug on. I wasn't really trying to sit down so I wasn't bothered by his blocking the seat and mean muggin' is a common thing in New York. Anyways, I was standing by the door for a few stops, then moved into the car a little further with my back to one of the center poles, still near the old guy. Well, his stop comes up. I noticed he was trying to get up as we were pulling into the station but he couldn't quite manage it. Right before the train stopped he finally rose up and with wobbly effort, slowly moved towards the door, coming in my direction. He actually smiled at me. A small smile. I smiled back. As he let go of his grip of the overhead bar he began to rock forward. I noticed he really wasn't going to be able to keep himself upright. I slowly reached out and gently put my fingers to the middle of his chest and steadied him. The train came to a full stop and he actually got his balance back. He smiled again and said, "Thank You." I naturally said, "You're welcome. No problem." I realized as he was trying to get up that he wasn't mean muggin' and blocking the seat for selfish, mean old guy reasons. He was actually in pain and trying to minimize it. Something wrong with his left leg I guess. See, I'm not a misanthrope. I really do like people. Just not all the time. ;-)

I am Legend

I finally bought this damn movie. And I bought this edition. Why did I wait so long to buy this film that I thoroughly enjoyed when I watched it in the theaters and which came out almost a year ago? One really simple reason: This freakin' "Special Edition" has NO making of the film on the disc. What. The. FUCK! I mean, what the hell is the point of a special edition if there is no making of documentary on the disc. There a weblink for it. I don't want to sit at my computer looking at this shit. It should all be on the disc when I put it in my player. They have these 4 bullshit animated comics. Please! Those should have been on the damn weblink. I know bullshit barebones releases that have some form of making of ON THE DISC! The making of docs are on the BluRay discs but not everyone has a damn Bluray player yet. That shit is relatively new. I really was not going to buy this damn movie at all because of this shit. Know what changed my mind? It was in the $10 bin at Virgin. $10!! TEN DOLLARS!! It's still a relatively new release and it was a moneymaking blockbuster! Why is it in the discount bin already. I 'm willing to bet money it's because of the reason I refused to buy it when it came out. NO MAKING OF! People weren't buying this damn version and Virgin needed to get rid of the damn things. ( For a goof, after I bought it I looked for it in Best Buy and they didn't have ANY versions of this movie at all on DVD. I didn't check the BluRay section 'cause I don't fucking have a player for 'em yet. Best Buy just sent them shits back 'cause I KNOW, like Virgin, they didn't sell 'em all!) I almost still didn't buy it. I'm really that pissed about it, if you can't tell. Warner Bros. fucked this shit up from jump. Now, I just found out they have some bullshit "new" "collector's edition", coming out for the holidays, on regular DVD which has all the BluRay features but, too late. I already bought the fucking thing. I am NOT double dipping on this one. Maybe next year when this new edition winds up in the discount bin I might consider it. As I've mentioned before, I'm a movie buff and a consumer but I have my damn limits! Even for movies I really like. I think that's enough of a rant on this. I'm still pissed off though.

Funny

Hey, look, this is funny. Period. If you don't think so you have no sense of humour.

Can You Feel It!

This is without a doubt, my absolutely FAVORITE song! and video to this day and forever. I remember being a little kid, late '70's, watching Soul Train on the weekends. This video came on every weekend and I NEVER missed it. I LOVED this song and video. Obviously I still do. Ever had someone ask you what your favorite song is? If you're anything like me that would be, and has been in the past, a very difficult question. I listen to pretty much EVERYTHING! I go from hardcore hip-hop, to Nuevo Flamenco, to hard rock, to classical, to adult contemporary pop, to R&B, to a lil' bit of country, with some folk music thrown in, and a whole mess of differing world musics. Oh yeah, can't forget the jazz and blues. And whatever falls inbetween those things. It wasn't until I rediscovered the song about two years ago that I finally had a solid answer to that damn question. It took me back to the simplest, happiest time in my childhood. Don't get me wrong, I had a pretty good childhood, all around, but this time period was special. I'm taken back there everytime I hear this song. I remember vividly sitting on my Nannies bed gazing, enraptured by the sounds and visuals of this song and video. And I still love it. So, I'll share the pain, old pain for me, and ask, What's your favorite song?



You can't tell me you don't FEEL this song! And the video! Positively AWESOME!

Boondocks!!!!

Yes Yes Ya'll!! The Boondocks will be coming back for a third season! I love the Boondocks! One of the best shows in television land. Can't wait to see what they have next. The creator, Aaron McGruder, kind of unofficially announced there will be a third season in a bulletin on Myspace. He also has a webpage and it seems that he is getting back into the groove of things. So looking forward to what Aaron's going to bring this time around.

Here's a taste:


I don't know about you but I thought that was funny!

I'm impressed.

So, I'm over at my favorite spot, The ROOT, and reading this article on why white comics don't get Barack. Very dead on reasoning, but there's a link to a video on Youtube(Which I'm linking and also posting down below) with a guy who does his own skit on Barack that itself is dead on AND funny! The premise is right, Barack getting ready before a debate and after. The script is hilarious. SNL needs to hire this guy RIGHT NOW for his Obama impression ALONE!! Shit, SNL needs to have him DO this exact same skit on the show! even though it's been out here on tha intarnets for a while. To all those wondering how to cover Barack comedically, this is how it should be done.

Bush was on our side the whole time

I gotta say I've had a thought related to this article in the last couple of months. This shit is funny. I'ma go back to the "Arsenio Hall Show" days and say, "Things that make you go hmmm...?"

My related thought was that Bush is really all about the environment. Letting the gas prices skyrocket was/is his way of trying to make americans sick of using gas and to rally for a viable alternative fuel. Things that make you go hmmm..., indeed. The above linked artcle also made me feel rather good because it means I ain't the only one with bugged out ass retarded thoughts that "seem valid".

Oh yeah, and I love the ROOT!!!!

Completely random thought.

You know what I just realized. From now on whenever there is going to be a black president of the usa in a film/movie or book it will no longer be a COMPLETE fantasy! As a Black man and writer I think that is massive cool.

The Glamour is gone

Here's a rather insightful blog I found to be a near enough of a mirror of what I'd been feeling about the whole Obama being voted in, that I figured I'd post it instead of writing a whole long thing myself. I let myself get caught up in the emotions of the moment as is only natural. But like I've said before I have serious problems with this country and Obama is inheriting a country damn near broken. I hope all of us who supported him will continue to do so, and those who didn't need to because it's done, and help heal this place. (It will NEVER be what I envision it should be, but I'm sure everyone feels that way.) The most we can do is try and just BE as well as possible with one another.

See, I'm reading a rather insightful and very important book entitled, God is Red: A Native View On Religion, by Vine Deloria Jr., and I'm just even deeper in my serious dislike for this country than I usually am. Anybody have a problem with me saying this see my very first post, I'll even link it for you so you don't have to figure out how to find it. I've learned quite a bit about my country's history since early childhood and continue to learn more so I have a wealth of things to be pissed about. Yeah, I've seen "progress" but not nearly enough. Obama is just another step, not the end all be all. Please remember that.

Oh, by the way, the writer of the blog happens to be a very nice and revolutionary minded MC (rapper for those of you who don't know the difference)who calls himself, Immortal Technique. If you like Public Enemy, dead prez, even KRS-ONE you should probably be down with the Technique.

Leaves

I like autumn. I like watching the miracle of nature. The leaves change colour and then fall. I'd been waiting for the mass suicide of the leaves this year since September, but they were holding on. I mean, I would see some flashes of yellow, gold and brown here and there but not the carpet of leaves everywhere like usual. Well, yesterday as I was walking around I realized the leaves had finally given up the ghost. They'd pretty much just changed overnight it seemed and took the dive. And then it occurred to me that we just had a new, new, really NEW president elected the night before. Not to be all prophetic and shit, I don't really do that, but it just seemed like a cool coincidence to me. The thought I had when I noticed all the leaves was, "Wow. It seems like Mother Nature herself was waiting for the damn election to be over with baited breath." Where I live has many trees. The campus I attend classes at has A LOT of trees. I would look out the windows of class and wonder when Mommy Nature was gonna let the leaves do their thing ever since I started school. And yesterday it just seemed like there wasn't a leaf on a single tree 'cause I was walking on a blanket of leaves and everywhere I looked was golden and brown on the ground. The same, to a slightly lesser extent, at home. Leaves, leaves, leaves. I know I'm not imagining this 'cause, like I said, I'd been looking for the leaves to turn and fall. (I know the Mommy Nature thing is my 'magination, I'm just sayin'!)

The seemingly late suicide of the leaves is a just a pattern I've noticed over the years growing up. The seasons are shifting, which to me just proves how bullshit our recording of time really is. I've noticed for a while now that the seasons come later/last longer than they used to. Only natural, I think. The planet is a living thing, a living system and all living systems change. CHANGE! The only constant in the universe. Big word right now. Pretty cool. I like change. Most of the time. I'm rambling now so I'm out. Any thoughts?

I need to switch my focus.

See, I always say I'm in the wrong business. Here's "proof"!

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don't just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

I really do see the stories in my head rather vividly. And since I live in my head I have a serious problem with actually writing them down. This process must be derailed. Who knows, I might be in Hollyhood in about a year. If I get out of my head and off of my ass! I'm workin' on it!

My man David took this and posted his results on his blog. Check it out.

Change

Just to be clear, Barack Obama being elected to the presidency did NOT change the country. As so many of the intelligent people, myself included, have been pointing out his win is the opening of a door. A door of opportunity for the COUNTRY to change.

He's not the country people, WE are and he is a part of us. We have elected him to be the face and representative of us to the world but ultimately WE have to maintain the momentum that got him elected in the first place, which he so eloquently said himself in his victory speech. WE put him there. WE need to keep backing him up, period. For the first time in my life I've seen the people excited about the political process and actually act. We really need to keep that going or nothing will change and who really wants that. I know if you voted for Barack you don't want things to continue as they have for the last few centuries, so let's stay active in the process. That all.

Body cycles

The body runs in cycles. At least mine does. After years of living and paying attention to the physical machine I call my body I realize it runs in cycles. Especially when it comes to sleep. A minimum sleep cycle for me is 2 and a half to three hours. Any less than that then I'm tired and sluggish and feeling like I took something I shouldn't have. More than about nine hours and I'm into the next sleep cycle which has me feeling super tired. I took my break at work and since I work overnight, I usually nap for my break. Well I took my break late, first of all, then it was short, barely an hour. Woke up feeling like I got tagged by a dart full of something, like in those super spy movies. Usually cold water, ingested not splashed on the face, helps me to wake up. However, first I had to remember that, then I had to go get a new water bottle for the water machine 'cause the one there was empty. Now I got some water automatically once I refilled the machine however it wasn't cold yet, so I'm still feeling like a sluggish addict coming down about to beg for the next fix. It doesn't help that I really fuckin' hungry. I was really going to just stay up and crash when I got home, all the excitement and all that, but I figured I was slightly drifting so I'd take a quick nap. The thing about naps is they have to be the proper length and mine wasn't.

On another note: Anyone that does not understand why non-white Americans in general and Black Americans in particular are so damn HAPPY and EMOTIONAL about Barack Hussein Obama winning the Presidency of the United States of America did not really learn anything in American History class or, more likely, didn't care to. Well it's a new day fuckers!! Time to pay attention. NO CHOICE NOW! IN YOUR FACE! Did you honestly think you were going to keep control of this shit forever? Your reign of terror, though not completely over, is now on a serious decline. The matrix you created has a serious glitch. People, it's time. WAKE UP!!!

To qoute M.O.P.: FIRST FAMILY FOR LIFE!!

Here, America, is your new First Family. Can't wait to see the new presidential puppy!



Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

BOOM!!!!! AVALANCHE!!!

BARACK OBAMA IS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! NOT BY A SINGLE VOTE. NOT BY A LANDSLIDE. BUT BY A HONEST TO GOD AVALANCHE!!!!!

My baby niece's world view is going to be radically different growing up than mine was in a very positive way. It's a generational paradigm shift for real. It's mindblowing how important this really is in SO many ways!!

I've lived for 32 years and this is the first year I voted. I am proud.

Real quick personal PSA

I'm a Black man born in the united states of america. Therefore I naturally have issues with my country of birth. I have issues with the world I was born into, period. But I was raised to think, really think, so I have a mind not completely clouded with blind hatred and dislike for things. I consider myself an Intelligent Human Being and have been told I am by those who like me and those who dislike me, so I figure my self assessment isn't too far off. This blog here is a pouring out of thoughts running the gamut of emotions and viewpoints on my environment, micro and macro. So don't take the shit I say too personally. I mean everything I say/type but that doesn't mean I don't understand other viewpoints. I figured this needed to be said after reading a post on my friend's blog, the Bimillennial Man, dealing a bit with his personality. I can be a bit excitable at times, as my friends know, so I'm just letting ya'll know that, really, all of this shit really ain't that serious to me. But I'm here so I have to deal with life the way I see fit.

Another reason for Obama to be in charge

I'll reiterate: I love The Root. Such a wonderful website for news and information. We live in a GLOBAL world now people. The days of warmongering need to fucking end. I know humans are fighting creatures but we're also thinking creatures and the time for big fighting needs to disappear. I know it'll be a slow process but we really need to get the process rolling. Here is a decent article illustrating this point.

Too Cool

I found this and I had to post this picture. Really, I just HAD to!!



Though I abhor any use of the 'N' word in any variation, I think my views have been described rather well here.

I love The Root

Another good article on The Root. I've been keeping my radar up for all of these very confused/stupid/justplainignorant Black people. I don't refer to them as such because they're not on Obama's side. That's not the point. It's the WAY they go about expressing their "opinions"/views. Just retarded.

The Realness

I LOVE PHAROAHE MONCH!!One of THE Top Emcee's in the game, period! And doing a remake, revamp of a classic and still relevant Public Enemy track was pure genius. He just re-classified a classic! Which is very rare and near impossible to do. WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME!!!!!


Welcome To The Terrordome from W.A.R. Media on Vimeo.

I love Asian culture!

I've never even heard of some shit like this. I've never even thought of something like this. I saw a pic, on MSN's week in sports pics, of guys playing Sepak takraw, which is a sort of volleyball but played with the FEET! It's volleyball soccer!! The pic is amazing too. I wish I could cut and paste that shit but MSN's week in... pics aren't copyable. They use a ball made out of rattan. If you can check the MSN week in sports pics, linked above, and it is pic 13 of Oct. 21-27. Here's some pics from the wikipeida page.





Wow.

Wow. Sick.

Further proof we really live in a sick, sick country.

Down to the line

I feel the need to reiterate that shit is real in the battlefield. I've mentioned several times how things are going to get dirty the closer we get to this election. I'll refer ya'll to this article from The Root. Especially interesting to me, on the second page of the article, was the mention of what some republican officials are trying to do in texas. Old and new tricks, people. Old and new. The civil war was not really that long ago and the whites that ran the south, through the generations, still run the south and they still mad as hell down there.Throughout the country whole country really but especially down there. Oh yeah, and don't forget about those neo-nazi idiots that got caught with their murder plot. These idiots planned on killing a lot of Black folks just because. Now, at least these morons knew they weren't going to get Obama. But they were still gonna try anyway. I mean, really. And you have a whole lot of people saying racism and prejudice is no longer a problem in this country. Riiiiiiiight! Tell that to the Jena 6, Sean Bell and his two friends, the kids in the HBCU's in texas, and to the people of Tenn. where these skinhead morons planned to begin their little killing spree.

It must be said, watch your backs Black people. Watch your damn backs. You do not know WHO is gonna come out of the blue and try to do something to you in these times right now. I'm paranoid so I watch my back at all times anyway but for now, shit is real in the battlefield for my Black folks right now and in the coming months or years. They scared of us and will try and hurt us because of that fear. WATCH YOUR BACKS! And really all open Obama supporters who aren't Black should watch out, too, 'cuz ya'll will get it from your own for supporting a Black man. So sad.

And I'm out.

Death Magnetic

Well, I consider myself a huge admirer of Metallica's work. I'll actually admit I'm a fan (I previously mentioned my dislike of this word). I have all of their albums and I like all of them, some more than others naturally (and not the ones you'd think), so I was very excited when I found out they had a new album, Death Magnetic. (This review is late, the album came out Sept. 12, but who cares!) I pre-ordered it, which is something I rarely do. But knowing them and their work I knew I would not be disappointed. There's few musicians I feel that way about (I'll name them another time). So, on initial listen I liked it but wasn't totally blown away. After letting it play here and there for a while certain things began to hit me and now I'm impressed. There isn't a really bad track on the album, which today is a miracle in music. But Metallica have always taken their music seriously in every way, so it's always great. Where the lyrics fail the music carries it and I would say vice versa but the music never fails. They have, as planned by Rick Rubin and the themselves, captured the essence of the early days of their career. The ESSENCE!! They have not regressed or gone back or even tried to. That wasn't the point and besides once you reach a certain level, in anything, but especially music, you can't go back. There is no going back, only harnessing a feeling, tapping into distant emotions that are still strong and relevant. THAT is what Metallica has done on Death Magnetic. I'm going to do a track by track and so I don't have to mention it over and over they brought guitar solos back, which were not on the last album (which I loved), and they ALL WORK!! Here we go:

That Was Just Your Life - Deceptively slow intro then, BOOM! Kick your ass Metallica is here, fuckers. Despite popular belief they never left!

The End Of The Line - Perfect example of captured early essence melded with accumulated years of musical experience. Can't WAIT to hear this in concert. (Yes, I already bought my tickets. I'm FINALLY going to see these guys in concert!!!)

Broken, Beat & Scarred - Now this one in particular is where I felt the lyrics kind of fail. The line, "What don't kill ya, make ya more strong," is kind of weak to me. It hasn't gotten any stronger for me. The whole rest of the song works except that line. It's obviously a play on the old adage, "what does not kill you, makes you stronger." But the way James made it fit just sounds off to me. This is the only slightly weak link in the album. The solo kicks ass! Not a bad song, just the one line. And at 6:25 this is also the shortest song on the album.

The Day That Never Comes - Here is the lead single and video. It's kind of a hybrid of 'One' and the first 'Unforgiven'. I wasn't that impressed when I first heard it but it's actually a very strong song and I love it now. James really put it into the lyrics here.

All Nightmare Long - Probably one of my favorites as far as the lyrics and especially the chorus. "We'll hunt you down all nightmare long!" How cool of a lyric is that! I'm a writer so I love a great sequence of words, especially in music. Shit, I wish I'd thought of that one!

Cyanide - Here we can really hear Robert's influence in the band. The bass here is just so strong. I like Robert Trujillo, he's an excellent bass player, and I'm glad he filled the vacant bass slot.

The Unforgiven III - Now here we revisit a recurring theme in the growing Metallica musical pantheon. Some people feel they need to leave this title alone, I, however, think the band knows what it needs and acts accordingly. It's an excellent song so I don't know what the hell people's problem is. The boys doing this song is also one of the reasons I love this band. Their whole attitude is, "Fuck 'Em if they don't like it!" How can you not love that! I feel the same way and always have!

The Judas Kiss - This is another one that really captures the essence of their earlier days. Takes me back to the '...And Justice For All' days.

Suicide & Redemption - I'm loving, ABSOLUTELY LOVING that the boys did an instrumental and this has to be the best one yet. Their previous instrumentals, with the exception of 'The Call of Ktulu', have always had certain sections that were just awsome but were overall kind of wobbly. They've finally achieved another wholly solid instrumental that I wouldn't mind hearing the whole thing of in concert, even at 9 minutes plus. Awesome.

My Apocalypse - Straight heat and speed. Not as fast as some of the old favorites but close enough as makes no damn difference. Hard hitting, kick your ass all over the place classic Metallica! The album's title is found among the lyrics here. The Four Horsemen are, indeed, still going strong.

It wasn't straight hit me over the head awesome, but assassin in the background sneaking up and snuffing your ass awesome. It was good at first but it grew into a monster. I really like this album. Metallica still hasn't disappointed me. Great album. Get Death Magnetic and enjoy!

Loud!!

I noticed something recently and it kind of brought me to my High school years. In high school I HAD to take spanish. I did not want to but the honors program I was in required it. Now, back then I couldn't have really given a real decent reason why I was so opposed to learning spanish. So opposed in fact that I had spanish all 4 years and learned next to nothing! I learned some but not enough for 4 years. Very sad, young me was not very intelligent all the time. Anyways, I recently noticed something that gives me a valid reason for my decision way back then: Spanish speakin' mothafuka's in NY talk FUCKING LOUD!!!! I don't get it. Everywhere I go if people are speaking spanish they're talking at the top of their lungs or damn near even if they're right next to each other. Do you know how fucking annoying that is?! I figure, in my subconscious back then, I noticed that and said to my self, "If learning that damn language means I have to shout everything I speak, I'd rather not learn." I mean really, if you live in NY city just really pay attention one day to the spanish speaking fuckers around you. It's not just the young kids either. It's ALL of them. Old, young, in-between, whatever, they talk LOUD. I don't get it. That shit is especially annoying in enclosed spaces, ie: elevators and trains. I mean, really, is it necessary to be that fucking loud! ALL THE TIME! Jeez! This is not a stereotype of all spanish speaking people just an observation of NY city spanish speaking people that I've confirmed with other people. Now that I finally solidified what bothered me about the damn language, as it's spoken in my environment, it bothers me even more. You just want to intrude on a damn conversation and say, "Is it really necessary to scream and yell? Can you please lower your voices?" Well, really, I want to say, "Will you shut the fuck up?! It ain't necessary to be that fucking loud!," but I realize that won't have the desired effect.

Okay, so can anybody corroborate this little observation of mine or am I just way out there?

Little Jackie

Well, I tell ya what: Little Jackie knows how to put on a show! Imani Coppola has a true performers energy. And she's a true ROCKER! Her backup singers and band were really good and on point. They damn near performed all of the songs off of the new album, The Stoop, which I had damn near memorized, so I was happy. Being that I've only been a fan for a few months I only have one of Imani's solo albums, pre-LJ, The Black & White Album, which she didn't do any songs from. She did do two songs I was not familiar with (the rest of the audience was though) but was absolutely taken with so it seems I'm going to have to find and cop her earlier albums. It's actually kind of hard to pick out highlights because for me the whole damn show is a highlight. I hope that she posts this concert on her myspace or something, 'cause even though I have some clips on my crappy camera video, I'm a spectator not a camera man, and I wanted to really witness and take in and enjoy the performance, not kill my damn shoulder trying to get a decent camera angle. My memory works pretty good, I'm sure I'll remember seeing Imani gyrating on stage in front of me for quite a while. But anyway, I have to say, the performance of the lead single from The Stoop, The World Should Revolve Around Me, was great 'cause it sent everyone in the audience on a frenzy of energy, including myself. She picked up a violin for one of the songs I didn't know but I liked. Of course I was happy they played 28 Butts, one of my favorite songs on the album. But actually a real highlight was Go Hard or Go Home, which is an obviously deeply personal song for Imani, for she's singing about her family and growing up. She picked up a guitar for this one and the drummer played one of those big rectangular floor drums you sit on (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the damn drum!). She didn't get overly emotional or anything, she let the lyrics do that, but you could tell she holds this song close. She closed the set with The Kitchen, an admonition to the ladies to watch their shit! Good song. Of course, it's the perfect counterpoint to the song LOL which completely owns a moronic guy she's with. Both of the backup singers each handled a verse of The Kitchen quite well. The coolest thing was she ended the song with the old African chant that Michael Jackson used on 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'', "Mama Say, Mama Sa, Mama Koo Sa (I'm sure I butchered the spelling but you know what the hell I'm talking about!). Of course I was singing and on beat with the hand claps, just like in Mike's song. Yeah, I'm good!

Naturally I was singing along most of the show. Great show. I love great shows.

Here's some cheesy pics I took with my crappy phone camera:













The backup singers. They were good.


Imani on the GeeTaar!(Yes, I know it's guitar, jackass.)


I also have some bad video clips with same crappy phone camera.

Community

A few weeks ago I went to visit my Niece, Naziya. She's 3 months old. Beautiful baby. But that's not what I'm writing about right now. I usually take the bus run by a Chinese company based downtown in Chinatown. There are a lot of those companies down there going many places. Now I went down early because I wanted to make sure I got a seat. It was a holiday weekend and lots of people travel around holiday's no matter what it is as long as it's an extra day off from work. Anyways, since I was mad early I decided to walk around, see what I could find. I have an affinity for Asian cultures. Not the common American surface fixation but a genuine interest. Well I was actually hungry and was walking around to see if I could find a restaurant I thought I would like. Well I was caught off guard just a little and mildly amused as I caught sight of a Popeye's chicken off in the distance. It was really interesting because not only did it have it's sign in english on the building but also in Chinese character's. I thought that was rather cool. I wished my friend David had been there, he could have given me the literal translation of the characters. Well, I passed it by and continued to walk around 'cause I was of the opinion, "I'm in Chinatown. Why would I get Popeye's chicken for?" But I was intrigued and after not really seeing whatever I was looking for I doubled back and wound up in the Popeye's. I'd like to mention that I wasn't surprised at the fact that there was a Popeye's in Chinatown I just didn't see it coming. I know that Asian people like all the same bullshit fast food and stuff that we do. I've been to a Mickey D's, a Burger King, and an Outback Steakhouse in South Korea, so there's certain American ignorances that I don't adhere to. So, again, I was mildly amused at the sight of a bunch of Chinese people chowing down on fried chicken, like I was down south at a barbecue, as I walked in. But what really struck me was what I saw behind the counter. All young Asian boys and girls working. I'd gotten so used to seeing older folks working at the fast food restaurants I've been to around this country, that seeing ALL young people was rather striking. (I've always thought that people over about 30-35 working the counter in fast food as rather sad. If you're the manager or something cool but just working there? Sad. I understand it might be necessary but it's still sad.) Anyways, I had a eureka moment. This is what having a strong sense of community is about. Let's be honest, working fast food is a low level job. Older adults should not be working low level jobs like that. The youth of the community work those jobs to learn the responsibility of working. The adults of the community work the upper level jobs and acquire and maintain land and property to maintain the community and provide those low level jobs for their youth. And so the cycle goes on. This only works when there is a collective sense of community, which most Asian people have. Asians, Jews, white americans, native Africans, and other ethnicities have this. Black americans used to and lost it as soon as we integrated with white americans. Don't get it twisted, I'm not blaming white people, I'm blaming Black people. Black people let their communities go in order to better fit in with whites.

Now here's what the major problem is. The big difference between Black americans and everyone else is, everyone else has a direct link to an ancestral home. They have a strong connection to a homeland and teach their children about that homeland in various ways. Black americans have been completely cut of from their ancestral home, Africa. Our ancestors weren't immigrants, they were brought here in bondage. If you look at it directly Black americans are actually the real embodiment of what an american is. Our whole cultural make up was completely constructed in this land. I don't include the Natives of this land, who are also part of my ancestry which I'm learning more about now, because they were here first and whites came and dominated and made up america. Made this shit up! There are many Tribal Nations that do not consider themselves americans, rightfully so I think. So, yeah, Black americans had to start from scratch just like european immigrants started this country from scratch. It's almost funny, I just reread that last sentence and realized they stole a people and a seperate land at the same time, wiped them as clean as they could and rebuilt them. Wow.

Wow, didn't really want to go that deep at this time. I was just very aware of the sense of community from a trip to a Popeye's in Chinatown and thought that experience was worth sharing. I'll get more into the other stuff another time.

Condolences to Jennifer Hudson

This is a seriously unfortunate and fucked up experience. Jennifer Hudson's mother and older brother were found shot in their home and her 7 year old nephew is missing. I can't begin to imagine the pain this young woman must be feeling. Her family still lived in the south side of Chicago which I hear is not a nice place. But I hear the same thing about where I'm from, South Bronx, NY, and it's really not so bad here, so I'm sure it couldn't be that bad there. Places aren't bad, people are. South side Chicago didn't kill her family, some ignorant stupid ass fool did.

From what is known she has a very close knit family and I offer my condolences to them all. I know the loss of a loved one now, so I know there are really no words for this. Life goes on and you have know choice but to deal but the love and support of those that love and care for you helps tremendously.

I'm out.

DAAAAAAMNN!!!

If you gonna be a bully be a smart bully. Oxymoron huh? He got knocked the fuck out.

Hard. Core. Hip. Hop.

I've mentioned here previously my love for Hip Hop music. I LOVE Hip Hop music in all of it's forms, as long as it's good. Some people, fair weather fans, only like brainless pop rap and talk down and/or bad about hard core rap. (By the way I'm not a fan. Don't like the term. It's short for fanatic. I'm not fanatical about much, especially entertainers. I'm an avid ADMIRER. [Well sometimes I'm a fan! ;-)]) Well, they just don't get it. That's their business. Me? I love hard core hip hop. Not fake gangster bullshit but REAL gritty, grimy street shit. And my preference is East Coast stylie because I'm a proud New Yorker, South Bronx Baby!! Birthplace of Hip Hop Kulture. Nothing against other regions but hard core is different in different places and I understand NY more than anything else. But real recognize real so I have know problem with hard core MC's from other places. Some of my favorites are the aforementioned Onyx, M.O.P.(these guys are HARD BODY for REAL. Check this out. I LOVE this track. Tell me Remy Ma didn't kill this!), Ghostface and the whole Wu-Tang really, Freddie Foxxx, Ice Cube and the whole BCC. Boot! Camp! Click!

I'm loving the resurgence of the BCC! These cats is really killin' it right now. They've never gotten the props as a crew and especially as a label, Duckdown Records, that other cats have but they're tight. Who doesn't remember Black Moon's breakout hits "Who Got Da Props" and the ILL "How Many MC's..."?! Come on, these cats came out as new jacks in '93 talkin' 'bout, how many MC's must get dissed?! I LOVED that shit. And so did ALL of New York! Mad large crew, with mad nice MC's. And them signing new jacks, Kidz In The Hall, was just a brilliant move. These kids are nice and new blood is always good.

Now the last few years, Sean Price, Ruck of Heltah Skeltah, has been KILLIN' shit on the underground music scene. I'm a huge admirer of his style. And with Sean laying a new foundation he's joined back with his rap brother Rock, and Heltah Skeltah is back in action and harder than ever. Here is the new video for the new single, "So Damn Tuff", from Heltah Skeltah's new album, which is FIRE!!! The title of the album is D.I.R.T. (Da Incredible Rap Team) and it is off the hook nice hard core, hard body rap!

I'm not one of these people who think rap should go back to the old days and was only good then. I LOVE the late 80's and early 90's. Mad classic music was made but I'm a big proponent of progress. There are mad nice MC's still making good and great Hip Hop music today, it's just the business side, the huge conglomerate corporations that PUSH the candy ass pop rap that has the game twisted. But REAL Hip Hop music is still being made out there you just have to look beyond what's being pushed. I'll leave this line alone 'cause I already addressed it in a previous post (also linked above).

But yeah, I really just wanted to say the new Heltah Skeltah album is NOICE!! Go get it!

Since I mentioned the song's here they are:
Black Moon: How Many MC's


and Who Got Da Props


Here's the lead single video from Heltah Skeltah:


I dare you to tell me they not nice!

Veronica Pt. 3 (What I Miss Most)

I felt like listing or writing about some of the things I miss the most about V.

What I probably miss the most is kissing her. In so many ways we fit together and this was one of my favorites. I loved running my tongue all along and around her teeth. She had the most perfect, small, and smooth teeth. I SO miss that. The softest lips I've ever felt.

We could fall asleep snuggled up and wake up a tangled knot and be comfortable. Sometimes it was like we were trying to melt into each other in our sleep. She told me once she missed that, too.

I loved to do her hair. I loved to brush and comb it. She had beautiful naturally curly hair. I'd always put her perms in for her and often styled it. She'd let me come up with something or she'd see something she wanted to try and needed my help. Now putting in the perms was always fun 'cause to wash that shit out we'd just get in the shower. Now how fun is that. Fuck a sink, we home! Let's have fun! The funnest hair style we did was with straws. Bugged out right. Instead of getting tiny rollers or something we got straws, regular drinking straws. We'd cut them down and I'd curl her hair around them and secure them with bobby pins. Wrap and sleep and in the morning she had some really nice tight curls. Did that one a few times.

I liked running baths for her. With her sickle cell, she really needed to stay relaxed as much as possible and that chick loved to hang onto negative energy for some reason, which was not good. So, I would do my best to de-stress her as much as possible. Another thing she admitted to missing. I think this one's obvious to miss, though. I'd also wash her when she was finished soaking. When I go, I go DEEP and ALL THE WAY!!!

This one thing is going to seem weird to some of you and it's also a bit difficult to describe. I loved her little toes. The outside ones, the pinky toes. They both were very slightly calloused so they were still soft but firm. And what I loved about them was they both had an edge. A slightly sharp edge. Not soft rounded pads like most toes but edged and very slightly hard. I liked licking and sucking her toes (among other things ;-) and really liked when my tongue hit those edges on her toes. I know, I'm weird. What else is new?


Us again. Told you we looked good together. We went to a studio to get this (obviously).



New Year's 2001 Despite the smiles we weren't really at our best together at this point. If you can't tell those are some fake ass smiles. Well not really fake. More half-hearted really. A failing relationship is no fun when both people REALLY love each other and can't figure out how to fix things.



One of the first pictures we took together. Her mother took this. This is either christmas of '98 or right after 'cause I bought her that necklace and pendant that christmas. Can you see the difference in the smiles here and the pic above?

Bit of school news

Not that it's much of a surprise BUT I am happy that I ACED!! my english midterm. Had to do three essays and I was 30 minutes late and the professor started the test early! I AM THE MAN!!!!! Of course I am a writer so I SHOULD be able to do shit like that, but I'm syain' though....I still did it. And, yeah, I'm happy about it. Deal with it. Don't hate the player....

I'm a Consumer, damnit!!!

I readily admit it, I'm a consumer. A muthafukin' CONSUMER!!!! I BUY SHIT! But I buy shit I like. Really like. I rarely, very, very, very rarely regret my purchases. Most people kick themselves in the ass for shit they bought and knew they had know business buying when they bought it. I don't. I indulge in my passions. BOOKS, MUSIC, AND MOVIES. That's what I like and that's what I buy. And the occasional electronic gadget. Now the only way to really acquire wealth in this world is to make and save more money than you spend. I obviously understand this. However, I haven't reached the necessary need to become rich yet. It's coming. But I don't beat myself up about not having more money or enough money. I'm a damn adult, I know what I do and am responsible for it. I don't complain about it. I know me and am happy with me. Period!

Forgive the rant, I was just thinking about this because I bought some CD's today and remembered being lectured about being a consumer once and how that is not conducive to wealth building. Well, duh. No shit. I bought a CD today that I'd been looking for for YEARS!!! I had it digitally once (borrowed it from a friend) but the format it was in couldn't be converted (I hate SONY!!!) so I lost that copy and the damn disc wasn't being distributed anymore. Imagine my surprise when I found SWV's third album, release some tension, in the store. And it was the only copy left! I'd passed it up before, like twice, and I was kicking myself in the ass for NOT buying it then! So I wasn't about to not buy it this time. My usual move is to say I'll come back next week and it should still be here. Well, that has obviously burned me before so I wasn't playing around this time. Not with this disc. It's a wonderful album. And I'm happy I bought it.

I also got the album put out by those two young men who go by the name, Nuttin' But Stringz, that some of you may have seen on that show america's got talent. They actually had an album out before they appeared on that show. I'd heard about them about a little over a year ago and was very impressed and interested in getting their music. I'd seen the album at the store last year and was like, "Oh yeah, I want that," but waited. WELL, since I saw them perform on the show I was really, really more impressed, on top of what I had already heard about them. And since I was in the mood to not pass shit up today I bought it. It's AWSOME! Go buy this shit. I linked it twice just so you know I MEAN IT!! Good music is ALWAYS worth the money. As is a great book/story. And film/movie. And I'm done.