The Dragunz Den

Technologically limping along

2011-10-31T05:10:00.005-04:00

I need a new laptop or netbook. I have been without either of these for some months now. It is an annoyance not having them. Yes, at one time I had both and a few months ago rendered both of them pretty much inoperable at the same time. It was a rather stupid accident which occurred as a result of a random and rapid demonstration of frustrated anger. I'm fortunate that I still have regular access to computers and the intarweebs but the absence of mobility and convenience of my portables is starting to bug me just a bit. I use the work computers but they suck. I have a desktop at home and my fiance also has an Mac laptop so I'm not completely unconnected. Oh yeah, and I have my PS3 and my iPhone but I miss my laptops! What was that you asked? Oh, HOW did I render them inoperable? Well... There was this table in the living room. My fiance and I were having a disagreement. I was getting rather upset and frustrated and slammed my fists on the table, as men are wont to do in arguments (I'm not saying that this is acceptable behaviour, but it happens). However, my tangled mind forgot that the table had a glass top. I know, you're asking, "how could you not realize it was a glass top?" Well, there was a cover over the table that's why. And angry mind ignores rational mind when its riled up, so I'm sure rational mind was saying, "Don't hit the damn table. It might break. Your computers are on it and it's a long way down to the floor." (It was a rather high table.) But with the cover over it the table LOOKED solid and since angry mind was all pumped up rational mind could not be heard over angry mind screaming, "Hulk smash!!" Fists rose up and slammed down with a satisfying bang, then a millisecond later, CRASH! That glass wasn't cheap thin glass either. I'm not bragging. It was thick glass. I realized this as I picked up the shards and sharp chunks of it. And to put some minds at ease, my fiance found this male display of anger amusing. She laughed which actually diffused the whole situation. We were going to get rid of the table anyway. But I felt like a complete stupid ass, partly because I lost it for a second and broke the table, but mostly because my computers were on the damn thing when I did. Oh well. So, now I'm stuck to sucky work computers, an old desktop I had to clean up that still limps along, and a mac that I don't really like.

Lesson: Control your temper. There is always a negative consequence to succumbing to anger. I'm still working on it. Have been since I was a kid. I'm getting better.

Top 5 Dead Or Alive

2011-07-18T02:55:00.017-04:00

The list every rap fan has. The most debated and argued over. I'm sure some fights have started and friendships have ended over certain lists. For the longest time my list has been comprised of the top Emcees from my youth. I realize that is no longer a fair comparison for today's conversation on who's the nicest in the game. I'm an old school cat. My list was strictly Emcees, no rappers. Shit, my current list is still Emcees but I'm saying. For those not in the know let me make this distinction clear: All Emcees are rappers but not all rappers are Emcees. I'm an east coast Hip Hop head but also a huge admirer of music of all kinds, so I'm not limited to my region of growth, though I was when I was younger when it came to rap music. I've since grown and have a huge appreciation of rap from all regions around the world, as long as it's good, I'm good. I'm big on lyrics and lyricism and intelligence so most pop-rap is crap-rap to me. Hey, I told you I'm old school. I'm from the era when rap was NOT mainstream and the damn U.S. government was having Senate meetings and such to try and shut rap down. Yeah. Youngin's today have know idea about that!

Anyways, to my lists. Yes that's plural. I don't just have a T5DoA list because there are just too many excellent emcees out there. The kulture and it's music has expanded so much since it's beginnings that 5 is just not realistic. Let's start with my original list:

KRS-One
Big Daddy Kane
Rakim
MC Lyte
Chuck D

Obvious why this is my list, right? Also completely unfair to modern emcees and rappers to make comparisons to them, right. Each of these cats is truly a GOD MC now. Also they each can still kill the mic and still produce music today. They are for all intents and purposes above the ranking. Also those I think are above the ranking are: L. L. Cool J, The Fresh Prince Will Smith, Ice Cube, Slick Rick, Q-Tip, Guru, and Queen Latifah. I feel I'm missing someone but I'm writing this off the dome so forgive me.

So, that's the GOD MC list. Next I think I'll make a list of the Legendary MC's which are right below GOD status but almost there and just above the running for the t5doa list.

Redman
Pharoahe Monch
Black Thought
GZA
Ghostface Killa
Method Man
Raekwon
Q-tip
Busta Rhymes
Heavy D
Chubb Rock

I'll leave it at ten. Honorable mentions here for Biggie, Pac, and Big Pun since, you know, they're gone.
Now the next list is current cats that have been out for a while. Still hot and making moves in some ways but not youngin's anymore. Legendary or damn near, at least to me.

Jay-Z
Mos Def
Talib Kweli
Eminem
Kanye West
Nas (I'm not a huge fan or admirer but respect is given.)
Snoop Doggy Dog
DMX (Not current but dude took the game for a few years and held it in a chokehold. Huge fan)
Ludacris (Hugely underrated!)
Andre 3000
Big Boi
Royce da 5'9"
RZA (As a producer he's above this ranking but this is strictly emceeing right now.)
Xzibit
Missy Elliot
Freddie Foxxx aka. Bumpy Knuckles
Skillz

Again I know I'm missing some more but this is good for now. Next is cats that have been in the game for a while but are recently making a buzz and younger cats that have been out for a minute.

Sean Price (Ruck from Heltah Skeltah. Been on his solo thing for a few now and he's MAD NICE!)
Jean Grae (Viciously nice! Very very few are messing with Jeanie-Jean lyrically!!!)
Lupe Fiasco
Skyzoo
Naledge (from Kidz in the Hall)
Black Milk
Lil' Wayne (He started so damn young! He should be one up but I'm still putting him here. Sleep or hate if you want, shorty can spit.)
Fat Joe (Scoff if you want but few Emcees have consistently improved over time like Joey Crack!)
Joell Ortiz
Joe Budden
Crooked I
Immortal Technique
50 Cent
Freeway
Beanie Sigel
Pusha T (one half of the Clipse. He's spittin' hard right now!)

There are more but you get the drift. Now onto the new jacks. I don't really keep up with many 'cause I am probably officially an old head as far as Hip-Hop and rap music is concerned. I try and keep my ears open for what's nice by my standards. Here you go.

J. Cole (His 'official' studio album is on the cusp of dropping but the mixtapes and guest shots show shorty is nice lyrically. The proof is he got signed by Jay. Looking forward to the album.)
Drake (I'm back and forth with this kid but he's nice. I think J. Cole is better but he's cool.)
Nicki Minaj (She. Can. Spit. )
Cory Gunz (He's been around for a minute and probably would have blown up a while ago if his father wasn't screwing up his business. Kind of sorry for a father to be so obviously jelly of his son's talent. Check the show 'Son of a Gun' to see what I mean. But he's down with Weezy's click now so I can't wait for his official studio album debut. He is nice on the mic!)
Diggy Simmons (Who saw that coming?! Shorty got skills! 2nd generation stand up!)

There's a bunch of new jacks out there signed and making music but, again, I'm not really current with them. I know the names, i.e.: Whiz Kalifa, Yelawolf, Wale, Kid Cudi, Cyhi the Prince, etc. but I haven't heard enough from them to be impressed.

SO, these are my humble opinions on the T5DoA discussions. But if you must have a list of five I'll give you my current 5 favorites:

Jay-Z
Royce da 5'9"
Pharoahe Monch
Sean Price
Skyzoo

These cats are on heavy rotation on my Zune (yeah ZUNE!) at all times, and on backup duty on my iphone when the Zune runs out of juice.

If you want to comment go for it. I look forward to the ranting and raving!

LAterz

I met John Scalzi

2011-06-29T05:16:00.013-04:00

Yes, I actually found myself in the presence of the Scalzorc and lived to tell the tale. [Click on that link for awesomeness.] ;-) Seriously, a few weeks ago I went to a reading at the NYPL where Mr. Scalzi, along with Cat Valente, Lev Grossman, and Scott Westerfeld, were giving readings. This occasion was the NYPL's effort to support those who write and enjoy Speculative Fiction. The event was titled, Speculating on Fiction. Isn't that wonderfully telling? These authors all happened to be on book signing tours for their respective new releases. I've been an admirer of Mr. Scalzi's for some time now. Just recently became aware of Cat and knew Lev and Scott by name only. Cat had a really cool publicity promotion for her new book where she wrote some small essay type tales that dealt with her new book which were posted on several of the websites of the venues she stopped at along her tour. I read them all in sequence. They were pretty cool and they worked 'cause I bought the book. However, the main draw for me for this shindig was John. I've been a follower of his online shenanigans, mostly documented here. What I like most about John is not only is he an excellent writer of many things but he also is a huge fan and proponent of SF and intelligence. He showcases other writers on Whatever along with his thoughts, journeys, and insights. Cool dude. And he is a proud Geek! And a very entertaining one as well. For his reading at the NYPL gathering he decided to read a short little tale he wrote as an April Fool's joke for the world. He regaled us with the tale of how the whole thing came about. (I will not reiterate it here for it is well documented on Whatever here.) Then he read us this most epic of epic beginnings the likes of which fantasy has never seen nor will it ever again! Also of note was that he was pretty much hoarse and yet he still gave an excellent performance. And it was a performance, not a reading. This guy is super animated in a good way, he loves what he does and it shows. I like that. He was on tour for Fuzzy Nation, which I bought and will read very soon, and I also bought Cat's new book, "The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making" and Lev's, "The Magicians". The Magicians came out last year and Lev is touring for the sequel The Magician King but I figured since I was just being introduced to his work I'd start with the first one. All the readings were wonderful and all of the books were signed by the authors so I am a happy Dragun. Oh and look:

That is John Scalzi next to the Awesome Afro!

(Note the dark background. The NYPL was closing on us and they weren't playing! They shut off the lights in the middle of the meet and greet. Good thing the flash was working! I got my pic and my signatures so I'm good. I'll meet him again.)

Getting things back together. And an awesomely stupid crash.

2011-06-20T03:19:00.007-04:00

Hello again friends. I know. I'm so inconsistent. I'm working on it. Finally went back to Aikido last Wednesday. Damn it felt good to be in the dojo again. It's been almost two years since I'd been on the mats and I've missed it the whole time but life must be dealt with and some things must suffer sometimes. I've been through a lot since then but I'm getting back on track and slowly building my focus. I will not be taking a hiatus from Aikido like that again any time soon. Along with school that is another focus of mine. Next targets are my writing and getting my money earning capabilities sharp. This job shit is just not going to cut it for much longer.

Anyways, I wanted to write about my day today, well, yesterday. Sunday morning. Woke up to a rather heated disagreement with my lady, whom will be referred to as Pixie from now on. She went to work and I just tried to calm myself and chill. She calls after a while. She forgot her socks and could I please bring them. Yup, no problem. She doesn't work that far from where we live, so, I decide to ride over there on her bike. Her bike is better than mine, lighter, faster, and more expensive. Riding downhill I let my concentration wander. How, were you wondering? WELL! Let me tell you. I realized that the volume was too low on my Zune and decided to turn it up. I looked down for only a second but that's all it takes. I looked up at the coming intersection and saw the light was yellow and realized I should slow down before I got there. This was an intelligent decision since I was moving fast and couldn't tell if there were cars waiting at the opposing lights. However, this super-efficient bike I was on was way more responsive than my way cheaper and much heavier mountain bike. So, I hit the brake for the rear tire and it starts to slew sideways, the bike begins to shake and wobble. My brain says, "Hey stupid, put your other hand on the fucking handle bars and control this shit!" But see, even though that was another very intelligent decision it also came a bit too late. I was really coasting, downhill remember, and by the time my Zune filled hand barely touched the handle bar it was already way too late. So, with this super-efficient, speedy, and expensive machine wobbling exponentially out of control between my legs, I try and control the fall somehow. We will now defer to my brain's take on the resulting event(The speed of thought is an amazing thing.): "You dumb fuck. Oh shit. We're going down. This shit is going to hurt bad. REALLY BAD!! Try not to get tangled in the bike. I can't jump clear. Oh shit, I'm going to hit that car. Turn the wheel, damnit, don't hit the car with the wheel dead on! Goodohshitthisisgonna..." BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Aaaauuuggghh...." Then I laugh hysterically at myself as several witnesses to my colossal fuck up ask me if I'm okay. I hit that car hard. I tell them all, "Yeah, I'm alright," and I look to make sure I didn't damage the car, then check the bike, then feel the pain. Jacked up my left knee and my whole upper left torso, which is unfortunately an area that has been previously damaged rather seriously. However, self assessment revealed that I wasn't broken, so, I composed myself, just a tad bit shaken, and continue on my delivery of socks.

Delivery made, Pixie happy, I make my way home. Shower, clean and patch my knee and make my way to Aikido!! I still went for two reasons. 1: I said I would make it and I honor my word. Sunday's are a relatively new addition to the schedule and attendance is the determiner of Sunday classes. 2: I have just rededicated myself to the pursuit of Aikido and nothing is getting in the way of that. Not even very recent minor injuries. The only pain I felt was my knee, because it really did get hurt. I think the pedal rammed against it, or more accurately my knee jammed against the pedal and tore it up a bit. But aside from that, class was awesome. The two black belts there, Steve and Jesse, did me the honor of going over all of the basic moves I learned so long ago and a few more that would most likely show up on my next test. I was immensely humbled and pleased. I really like Aikido.

My knee is sore and my left shoulder and down the back on my left side is not quite killing me but it hurts. I'm good though. Aikido tonight. I'll be ready. That was most of my day. Met Pixie as she got off work, we went home, talked, I crashed, she made dinner and woke me up in time to eat and go to work. I like my life. It could be better and it will be but it really could be a lot worse. Enjoy your life my friends. This one my be your best.

LAterz.

I saw KODO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Pharoahe Monch!!! for my Bornday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-03-22T00:30:00.006-04:00

(This is late but I had to finish it.)

So, here's the deal. I've been a fan of the music group/Drum troupe KODO since 1995. They've been around a bit longer than that but that's when they jumped on my radar. They're awesomeness stood out to me in a film full of awesomeness titled, 'The Hunted'. This was a modern film dealing with a samurai/ninja feud with a gaijin thrown in the middle.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! And in this awesome movie is an awesome scene in which KODO is playing a live performance in the park. And they are playing a piece which to this day is still my favorite, Irodori.

(A different performance of the same piece.)

Pure awesomeness! [I know I keep using that word. However, it does mean what I think it means. Trust me. ;-)] So, after witnessing that awesomeness I HAD to 'hunt' (hee hee) down the score/soundtrack to this movie. And what do I find?!!! Not only did KODO have that piece in the film that they performed live but their music WAS the score of the film. I must say it again. PURE AWESOMENESS!!!! So, needless to say, I've been a fan since, tracking down albums and getting new ones as they are released over the years. Now I've always wanted to see them perform live but they do world tours periodically. Oh, it is understood that they're Japanese right? Okay, just making sure. Oh, and they're style of music is centered on the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko? They're based on Sado Island in Japan. The name KODO means two things: 1 Heartbeat and 2 Children of the Drum. How awesome is that?! Anyway to learn more about them visit their website here.

SO, they were touring the States again this year and near my Bornday, so I said, I AM GOING! I'd only ever seen them perform on video and this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. Especially for my Bornday!! One word: AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are few things as awesome and satisfying as watching people perform fully focused on what they are doing. I am a huge admirer of live performance and just love watching people who love what they do and are fully dedicated and focused on it. To watch Flow is simply amazing and the KODO players at Lincoln Center that night were Flowing and on point! I was glowing for days after that. Shit, I'm still glowing from the memory!

A few days later, MORE AWSOMENESS!!! I go see Pharoahe Monch, a most prolific, intelligent, and excellent Emcee! He had just recently released his new album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) and was having an album release concert. I had already been listening to the album for a few days so I was ready! The album is pure awesomeness justincaseyouwerewondering. Opening the show was a new kid on Duck Down from New Zealand, I can't remember his name. Then Skyzoo came out and tore the damn stage down! Kid is mad nice on the mic and he knows how to rock a crowd. Needs way more shine than a lot of the punks out today. Anyways, BOOM!, it's Pharoahe time! Pharoahe is mad nice!!!! The album is tight, stage presence is tight, DJ and backup singers are tight! The show was off da hook! Had special guests bless the stage, Immortal Technique (Mad nice!), The Ghost Styles P (D-Block!!! mad nice!), E-40 was in the house just to pay respect to Monch, and of course JEAN GRAE(supa-dupa mad nice!!!!!)!!!!!!! I had a great time. Of course Pharoahe closed the show with one of the biggest club bangaz in rap/Hip-Hop: Simon Says! C'mon son! Everyone in the spot was jumpin' and hollerin' along! I didn't have no voice after that show, which is the way it's supposed to be.

(The first video from W.A.R. Awesome!)

The day after my Bornday I hung out with my bestabuddy, my spirit-brother, David. We went to a whiskey bar called The Whiskey Ward. They have an entire menu of single malt whiskeys, and other things as well. But we were there for the single malts and boy did we partake! Great time.

This is one of the more awesome Bornday year's I've had. [Here's pictures!] Two awesome concerts with my Pixie and hanging with my best friend. Few things are better. Enjoy yourselves!

LAterz

Caaa li for ni aaaaaaaaa!!!!!! Days 2-5

2010-08-14T03:15:00.011-04:00

[Current date is 4/12/11. I began this chronicle quite some time ago as you can see on the post date. I decided not to change it. A reminder to myself to keep up with this blog. Thanks for bearing with me. On to it...]

For those just checking in, this is an entry of part of my trip to California 7/28-8/5. No it wasn't my first trip out there. I used to live there years ago and still have friends and family out there. Here is the first part of the trip. Now we will continue:

So, Kristof warns me right before we crash that he's got several alarms that will go off and he doesn't always hear them right away, so don't kill him. ;-) Okay. So, we go to sleep and the next thing I know I am awoken to some really strange foreign language music. I crane my neck around and see that he is not waking up. Okay. I carefully extract myself from this freakin' hammock, step over to the bed, and tap his foot. He wakes. Hey. Hey. He turns off that machine, I carefully crawl back into the hammock. Slowly drifting back into la-la land then suddenly, more music! I turn and look but this time his eyes pop open and he stops that one. Drift away. I slowly drift back into reality to the beat of what seems like techno house music but is actually the sound of a real annoying alarm clock. The BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP kind. I turn and crane again. He ain't wakin' up this time. Quick contemplation: I get up I ain't gettin' back in this damn hammock. I'm already comfortable, I don't want to move. Wait...He still ain't movin'! Shit! I proceed to extricate my long form out of the hammock once again, I turn his super fan away from the bed, then I crawl into the other side while simultaneously shoving him awake. Hmmm, thanks man. You're welcome. He turns off the the offending machine, we drift again. The next one goes off. He woke up finally with that one. I vaguely acknowledge that he is actually up and moving around, getting ready for work. He asks me something and we converse for a few then I drift off and he goes to work. When I wake up a few hours later I think, What a hell of a morning.

I get up and get a beer out the 'fridge and park myself at the desk to check facebook. A few beers, cigarettes, a tea, a coconut water, some links, articles and blog checks later Chris calls me around noon. I think. Might have been a bit later. But not by much. Don't stay on the phone for long because, you know, I'm in Cali already, so I get the new address and get ready to hit the road. Don't remember if I mentioned this yet, but, I really really like my new iPhone4! Between that and Kristof's computer I mapped a route to Chris' house. He made mention that I might find the area familiar and he was so right! It is the same exact exit I used to take to get to the hospital that Veronica used to always go to, except in the opposite direction. He was back in the I.E., that's the Inland Empire for you non-Californians. I called Kristof and let him know that I was on my way back to the IE to see Chris. I left the address on the desk so he could come out, too. I pack my stuff up, grab some drinks out the 'fridge, no beer of course, and go get Bumblebee. Traffic in Cali is still as fucked up as it was when I used to live there, if not worse. Here is where I discover that the map app on my iPhone has a built in GPS. Reeeeeally?! I was so stoked about this and still driving that I didn't have time to fully figure out how to work it but I was really happy. Driving on 91 I see there are quite a lot of new buildings and developed areas along the freeway and it just drives home how long I've been gone. Doesn't take me that long to get to Chris', pretty much a straight shot on 91, so, I pulled into his driveway in no time. Chris comes out of the house as I get out of the car. I don't even think we said hi, we just hugged each other. Ever hugged someone and had a complete conversation within the hug? Yeah, one of those. Pulled away looked at each other grinning big and hugged again. Yup, we're friends in the truest sense of that word.

Continued in next post...

Caaa li for ni aaaaaaaaa!!!!!! Day 1

2010-08-14T01:38:00.013-04:00

[Current date is 4/11/11. I began this chronicle quite some time ago as you can see on the post date. I decided not to change it. A reminder to myself to keep up with this blog. Thanks for bearing with me. On to it...]

So, the last week of July into the first week of August I went back to California. The reason for the trip was to see friends and family not seen for some years. Except for V's Mom I haven't seen my Cali peeps in 3 years. Long overdue trip. (I was thinking 5 cause that was a fun time. 3 years I go I went for a quick trip 'cause V died. I don't think I've written about that yet.) SO, needless to say this was a fun trip. [I'm sure I've forgotten some details but not a lot.] So let's do this from beginning to end.

A while ago I decided I needed to go back to Cali. I missed my
friends. And I needed a break from NY. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE NY! NY is HOME! But I'm a bit older now (just a bit) and I've, actually, been around the world, so I don't really want to live in NY anymore. It's just convenient for now. Anyways, I call Kristof and let him know I'm comin'. "Cool,' he says, "just call me right before you come so I'm ready." Not ready in preparation just that he's busy and he forgets so I literally called him the day before to remind him. No problem. I flew on JetBlue 'cause 5 years ago, when David and Lisa got married, they flew Jetblue and David said it was a nice flight. Ever since wanted to try 'em. So I did. Nice flight, too. In the airport I wound up buying some noise-cancelling headphones after consulting with David. He'd bought some for his recent trip around the Mediterranean and had nothing but great things to say. Right again. If you travel and have the means I highly suggest you get some. Wonderful! And they were compatible with the plane system so I didn't have to buy the cheap airline headphones for $7. They actually had satellite cable and xm radio on the plane. One of the first times I stayed awake for a whole flight. I was watching Natl.Geo. and Anim.Pla., and VH1. I actually watched the Behind the Music for Courtney Love. It wasn't that bad. Flight went well. Took a lot of pictures in flight for those who've never flew or flew cross country before. Interesting and big country we live in. Most people just don't know.

So, I land in LAX and call Kristof from the plane and he's basically already waiting for me at the curb when I come out of the terminal. Love that dude. We find our way to Hertz for my rental car. I had registered online for a Pontiac G6. I like those. They drive really nice. Got a ticket in one once. But while waiting in line I see they are advertising they have the brand new 2011 Chevrolet Camaro for rent. Uhhhhhh yeah. I think I might upgrade ;-)! But the damn line was so long that by the time I got to the counter I forgot about it, I just wanted to get my car and go. The Customer service rep. asked if I wanted to try out the Camaro. Oh yeah, I said, I meant to ask about that. We have red she says. Nah, what else you got. She clicks some keyboard keys, Yellow. Hmmmm, me in a yellow car? She laughs. I can see that, I say. But any other colors. I was hoping for a nice charcoal grey. I really like that colour on cars. Alas there were no others. Yellow it is. At this time the big robot didn't occur to me. (If you don't get that, you will soon.) I get my paperwork and proceed to leave. Oh wait, she says, I forgot to tell you I gave you the satellite radio for free, and she tells me how to access it. Cool bonus! It pays to be nice and smile with people who are helping you. I been on the other side of that counter, good customers so make a difference. Out to THE CAR. It is SO beautiful in the warm bright southern California sun. I immediately whipped out my new iPhone and began taking pics. And sending them out. My Big Bro was the first to send me a response reminding me of what this car is (remember I mentioned a big robot?): BUMBLEBEE!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to be driving Bumblebee around for a week! SWEEEEEET!!!!! Couldn't believe I forgot that. However, I was very excited to see my friends so I may be forgiven my lapse of geekiness. In a very controlled manner I drive to the exit and pull up next to Kristof. He grins big. Sweet!, he says. Oh yeah. So we stop at a Bk down the block for a bite to eat. When we come out an actual bee is on the car. By the time I get my damn phone out to take a pic it flew away. I really mention this little detail because it happened several times during my week in Cali. Several! Not once did I get the pic of the bumblebee on Bumblebee. That would have been so cool! Ah well, I have the memories and my mind is sharp. Onwards, I follow Kristof to his apartment. Familiarly comfortable. I have stayed there every time I have visited since I left. [He really needs to buy a house, but he is super picky. But so am I ;-)] I like that little aparment, though. Kris has to go back to work, so he gives me the key and he's gone. I walk across the street to the equivalent of a NYC bodega. It's a liquor store as well so even better. I buy a bunch of stuff I figure I need for a few days of crashing: a bunch of teas, coconut water, chips, ramen soup bowls, a six pack of Dos Equis Dark and a 375ml JW Black Label. Always wanted to try it and figured the pint would be too small for a week. I drinks :-). Didn't really do much but lounge around and unwind. Now here is where the uncanny luck of my charmed life begins to kick in. I didn't really prepare and plan this trip out. I didn't have an itinerary. I just came out and wanted to see my friends. My nimrod ass didn't actually call anyone prior to arriving except Kristof. Oh and Oui on facebook. But that's it. SO, later that afternoon I decide to call Chris. No answer. I leave a message hoping that it is still his number. I then proceed to send an email, again, hoping it is still active and used. [Been a few years, remember?] Much later, he calls back and I'm ecstatically bouncing around Kristof's tiny apartment. He's out with the family and on vacation this week. He will call me back the next morning. No problem! I am a happy dude at this point. How lucky am I that not only is the number still good but he happens to be on VACATION the very week I show up out of the blue?

Anyways, Kristof is working late, which has become a habit of his I find out for the last few years, and a reason for him telling me to thank god I don't work in Acctng. and Finance any more. Done. So, Beersingh calls me up. His name is Chris too, but when speaking about him he is referred to by his last name. One, there are just too many Chris' in the crew, and two, it's a cool name. And easily used to humorous effect. [He's a New Yorker, like me, though, so I wouldn't suggest that last unless you really know him. ;-)] Beersingh comes to pick me up. He wants to show me his new house. It is nice. And he still keeps his protections close at hand, also like me. We chill and talk. His brother starts playing a game but quickly turns it off and we flip some channels until we settle on The Best of the Best 2. Cheesy movie but I like it. Some decent fights in it. (The first one is classic.) Eventually Kristof shows up. He chills a bit but he is tired so we leave not long after he arrives. Back at Kris' we talk while drinking a few beers and smoking cigarettes. And eventually crash for the night. Now Kris used to have a futon but now he has this indoor hammock contraption. Once you situate yourself properly on it it's actually not too bad to sleep on.

That's day 1 of being back in Cali. I was going to write the whole trip in one blog but my visit with Chris and his family truly deserves it's own post. So take a break, then on to the next one.

More Bumblebee!!! And ME!!!!!!

The Starshine - In the Beginning

2010-07-27T02:31:00.008-04:00

Some know the tale of The Starshine and many do not. I've regaled many an enraptured listener of how I came to be the human companion to The Starshine but never set the tale down in written form...until now.

I was called to The Starshine from afar. I was stationed in Arizona and had received orders to report to California. I was in the Air Force. It was 1997. My good friend Kim F. and her fiance were stationed in California as well. I had expressed the desire for a pet. They had retrievers and were familiar with the places in which to acquire a pet. I had been in Cali for about three months at this time. At that time I would have preferred a dog but I knew I would not have the space or time to devote to a dog. Not the kind of dog I'd be happy with. [A bit of background: My childhood years, there were dogs. I liked them and they liked me. Never really liked cats. The first cat I ever knew was my Nannie's cat, Biafra, a jet black cat. An EVIL fucking cat. Biafra like NO ONE. Except my Nannie. Never stopped me from trying to make friends though. I was a baby really and they're all stubborn as shit. Dummys. So, yeah, all my following cat experiences weren't all that good either, until I met my Spirit-Brother David. David had a cat at his house named Tiger. For a house cat, he was a tiger. I affectionately called him a house lion because he was solid muscle. Not many house cats are built like that. And Tiger liked me. Tiger is the reason I felt comfortable deciding on getting a cat instead of a dog. Now back to the tale of The Starshine.] SO, I decided since I couldn't get a real dog because I only had a one bedroom apartment, and didn't want to leave a dog in said apartment all day, day after day, I'd get a cat instead. Kim and her fiance, Tim, took me to a local animal shelter. I already knew if I was going to save a kitty from a shelter I was going to get a new one, not an older one that may have damage I wasn't ready or willing to deal with. All the kittens were kept in a small room all to themselves. No older big cats. So into the kitten room I went. I am instantly barraged with a cloud of mews and almost meows. I am assaulted by a multicolored moving carpet armed with needles. I kneel down and play with the separate components of this moving carpet to see who I see and who sees me. Well, as I kneel among these needle-armed furballs a race begins. A race of ultimate endurance and strength and perseverance. Quite possibly a race of life and death. A few of these needle clawed puffballs decided it was a good idea to climb this new obstacle, toy, scratch post that was me. In the lead was a white and gray not-so-puffy ball of fur and lagging behind in second place was a determined tiny, tiny, multicolored ball of fluff and then a few kids who just really wanted to play with no determination to win. Now I'm laughing and wincing at the same time: laughing 'cause a whole room full of kittens is just fun, wincing 'cause these little fuckers literally have needles for claws. And I am fascinatingly amused and enthralled at the herculean efforts made by these two kittens to climb the Everest that is me. The ghost puff is on my left side and the rainbow puff is on my right side. The ghost on my left reaches my shoulder but kind of slides off to the front. I grit my teeth 'cause in the effort to catch himself the needles come out fully and slip right through the flimsy fabric of my shirt and right into the flesh of my shoulder. That slight set back gives the tiny rainbow puff the advantage she needs to crest my right shoulder and carefully begin her climb to the top of my head. What is still to this day amazing to me is that in that final leg of the climb, though she did use her claws, she didn't scratch my head at all. Not a single nip to my face, ear, or head. And that little rainbow puff did make it to the very top of my head. So I brought her home.

How The Starshine came by her name is a much shorter tale. The aforementioned David was in college learning the mysteries of the Chinese language, Mandarin. He gifted me with a name, part of which the english translation was, you got it, Starshine. Though he told me the more literal translation would be more like Star Glow. So, anyway, I figured since this little calico kitty and I had formed a bond I might as well name her after myself, kinda sorta. And there you have the tale of how The Starshine and I came to be companions and she got her name.

I'll stop the tale here but more will be coming. Next will be The Starshine's early adventures in her new home.

This is the oldest pic I can find of The Starshine.

LAters.

Belief is not religion.

2010-07-26T01:55:00.010-04:00

This is not a touchy subject. Religion can be but belief is not. They are two different things, belief and religion. Belief is having faith or trust in something that you cannot prove exists. Religion is a system of rules created to control through exploitation of belief. With those explanations, I have know problem with belief but have serious problems with religion. ALL OF 'EM!

Belief is easy to understand. It comes from a need to understand. What Humanity couldn't understand it created a belief for until we evolved and grew enough to understand certain things. Our ancient ancestors' beliefs primarily dealt with the natural world. Some of those beliefs still exist today, which I think is still cool, given how much we know about the world now and how things work. But that was/is a very cool thing about beliefs which I like that religion takes away, the connection to the natural world. So called 'primitive' beliefs were directly connected to the world in which we lived, meaning we were A PART of nature and the world. And ultimately the universe. I like that. Another thing I really like about belief is even the things we have physical understanding of now in nature it doesn't supplant the old beliefs. The old beliefs just gives one a deeper meaning to these physical things we now know about. For instance, the mystery of lightning and thunder is not taken away because we understand how and why they happen.That is so cool.

The modern most popular religions separated Humanity from nature. Told us we were masters of the world and it is ours to do with as we see fit. Use it as we see fit. Already sounds like a power trip to me. Then you have 'leaders'. Those who interpret your beliefs for you to make you 'feel' safe about your place in this world and the next. Did you get that? "Interpret YOUR beliefs FOR you." Yeah. Didn't God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah give you a brain to think for yourself? Don't you read the same*book* as your so-called religious 'leader'? So WHY exactly do you need to have the information interpreted for you? Then these same 'leaders' demand money from you for listening to them interpret for you. This 'tithe' or 'donation' is for what exactly? Good blessings? A guaranteed path to 'Heaven'? A 'sacrifice' now for future blessings later? No. You are blessing them, those 'leaders', now for their future later and you are just out of your hard earned money. And that is the ultimate irony of religion. You have now transferred your belief from whatever Higher Power you followed to his/her/it's human intermediary, your religious 'leader'. Who appointed them to such a position? What makes them more special than you? They are in the same boat you are. Grow up on the same planet and read the same 'Word'. Also, the Big 3, Judaism-Christianity-Islam, all come from the same place. How are their modern followers SO different? Even within each faction there are a bunch of splinter factions, especially Chris (That's the one I'm most familiar with). Politics and power moves, that's why. Religions have nothing to do with belief and everything to do with control. Land grabs, wars, oppression-either by ethnicity and/or gender, politics, fund raising, or just plain rabble rousing: all products of religion.

I'm not some new-agey super spiritual energy weirdo or anything but I have my own beliefs. I have gathered together some things that I've experienced and learned throughout my life and made my own. I was raised to think for myself. Interpret information I receive no matter the medium through which I receive it. I don't need some other human filtering my beliefs for their financial gain. I am highly skeptical of anyone claiming they have special knowledge of ANY higher power and can help me gain that knowledge, too. Didn't you get it from a book? Well so can I. I don't understand how you can't see the level of arrogance it takes to tell someone you can help them with their belief in their god/higher power. And I, as a grown up and adult, had truly tried the Christian route, twice, and both times was severely disappointed at the 'leadership'. I keep my own counsel now. I need no intermediary between me an my Higher Power. I don't look down upon those that do, though. Being an individual and actually thinking for oneself isn't for everyone. Most people, it seems, need to be led. But we are in the 21st century, it's time for people to start waking up. What really baffles me about the power of religion is I know, either personally or by reputation, many who I consider to be intelligent people who do follow, very devoutly, some form of religion. That truly baffles me. My thing is, when you get to where you're supposed to get to when this part of your life is over (for many that place is 'Heaven'), you're supposed to be judged in some way before you get in, right? When you are there, you are there alone. If you are asked any questions about your life and/or your beliefs, you can't say, "Well, 'insert religious 'leaders' title and name here', said that..." Oh, no no no. YOU were asked, YOU must answer. But how are you gonna answer if all you were was a follower who had your beliefs interpreted FOR you? I'm just sayin'. Personally I think religion is childish and immature and cool for when you are young to keep you on some kind of decent path. The heart of religion is belief so there is good there but once you get yourself steady on your life path and, hopefully, start to think for yourself, you need to let religion go and be confident and strong in your own beliefs.

I was moved to write this post because I saw this evil ignorance and had to say something. What really gets me about this is the followers sitting there listening to this and basically agreeing with it. I'm sorry but that's how my and most of their ancestors were enslaved. (Using the same religion which is just one more problem I have with it, but I digress.) Not to mention it's just PURE EVIL. God judges not man. He needs to really read his bible. But see, that's the thing. I know he knows it and he uses it to get exactly what he needs. Control over his followers and their money. Suckers. I mean, really, C'MON SON!!!!! his name is DOLLAR! And that's what he wants and gets, dollars. And these dudes have arena sized churches full of people blindly following and giving. I'm keeping my earthly weapons close.

Look, I know some people just like the inclusiveness of religion: helps with the fear of the unknown, fear of dying and what's on the other side, fear of being alone, etc. And that's why it's so powerful and deceitful because it preys on your fear through belief. But I really have to question your intelligence if you follow ANY of these people with the mega supersize churches and are always on television spreading their word. Click on that link and watch that clip. I bet you plenty money THAT wasn't a televised 'sermon' Creflo DOLLAR was giving that day.

Wake up, people. Please.

It is Father's Day

2010-06-20T05:50:00.005-04:00

For those of you out there who really celebrate this day as well as all the other manufactured 'holidays' you may not want to keep reading. I'm not going to rant and rave or anything but I don't go in for most of the so called holiday's. And, because of what today is supposed to be, ironically that's because of my Dad. Pop (that's what I call my Father) was never into holidays. So, there were never any Father's Day cards or stupid ties or other gifts. To this day. (At a very early age he stopped doing christmas. I'm pretty sure he only did it in our apartment the first year I came to live with him. For a few years during my childhood he was into Kwanzaa and that was really cool. I don't think he really strictly adheres to Kwanzaa anymore either but I am sure he still believes in or at the least supports the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles which Kwanzaa stands for. I ain't listing them here. I do know them but if you want to know look 'em up here. I still believe in them, too. At least I know the origin of Kwanzaa and it's purpose. There's nothing ambiguous in it's beginnings and it's not overly commercial like x-mas. It doesn't pretend to be a religious holiday. Whoops, I'm drifting. Back to point.) Pop taught my brother and I to be proud of ourselves and to know our history and, most importantly, to THINK! It is amazing to me how so few people are capable of real thought. So, if I were to thank my Father for anything it is the strong sense of self he instilled in my brother and I and for cultivating the ability to take in information, process that information, and come to our OWN conclusions. Thanks Pop.

Travel to The Other Lands, David Anthony Durham

2010-06-19T03:59:00.003-04:00

First, I must say David Anthony Durham is DA MAN! His first SF Fantasy novel Acacia: The War With The Mein was impressive. Hugely impressive. He took the standard rules of fantasy stories and lifted them above his head like a pro wrestler and brought them down across his knee in a super back breaker! His world building is on par with the best, ie. Tolkien and GRRM. (Now it is well known that the standard rules for fantasy were set by Tolkien. Not deliberately, I think, but simply because he broke the rules of writing himself and it worked. Ever since just about every writer of fantasy has used his work as a template. Well, not David. And I must say I couldn't be happier. That's not to say Mr. Durham just broke all rules and wrote with reckless abandon but he didn't adhere to what was laid before like a robot.) He took the time to flesh out each character and the rules of the society and cultures within the world he built. Certain story arcs zigged when the normal rules say they should have zagged and I loved the spontaneity and surprise of it all.

Well, Mr. Durham has done it again in The Other Lands, the second book in the Acacia trilogy. He continues the story not far from where the first one ends. A few things have changed and characters and places hinted at and only talked about are visited in this book as well as the continuing story arcs of the Akarans from the first book. And boy talk about a story zigging where it normally would have zagged. I was surprised several times on the journey of this book. David is all for breaking the old rules and tropes of fantasy writing. And I know it's not consciously done. He's writing from a place that cannot believe in the 'fantasy' of fantasy stories. He innately strives for a sense and level of realism within his fantastical tale that I've not seen done by most writers of Speculative Fiction. (I'll delve deeper into what I mean by this in another post.) There are very few relatively new writers in the field of SF that have generated this much excitement for me and David Anthony Durham is one of them. I cannot wait for the third book!

Visitations

2010-06-19T01:52:00.007-04:00

I loves when my Mommie comes to NY for whatever reason. I may have mentioned this on the blog before but I really really like hanging out with my Mommie. We don't even have to go anywhere and do anything, just sit back talk, watch tv or a movie, drink and smoke cigarettes. :-) My Mommie is the nicest person I know. Just don't cross her. Anyways, she's back in NY for various reasons and she brought my niece, Naziya, and my sister, Kiara, 'Ziya's mommie. The morning they got here, Tuesday, the whole family went to breakfast: Nannie, Mommie, Kiara, Naziya, Uncle Tanja, Cousin TT, my sister's boyfriend Cornelius, Marty, and me. We went to IHOP. That was really cool. Got pictures. Have 'em up over on facebook soon. Drank a bunch that night and slept it off on Wednesday. My Nannie wanted to go to Empire City up in Yonkers so we went Thursday night. Nannie, Mommie, Roxy, and Me. All they have there is slot machines. That's not a real casino. If you don't have gambling tables, ie. Roulette, Craps, Blackjack, Poker and such it's not a real casino. But they make money so whatever. I'm not big on gambling and especially not slot machines but I had fun. Mostly 'cause I was there with Mommie and Nannie and Roxy. They actually have a decent food court there. They actually had Franks Red Hot hot sauce in to go packets like ketchup. That kind of raised the venue's status for me. I love Franks Red Hot. (You know I took two handfuls, right? Now I can have some Franks when I travel.) So, they had Mommies favorite slot machine, Jackpot Party, I think it's called. It's actually a pretty decent and fun game, for a slot machine. I showed it to Nannie and she fell for it, too. We were there for a few hours. Had a good time. Couldn't find parking when we got back home. It was 3 in the morning but still, it was ridiculous. We dropped Nannie and Roxy off and me and Mommie drove around for about an hour before we finally decided on this way far away freaking spot. I walk Mommie to my uncle's house and he's like he's been waiting for us so he can take the car. Jackass. We could've been home! I had to show him where the car was. Then I got home. Mommie called to make sure I got home safe, which was why I walked her to my uncle's house. It was kinda fun driving around though 'cause me and Mommie were complaining about all the damn fire hydrants and no parking zones. Then Friday afternoon Mommie and I went down to Hustle USA (125th St) for some shopping. That all for now.

I always take mad pictures of Naziya when I see her. Byproduct of not having very many pictures of myself as a baby. I took a massive amount of pictures of my sister, too, as she was growing up.

The Fam. Some, not all.

Oh yeah. Mommie bought this t-shirt for me. I was not there when she did. See why my Mommie is so cool? I likes this for obvious reasons.

BLAH!!!!

2010-04-24T03:41:00.003-04:00

I am in another depressive state. Don't really feel like expressing the exact details of why that is here but just the consequences. I have no real desire to do anything. Especially the things I NEED to do or things I WANT to do. Classic symptoms of depression, no? For instance, I like my classes in school. I like the instructors and class conversations. However, I have been insanely shirking the required work for each and every one of my classes. Most of which is writing. Which is something I happen to like doing and am particularly good at. I actually did the required research, reading and/or thought processes needed for each assignment, I just haven't sat down and written anything. I mean, I KNOW I'm a procrastinator, but this is ridiculously pathological or something. I have these moments, like everyone else I'm sure, but they don't usually last this long. And I am literally running out of time. The semester is almost over. How the hell did it get to the end of April so fast?! I just celebrated my Bornday on April 1! So, I'm sitting here at my easy ass night job STILL avoiding having to do my assignments! How retarded am I?! I've had fun for the last couple of weeks but the serious stuff I've been avoiding. Some of the stuff floating around in my head (that I'm not going into) I thought I came to terms with. I now realize I have not and unfortunately it is affecting other endeavors, i.e. school, and that is just not acceptable. April is always a good month for me, it IS my birth month, and I usually have fun the whole month. That just might be a part of my problem. I don't like to do anything I don't want to do in this month. It's mine. (It's an old habit.) However, that has not usually affected school. I'm trying to remember if I had the same problem this time last year. My memory is not reliable and I haven't been keeping up with my journal, so I really have know idea.

Another byproduct of my depressive states is that I do not eat. I don't starve myself in the extreme sense of the word but I don't eat nearly enough to properly nourish my body. Which leaves me with not a lot of energy which means I really do not want to DO stuff! Stupid vicious cycles and shit.

I need to do my work for my classes and I want to go back to aikido, so, I have to find a way out of this really really really soon. Done ranting for now.

My main man, Tennyson Hardwick

2010-04-11T02:30:00.007-04:00

I must say I am very happy. No. I am ecstatic! I was one of a fortunate few to be able to get an advanced copy of the new Tennyson Hardwick novel, From Cape Town With Love, written by Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes in collaboration with Blair Underwood. This happens to be the third Tennyson Hardwick novel and I must say it is every bit as excellent as the previous two, if not more so. The growth of Tennyson is a very carefully crafted and wonderfully written example of character development. Few authors take this much care with their characters as Tananarive and Steven do. And I'm talking about all of their published works. The fact that this wife and husband writing team can bring their considerable experience and craft together to create not one but a series of novels focused on a close cast of characters, with Tennyson being the foci the others are attached to, is a testament to hard work and love of what one does. In this case: Storytelling. I'll do a small review and try my best to leave out any spoilers.

In this installment of the whirlwind life of Tennyson Hardwick we go international. South Africa, to be exact. All of Tennyson's journeys so far had a personal element to them and so does this one. The previous two dealt with Ten investigating the death of people Ten knew, but this one deals with saving the life of a child, so the personal aspect is still there. The intricate weaving together of independent story lines and intricate details is just wonderful. Tennyson's journey towards himself is furthered along masterfully. We get to see more and more of the man underneath struggling to emerge. His relationship with his father took a giant leap forward in the last book and it continues right along in this one. And the same goes for his relationship with his adopted daughter Chela, which is a particularly favorite storyline of mine in the series. Ten is still working out his women issues but I think he is making progress. But he is as freaky and bad ass as ever, which is always a good thing. I'm not certain I liked the way the book ends but I love the way the main storyline ends.

What I love most is the masterful use of language! And also the wonderfully expressed points of view on various issues and topics. And done within the context of the story, no preaching. For example, "Suddenly, the answer to the question Why do celebrities adopt these children was obvious. Because the children need them. Because they can." There you go. Now, normally I don't like marking in books at all but I realized I was going to have to: 1. Because this was an ARC and I knew I needed to do a review, 2. Because there were just too many literary gems throughout the entire book. I had to use a highlighter. I'd list one of my favorites but don't want to deprive anyone of the poignant hilarity of the thought Ten had about his new client. Makes me smile just thinking about it. All I'll say is 'pixie dust'. Damn.

Also another favorite aspect of the Tennyson novels I love is the fight sequences. You can just see the gleefulness Steve must have when writing these down. He brings all of his very considerable martial arts and fight experience and knowledge to the fore. I love the description of the art he made up to scare the crap out of Ten. I could just see it in action in my minds eye. Furniture-fu indeed! I'd add in a few techniques of Running-away-Gun-fu if I ever saw someone coming at me with that! Like films, in books you know the people who have real experience with fighting by the way they write the fight scenes and Steve is a fighter. I love that he brought in a character based on his real life Guru. As a long time fan of Steve's and avid follower of his blog I recognized the character immediately.

I think that is vague enough to not spoil the story but keep the interest there. I've been an admirer of Tananarive and Steven for a long time now, and I have to say I'm an avid fan and supporter of the Tennyson novels. Also, as a writer myself, I'd just like to say to all those writers and aspiring writers out there, especially those who write 'street lit' stories: If you want to learn how to properly tell a story read every single Tennyson Hardwick novel. Casanegra, In The Night of the Heat, and now From Cape Town With Love are a Masters Class in how to weave a tale in written form. That means write/tell a story.

I am greatly impressed and immensely pleased with this novel and can't wait to read it again when it gets it's public release. Oh yes, I WILL be buying this book when it hits the stores. I strongly suggest you do the same. And get the previous two if you haven't read them yet. Each book can stand on it's own, but why should you deprive yourself?

So what's your answer?

2010-04-10T02:33:00.003-04:00

I always liked the show "Inside The Actor's Studio." I'm just really curious about people, even the people most other people are way too interested in, ie. actors and other film people. I'm a huge admirer of films and movies so I have a real interest in how they think and do things. Well usually at the end of every show the host asks the guest the following ten questions. My spirit-brother David answered them on his blog so I figured why not follow suit. Here goes:

01. What is your favorite word?
Defenestrate. Sounds nothing like what it means. I love that.

02. What is your least favorite word?
Can't

03. What turns you on?
A beautiful smile with a beautiful mind behind it.

04. What turns you off?
Rigid minded people

05. What sound or noise do you love?
A well played guitar or piano

06. What sound or noise do you hate?
Fake crying or whining

07. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck in all its variable forms

08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Musician, particularly a Rock Star

09. What profession would you not like to do?
Nothing that has me going underground.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Either, "Ready to go again?" or "See, what had happened was..."

Just playing around.

2010-02-04T16:43:00.005-05:00

I was playing around with my various technological gadgets and figured I'd let ya'll know about it. A little while ago I was trying out the web browser on my Playstation 3. I am not really that impressed with it. However, I realized it's really cool to read blogs on. You know, because it's on my big ass tv screen? But for surfing and checking stuff out, not so much. Even with my wireless keyboard. Which I'm using right now. Pretty cool. Also, I'm still using my big ass tv as a moniter because I plugged it into my laptop. I am sitting on my bed typing, and using my bluetooth mouse, while my computer is on the other side of the room. I'm being a lazy ass web surfer today. ;-) I took a picture with my camera but I don't feel like getting up. You know, 'cause you gotta either plug the camera into the computer or switch the memory card from one to the other. Oh, I can take a pic with my phone and send the pic via bluetooth to the laptop. I am such a lazy genius. Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention, I am still using my Playstation 3. It is now being used as a stereo. I plugged my external HD, that has all my music on it, and am playing music that way, since my PS3 sound is routed through my home theater system. This is just so cool. Oh, and I'm eating too. I am the ultimate!!!!!

Here's the big ass tv with my blogpage up.

Here's the wireless keyboard and bluetooth mouse. And right in the bottom left corner you will see the end of my spoon sticking it's butt in my picture.

And I haven't moved an inch. ;-) I'm gonna move in about ten minutes to put my God of War game disk into the PS3 and then hit the bed again and kill shit. Gotta kill Ares. All for now. LAter.

Sooooo...she's from Virginia, then?

2010-02-01T05:06:00.006-05:00

Is it still like 'BIG NEWS' if Miss America is Black anymore? I mean really, I thought that one was done to death all ready. Why can't it be just a 22yo college student, from Virginia won? Anyone with eyes, and actually pays attention and/or gives a shit, is going to SEE she ain't white! She kinda light skinneded, but she does have a bit more cocoa to her skin than I would have expected. Congratulations to Caressa Cameron, a pretty young woman from Virginia who is on hiatus from Virginia Commonwealth University to BE Miss America 2010.

On a side note, aren't beauty contests about unnecessary by now? I know all about the charity work and things these young women do once they WIN, and I'm sure some of them do a bunch of that before hand, but really, do you NEED to be a "beauty queen" to volunteer, help, and make a difference? I don't think so. For there are thousands of people that do it everyday without a "crown" and get little to no public recognition for their efforts. Power to all the volunteers out there helping without a "crown".

The above is not meant to be a swipe or attack at Miss Caressa Cameron. I'm just glad that a beautiful woman with a nice body and pretty face is Miss America. At least we can be pretty sure Miss America has a nice ass this year.

Again, Congratulations to Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010!!!!!!!!

Some slight catching up

2010-01-26T07:14:00.012-05:00

Well, once again, it has been a while. I've been in a really lazy mood. For a while. So, in my efforts to combat my laziness, I decided to compromise with myself and do some video logs. :-) So, I write a little then you get to see my handsome face and hear my totally pleasing and soothing voice. ;-)

So let's get to it:

First up is Christmas 2009.

I don't think I need to type anything extra for this one.

Next, my sister Jocelyn and her husband Jay's Wedding Reception:

As I mentioned in the vid I had a great time and it was great seeing everyone again. I'll have pics on my fb page later. I'll link 'em.

And Finally Two cool nights back to back! The second night being THE COOLEST NIGHT EVAR!!!!!

First The KGB Bar and David Anthony Durham:

Fun Night. Pics over on fb.

And the finale, Imani Coppola!!!!!!!!!!!:

About the fourth time recording this! Kept talking too long. Couldn't help it, it was such a cool night! Thanks Imani and friends!!!!!

Two sexy people!: Imani Coppola and I: Click the link and buy some great music.

Avatar RAWKS!

2009-12-19T00:35:00.013-05:00

WOW! I gotta say, Avatar was impressive to look at. As long as your brain wasn't turned on too much it was a great ride to the movies. Visually it was absolutely stunning. I enjoyed it a great deal.

(Now to the shit. [That means spoiler alert!])

HOWEVER, I have trouble turning my brain down too much, especially in the face of laziness and very little imagination. (Huh? What? Little imagination?) Yes. VERY little imagination. I like Jim Cameron. He's a huge sci-fi geek with Hollywood clout. And he is definitely an innovator when it comes to the technology of films/movies. But story-wise he's a bit lazy. (Interestingly I read a blog by Steven Barnes that kind-of, sort-of explains this. Here's the piece 'cause it's a long blog and I don't feel like having you find the part I'm talking about:

"This is such a lovely trap, really. It works like this: in general, the deeper the characters, the simpler the story. And the more complicated the story, the shallower the characters. It isn't that people deliberately set out to do this: it is that a writer only has so much talent. Let's say they have a hundred cubic units of talent to expend upon a project. If they go for a story with wild twists and turns, and serious extrapolation...that uses up more units, and they just don't have as many left over for their characters, which often come out shallow and unconvincing...but WOW! That plot! And the stories with deep, resonant characters are usually stories of everyday life, small drama writ deep and wide. Scathingly real human beings against a backdrop of the mundane.")

And here, with Steve's reasoning, we have a somewhat obvious explanation (except in this instance there's nothing deep about the story or the characters, with the exception of the Na'vi people as a whole a bit. The divide here is Cameron's focus on tech/SFX versus story/character. He's so focused on pulling this shit OFF that all elements of the story suffer.) However there is also another. And that is that this is the exact same story that white people (men) KEEP TELLING OVER AND fucking OVER!!! (Here's a rather good article on this particular storytelling problem. Ironically, and [maybe] thankfully, written by a white person.)

I mean I was kind of cool with Cameron's portrayal of the Na'vi up until Sully gets captured. When the Na'vi warriors ride off to home tree what do I hear? The same exact shouts/calls/hoots I've heard in every film/movie that had some depictions of Native american warriors/braves/people. I mean THE EXACT FUCKING SOUNDS. These are not human beings. Yeah, they have two arms, two legs, a torso, a neck, a head, and kind of speak like we do. But they use their voices in a way so much more involved than humans, especially english speaking humans. Damn James, you could turn fine ass Zoe Saldana into fine ass Neytiri, a ten foot tall blue alien, but you couldn't come up with some alternative sound tech as well as film/visual tech to make her and all the other Na'vi sound different than us? That shit really bothered me for the whole damn movie. Basically the Na'vi were a combination of pretty much ALL non-white peoples on earth.

And then here comes some humans, mostly white, to take shit over. But a choice few, like less than ten among hundreds, want to learn and co-exist peacefully and ONE has to learn the hard way. And of course that one, is an outsider to those choice few but is an infiltrator among them as much as the natives. And "naturally" it's a MAN and he's WHITE. And too late he realizes he was wrong and switches sides. And LEADS the natives against his own kind, 'cause you know, they're wrong and just need to be shown the error of their ways. Check this here man: http://www.battleforterra.com/. Same exact movie, just the details were a bit different. And obviously more money was spent on Avatar.

OH YEAH, almost forgot the biggest twist of the knife: white boy gets to fall in love with the daughter of the local chief and life mate with her.

Don't get me wrong, there are some things I did enjoy though.
--I like the fact that it was a corporation that was there to rape the natural resources from this planet for profit. Earth is dying or dead and humans are still chasing money. SO US.
--I like the fact that the two humans, non-avatars, that helped the human-avatars against the corporate army were NOT WHITE, a female soldier and a male scientist. Michelle Rodriguez is so cool. I find it funny that the women who turned on the humans died but the two human-avatar white males lived. But the female soldier, Michelle, and the female LEAD scientist, played wonderfully by Sigourney Weaver (SO GOOD to see her back in Sci-Fi!), were BOTH killed and both by the same asshole, the leader of the coporate army. (Note: The ladies dying is something I DON'T like. At least Michelle's character. I understand why Sigourney's character had to die.)
--The humans get their ASSES KICKED!!!
--The one black dude, who seemed to be a kind of NCO, lives. He's light-skinned and had a really small part but he's black and we don't see him die, so that's like a first for James Cameron. Thanks James.
--Sully has his consciousness fully transferred to his avatar body, completely leaving his humanity behind. I'm not sure if that's the unspoken ultimate white people fantasy but I thought it was cool. Did notice he waited until AFTER the big battle to do it though. Even though he knew it was possible before the battle.
--Reminiscent of one of my favorite Alan Dean Foster novels, Midworld, which is a very good thing.

Ultimately James Cameron did what he does best, delivered some super-duper kick-ass sci-fi on screen. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Oh yeah, one thing I wanted to put down. For those who know me, for obvious reasons I didn't write about the 3-D aspects of the film.

For those who don't know me: I only have sight in ONE eye. Therefore the 3-D aspects really had no affect on my enjoyment of the movie. All the glasses did was make the movie look normal to me. Thank god. I wasn't sure what would really happen. It was interesting though because obviously so much more is being projected and is designed to be taken in by two eyes, so about halfway through the movie my eye got real tired. I had to close it for like a full minute to give it a break and then I periodically blinked on purpose just to avert more fatigue.

Even though I just saw it a few hours ago, I'm tired. I think I got everything I needed down. SO, aside from the seriously obvious and tired old story mold here, I enjoyed the hell out of watching it. There are bangin' SF novels out there and it would be nice if just ONE of them were properly adapted to screen.

All for now. LAterz.

T

One of the best movie scenes ever!

2009-12-17T23:24:00.003-05:00

I love this movie. One of the best war films ever done! C'mon son!, he said, "You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!" There's like mad classic quotes in this scene! There's more classic quotes in this scene alone than most other whole movies! And this is over twenty years old and still holds up well. (Thanks to my big Bro' for bringing my attention back to this joint.)

The White House, The Secret Service, The American President and white america

2009-11-30T00:40:00.008-05:00

What the fuck happened at the White House state dinner?! How in the hell do two ugly ass wanna-be white people CRASH a dinner party at the WHITE HOUSE?! I'm sure everyone who was invited got an invitation. I would assume you needed to bring that invitation as proof you were invited not to mention a little something called a GUEST LIST to match up with the invites. I've been to birthday parties with better security!

Let's get the REALLY obvious out of the way right now: If they were any ethnicity other than obviously white they would have NEVER gotten in.

I'm not sure about criminal charges, though. I think SOMETHING needs to happen to these two narcissistic self-important assholes, but, the legality of the situation I think is in question. I'm thinking (going off of quick logic 'cause I'm not researching this) essentially the White House IS public property. PROTECTED public property but public nonetheless. Therefore, they aren't really guilty of trespassing. Party crashing is not a crime unless done on private property. I wonder if they actually ate. Or did they come in, hobnob and take pictures then bounce. If they ate I have to assume they actually did score an invite somehow because I'm sure those tables were only set for the number of people that were supposed to be there. Or they have a relative that's on the Secret Service detail that knew two people that were invited weren't going to make it and snuck them in. If so, that didn't work out so well since these idiots posted pics on facebook. Great free advertising for facebook.

The US Secret Service just issued an apology about this. What? Really? You can't be serious. This is supposed to be the most secure house in the world. A security force was CREATED just to secure this house and its occupants: The President of the United States and his family. Also any visiting foreign dignitaries and very important persons. This state dinner had the POTUS and the First Lady, the VPOTUS and his wife, and the PM of India and his wife and a bunch of VIP's. And two uninvited persons just walked in. Exquise me? Baking powder? That IS NOT supposed to happen. The POTUS and VPOTUS essentially belong to the American people and therefore their safety is our concern, yes? The details of how they are kept safe are to be kept secret of course BUT we need to know they are properly protected. And when there is such a big and PUBLIC snafu such as this, the ensuing investigation is also our concern. I as an american citizen need to know that this fuck up in the security of my president is being thoroughly investigated. I don't need the details of the investigation but I DO want the results to be made known. And that proper steps have been implemented so that the problem will not happen again. Because that shit was and is just unacceptable.

And how are foreign leaders supposed to view this? I mean, yeah, nothing happened BUT something could easily have happened. THINK about this. You can barely get on an airplane nowadays with a valid fucking purchased ticket! And even if you do you can't bring on anything bigger than a penny! They shook hands with the POTUS! They actually took a picture WITH the VPOTUS!! In the above linked article they mention they went through magnetometers. I assume those are basically a fancy name for metal detectors. Have these assholes ever heard of poison? Maybe homeland security and the tsa need to handle the parties at the White House from now on. I mean they could have hurt M. Night Shyamalan, man! I like his movies.

And I hope everyone who has read this far noticed that I didn't write the names of the two morons because why would I?

That's all I have on this. LAterz.

T

Addendum: Upon further thought, this couple doesn't need to be punished. They made a bet. They won. They bet if they looked white enough and looked liked they had money enough they could get through the door. Criminal charges need to be brought against the secret service agents at each checkpoint responsible for checking the damn guests. This couple just showed up, the secret service should have turned them around at the gate.

Eye of the Beholder

2009-11-10T02:00:00.007-05:00

(This is going to be stream of conscious, so, no purposeful offense is meant.)

All right! Beauty. Pretty. Oooooh WEE you good lookin'! Many things make up what one finds attractive. Attraction is more than just the physical. For some that's all it is but most people realize that there is more to attraction than what the eyes see. Some people have very set criteria and do not stray from that. That may seem shallow to some, and in most cases it is, but we like what we like. I have no criteria, however, I am very aware of the attributes that I find most attractive in the opposite sex. And as an adult looking back I know where my mind picked up those attributes as most attractive. When I was damn near still a baby is when the physical attributes began to set. Before I continue, let's list them:
Tall - (well I was really small so of course all women were tall)
Slim - with long legs!
Smooth Chocolate skin -(from brown to dark chocolate)
Balanced proportions - meaning can't be all T no A or all A no T. Gotta have both in nice proportion.
Pretty Face - this one is very subjective, I know, but so is this whole post really. Look, I gotta be able to look at you in the morning. I don't need to be flinching when I see you when I first wake up. (Go' head and laugh, but you know I'm right.) With a pretty enough face I can forgo the proportion thing, too.

Real simple. The obvious example of these three attributes was the first woman I ever knew; my Mommie. She had a sister, my aunt, who used to take me everywhere with her. At that time she also embodied these attributes. Then when I went to live with my father, the woman he was with was also the perfect amalgam of those three attributes. And also one of his oldest friends who was around quite a lot in those early years. Naturally my mind assimilated this information and attributed these attributes to the girls my age as I grew.

I have not just stuck to those physical attractions as I've grown up though. I've dated and been with women who do NOT fit those attributes in any way. That's also another way that I know what I find most attractive because when I'm with someone that doesn't have one or all of them I am quite aware of it. It's not a distracting or detracting awareness, it just is. There are those who would argue that the physical ultimately doesn't matter, and about .02% of them really mean it. The rest of the people who say that are LYING to themselves. Physical attraction DOES matter! It is not the most important thing in a relationship but it does matter. With that said, for the longest time I was not attracted to any big girls whatsoever. Not physically. Just wasn't going to happen, no matter how nice she was or how well we got along. That was when I was young though. I've since grown a bit in the last couple of years. ;-) I'll be completely honest and tell you exactly who changed my mind about big girls: Jill Scott. She was so damn PRETTY! And that VOICE! That combination made me look past the size a bit and realize that not all big girls are fat girls. Jill was a big girl but she wasn't sloppy looking. She looked healthy and carried herself well. Talk about a personal revelation. So when I see a woman now that doesn't automatically fit into the slim category, I actually pay more attention to how she carries herself. Some people are just built to hold weight. Can't help genetics. However, if you know that's the hand you're dealt, deal with it. A big girl that carries her weight well, is healthy and can keep up with me is no problem. I do have a problem with a girl being fat and lazy with it. (Well I have a problem with anyone, not just girls, being fat and lazy but that's just...forget it.) That shit is just not attractive to me, period. It amazed me when I found out there's guys who find fat/obese women attractive. I know there's supposed to be someone for everyone, but that still makes know sense to me. Oh well. I know there's going to be someone who says you just don't like big girls 'cause you can't handle one. Wrong. I can and I have. On more than one occasion. but that body type is not what I find attractive. Now, I have family and friends that are big or fat or a little overweight and they know my position. They don't hold it against me. This isn't judgement, and I hope no one reads this as such. This is just a catharsis of what I like in women.

Which leads to the non-physical attributes I like, which are harder to lay out in words. Personalities are made up of so much and there's an unlimited combination so there's nothing perfect in this arena. Close for some but not perfect. I will attempt to make a list here:
Confident - can go against the grain with no problem. What other people think doesn't matter.
Aggressive - this goes with confidence but is a bit more. Not masculine just a bit more forward in action.
Feminine - Have to list this because of the previous two. I'm not into butch girls. I like tomboys that still know how to be ladies.
Unafraid to try new things
Unafraid to try ordinary things - If you can't go swimming 'cause of your damn hair, stay the fuck away from me. Silly shit like that just pisses me off. I'd understand if you JUST got it done but other than that, get away.

See, it's harder to list non-physical qualities because there are so many intricacies when it comes to personalities. But personality is more important than physical attractiveness. At least for me it is, which is why I've been able to date women who, if you were just going off of looks, I would never date. I was this way even when I was pretty young. I dated a girl in 7th grade that all my friends were all like, "WHY?!" It was simple, I liked her and she liked me. Physically, not my preferred match, but who she was was more than that and that was enough. (Funny, I just realized this was way before my Jill Scott revelation. I guess I must have regressed a little bit in my teenage years. Thanks for bringing me back Jill.) One thing I must add is that you have to like yourself. If you don't like you how in the hell do you expect someone else to like you. I mean to have a healthy relationship. That's the only way to have a truly healthy relationship. Can't think of any more right now. I may edit this later or just do a continuing post. All for now on this.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Here is an example of the physical attributes I find most appealing.(click the pic to view it larger)

(Please be careful with any comments in reference to the young woman in this picture please.)
This is Veronica. She was 5'8", 34C-26-35. And a nice smooth chocolate. Yum!

More Bluray madness

2009-11-08T01:15:00.007-05:00

Last week I stumbled across Best Buy having a super duper sale on BluRay movies. Ooooookayyyyy. We know of my consumerism weaknesses. Also when that sale ended, it was only for a week!, I came here, cruising around to see if my other favorite places to buy shit were having a BR sale as well. WELL, lucky (unlucky?) me! Amazon just so happened to be having a BR sale, too. I didn't go super crazy, though. I have some standards. Usually before I buy a movie on bluray I check this website, which is pretty good at rating BR discs. Mostly I check it for movies that came out before the advent of Bluray to see how the transfers are. If the dvd I have is pretty good and the transfer isn't that great then I don't need the BR. Also, I mostly want movies with serious action and/or super fx on BR. Don't really need dramas on BR. I do, however, have some on BR but they're newer. I really don't need The Color Purple or Girl, Interrupted, or The Joy Luck Club on BR. I'm sure they'd look great (maybe) but big deal. BR is mostly for the newer films being made that will/can take advantage of the tech. (Perfect examples: for drama, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [a must own on hd digest] and for action, The Dark Knight.) BUT with modern tech some older movies actually transfer to BR very well. A very good example is Enter The Dragon. Yes, THAT one. The movie that made Master Bruce Lee a truly international star. 1973!!!!! The transfer is actually very good. For an old ass film. Also, I absolutely REFUSE!!!!! to buy a barebones BR disc! I have super duper editions of dvd's and I'm going to pay for a less than mediocre BR disc?! C'mon Son! Fuck outta here with that shit! (For those of you who have know idea what barebones means, it is when a disc just has the movie and no extras whatsoever. Not even a bullshit making of. Nothing!) This is the 21st century! I need extras, damnit! ESPECIALLY if the the dvd release had extras. Anyways, because it was a super duper sale I figured I'd mix getting some double dips with new purchases:

Double dips:
Casino Royale- GREAT on BR!
Quantum of Solace- Makes know sense how good this movie looks on BR! Also, I feel the need to mention this is a REALLY good movie. Really good!
Serenity- Gotta love the sci-fi goodness.
Sin City- This movie was MADE for BR!!!!!! Sick how good this looks on BR and a big ass screen!
The Bourne Trilogy- GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Batman Begins- Couldn't resist. Worth it though.
The Dark Knight- I already know this is going to look AWESOME on BR!
Ghost in the Shell 2.0- Don't let the title fool you. This is the original anime just redone a bit. That's what the 2.0 is for. If I had previewed this first I probably wouldn't have gotten it. It's still good though.
Enter the Dragon- Nice!
Twister- I like this movie. The review was good so I figured what the hell. Plus it's kind of fx heavy, what with tornadoes everywhere and shit so it fits my criteria.
Big Trouble In Little China- One of my favorite movies of all time! This is kind of old, too, but it actually transfered really well. (That is an unbiased opinion in case you were wondering.)
New:
Jumper- I liked this movie so I got it.
The BBC Earth Collection: Planet Earth and Earth: The Biography- I likes learning! Plus, hd digest has this as recommended, which means it's really good. (And do not mention the Disney earth joint that came out please. That was actually compiled from the footage in the BBC Planet Earth. I like originals!)

Yesterday, I also got 3 more BR's. They were on sale at BJ's for really cheap so I was like okay. Damn my consumerism minded mind!

Wyatt Earp - I love this movie and the price was right.
Dark City - I actually can't remember if I saw this. I think I did. The description on the back seemed familiar. hd digest actually has this as recommended so I lucked out. Plus it's Sci-Fi.
Alexander Revisited: I did like this. And it was recommended. I actually remembered that while I was in the store so it was an easy decision.

That all for now. LAterz!

Recent music

2009-10-13T05:50:00.012-04:00

We've already established I'm quite the consumer. Though I have been saving rather responsibly, like I stated in the linked post, I buy what I like. And it's been a while since I did a music post. Know particular order. Annnd herrrre weeee go!:

Well I have to start off with The Blueprint 3. My man Jay-Z. I must say this is some of the best hip-hop and rap music I have heard in a long time. He KILLED it with this album! I'm talking about EVERY SINGLE SONG is off the chain good. Jay hasn't showed this much of himself since Reasonable Doubt. Stylistically they are identical albums. Reasonable Doubt, Jay's first, was a straight up outpouring of his life experiences up until the point of the album. Well, that's exactly what Blueprint 3 is, an outpouring of his experiences since Reasonable Doubt. Since this is a full music post, I'ma end this here. I think I need to do a post just about this album later.

Just as, if not more important to me, is the release of The Chair in the Doorway, the new album from Living Colour. I must say it is good to have the guys back together and making some awesome music again. I've been a fan since '88 when I first saw the video for Cult of Personality. I have every album. They sound way more cohesive and focused on this album than the last one. I'm still in the process of digesting this album but know that I LOVE IT! Great music from a great band.

Let's see, what else. Oh yeah, Alice in Chains found a new singer and have released a new album, Black Gives Way to Blue. I must say they found a great lead singer 'cause he fits right into the sound that the band is famous for. It's also interesting to note that the singer, William DuVall, is Black which I think is massive cool. Not enough Black people representing in rock these days. At least not in the spotlight anyway. Ever since I found out about this I wondered if the rest of the band noticed any ignorance at their shows and in fan responses. And by ignorance I mean ethnic prejudice. I'm sure they have and I wonder what the original members think about it. Anyways, the album is good. I just got it so, like the above, I'm still digesting it but I like it.

Back to hip-hop and rap. Q-tip released Kamaal the Abstract and Grand Puba released Retroactive. Both of these cats are from the old-school but they still make very good music. In the last couple of months I've been collecting Boot Camp Click albums. So far I've got, Casualties of War, Chosen Few, and Still for the People. Also from the Duck Down camp, I've acquired Shell Shock the solo album by Rock of Heltah Skeltah. Do I need to say all of these are GOOD!

The Black Crowes have released a double album called, Before the Frost...Until the Freeze. I must say that I like this release a hell of a lot better than their last one, Warpaint. Something about Warpaint I just didn't like that much. Still don't. It's not a bad album just...I don't know. This new one, however, is great! And a really cool thing about the release is the CD is Before the Frost and ...Until the Freeze is a download. There's a card in the CD sleeve with a code and website. I thought that was just brilliant. Great use of technology. I've previously posted about the Black Crowes, so I'll refrain from gushing about them now. But they are one of my favorite bands.

OH! OH! I almost forgot! Megadeth has a new album, too! Endgame. I've been a fan of Megadeth ever since my friend Chris let me listen to Rust In Peace (years ago!!), which to me is still one of THE BEST metal albums EVAR!!!!!! For that alone I will always be a fan. Thematically, leader Dave Mustain has always kept the band on course from album to album, and he is still on course. His observations and speculations of America and it's relation to the world has been a seemingly, and quite possible obsession, but he does it well. It still hasn't gotten old. At least not to me. I think Endgame is awesome.

And, oh yes, M.O.P.!!!! Finally The First Family has released an official studio album. FOUNDATION! This whole album is FYRE!!! Almost makes me wish I was from Brooklyn this album is so damn good. Almost. (I am from the South Bronx!!!!) But yeah, if you're a fan of straight hardbody Hip-Hop you needs to get this now!

And speaking of hardbody Hip-Hop, I cannot believe I almost forgot to mention Only Built for Cuban Linx Pt. II the classic follow up to a classic! Chef Raekwon is still cookin' up some marvelous shit to get your mouth watered! And of course Ghostface Killah is along ridin' shotgun and most of the Wu and a few extended crew is coming behind in the backup vehicle to make sure you get it.

And keeping it Wu, Ghost just dropped a new album, Ghostdini The Wizard of Poetry. All I have to say is this is Ghost doin' Ghost! If you're a fan you already know.

Damn, I KNEW I was forgetting something important. Returning to Duck Down we have Survival Skills the collabo album from The Blastmaster KRS-ONE and Buckshot. Talk about some great Hip-Hop. Some people say the old-school ain't in touch with modern times BUT KRS and Buck released the single Robot, which is about auto-tune and everbody sounding the same, BEFORE Jay released D.O.A. Of course I'm not saying nothing against Jay, I'm just sayin'.... This is a very good album. And it's KRS AND Buckshot! Come on!

Oh yeah, I know I'm mad late but I just got LL's Exit 13. I must say I feel kinda bad for waiting so long to get it because it's really good. I said kinda because the reason I waited was the previous two albums I wasn't too impressed with.

It's been a minute already but I guess I should mention Blackout 2 from my boys Method Man and Redman. We already know how they do. This is still on heavy rotation with me. Come on, TWO premier emcees killin' it. And also B.O.M.B.S. by the combustible Busta Rhymes. Busta is an elite lyricist, no question, but he has never released an album that was consistently good all the way through, just my opinion of course. This is the first time I put on one of his albums and felt no need to hit the skip button. At all. Busta has finally released an album on par with his lyrical prowess. I'm really happy about that, too.

And I just remembered some more. JEEZE! This year seemed like the year for awesome collaborations in music. First up Streetsweeper Social Club, the collabo of Boots Riley, from awesome Hip-Hop/Rap group The Coup, and Tom Morello of the phenomenal bands RATM and Audioslave. Both of these artists have rather intense soci0-political slants in the music they create so as unlikely as this collaboration may seem on the surface, it couldn't be a more perfect fit.

And then we have Slaughterhouse, a super collective of seriously not-to-be-fucked-with battle emcees. Royce the 5'9", Joe Budden, Crooked I, and the relative newcomer Joell Ortiz. All ready this may sound like a recipe for disaster, however, THIS SHIT WORKS! WELL! These four cats bring their individual styles and bravados and go all out on every track yet the stereotypical rapper egos do not get in the way. At all. These cats know what they each bring to the crew and there is a mutual respect for each other that is very apparent on the whole album. But you know every time they each got in the booth they were trying to murder each other! But they're having fun with it, despite being deadly serious about the art of emceeing. I am so still feeling this album. This is another one that is on super heavy rotation for a long time. By the way I must mention my favorite track is titled, 'Cuckoo'. That shit is hilarious!

And lastly we come to Chickenfoot, the collabo album from four veterans of Rock'N'Roll! Sammy Hagar on vox, Michael Anthony of Van Halen on bass, Chad Smith of the RHCP on drums, and the stupendously awesome Joe Satriani on guitar! To be honest with you there are very few ways that this can go wrong. All of these guys have been around for a very long time in music, so, they're just jammin' and coming up with some very cool, very good, straight to the gut, no bullshit Rock and Roll. Period. The musicianship on this album is second to none and yet you can tell these guys are just having fun and doing it well. Oh yeah, I must also mention the CD sleeve because they used a special heat sensitive ink on it. In normal temperature the sleeve is black but if you press your hand to it or breathe on it, like your trying to fog up a window, then your see each of the four guys in some performance pose. Just a cool little somethin' to go along with the awesome music. Very cool.

I think that is about it. No wait, just remembered some more. I rarely buy R&B stuff but I have some I must mention.

Maxwell's BLACKsummers'night is very very good. And newcomer Laura Izibor's album, Let The Truth Be Told is actually very good. You wouldn't expect a black chick from Dublin, Ireland to express so much soul (Betcha didn't even think there were Black people IN Ireland! Shows how much you know. We're everywhere!), but she does. And she does it well. I implore you to leave your preconceptions and prejudices at the door and check her out.

Okay, that's it for now. I'm tired. I'm sure there's a few more but I can't remember them and really don't feel like typing anymore anyway. Maybe I'll do the BluRay/DVD list next. LAterz.

Aikido

2009-10-13T04:28:00.006-04:00

I've been interested in aikido for a number of years and finally found the time and a dojo/sensei I felt comfortable with about a year ago (I am actually a bit embarrassed that this is my first post about it). What really intrigued me about aikido is that it is a martial art that emphasizes balance between defensive and offensive combat. It is not about meeting force with force. To look at and, to be honest, practice, most other martial arts are mostly offensive combat arts. Understandably so if you know anything of human history, know matter what culture you explore. But aikido, looking at and practicing, is very defensive. However, the martial aspect is very present. Just look at some early Steven Seagal movies. Though the main focus of aikido, at least to me, is to redirect the aggressive energy from an opponent back at that opponent with as little violence as possible, you realize that in properly controlling the energy of the opponent you actually control the opponent physically. And with that control you can really do some damage. Now I have no problem with a straight up fight but I don't really like to and if there is a better way to put someone down without damaging myself, which is more likely meeting force with force, then I'm all for it. And by redirecting their force and putting them down I can choose to hurt them or not. I like the control and the choice. And I'm a bit obsessed with balance so this happens to be a perfect martial art for me. I've done others but this is by far the most comfortable fit for me, though I must say I'm actually glad of my previous martial arts experience. Recent situations and my current school schedule have made it very difficult to go and I SO miss practicing! My only available time to go to the dojo is Monday and I really need to start going again even if it is only one day a week because I really miss it (I did it last fall semester so I'm just being a bit of a slacker this year. I suck.) Anyways, the reason for this post is my sensei, Gary Snyder, posted a short documentary on fb about his dojo/art gallery space. I've told anyone who'll listen about how super cool this space is and the documentary shows the space and how super cool it is, so now you can SEE it. I'd like to also add that if you live in NYC and you are interested in aikido let me know and I'll give you the info on the dojo so you can come and check it out. Watch the documentary below.

See! Very cool! You even get a glimpse of Shuji Maruyama sensei, the founder of Kokikai Aikido, the style of aikido I am learning. He taught Gary sensei. My very first class that I participated in was instructed by Maruyama sensei himself, which I took as a very positive sign that I should stick with this dojo! Maruyama sensei lives in Japan and only travels to the States once or twice a year so my very first class was kinda special to me. I've since been on the mat with sensei a few more times since and let me tell you first hand, he is NO JOKE! Tossed me like a ragdoll. Interestingly it is rather fun and uncannily hysterical to be thrown by him. I assume it's his energy. Even when he's manipulating your body like a puppet there's no aggression or negative energy. He just radiates so much positive energy that when you're picking yourself up off of the mat you find yourself laughing. Trust me, it isn't just me. It happens with everyone I've seen him demonstrate on. Even Gary sensei.

I need to go back.

OMFG!! WTF!!

2009-09-28T06:51:00.005-04:00

Okay, I am seriously not liking the entertainment industry right now. First we have this bullshit that my man David blogged about here. I mean really?!!! Highlander is just too fucking cool to be messed with. Yeah it has some little plot issues, what movie doesn't? But a remake?! WTF! I gotta do the Ed Lover right now: C'MON SON!! GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT SHIT! Why must hollywood and tvland remake everyfuckingthing! All the novels, stories, and screenplays being written and published out there and they still go back to fucking up perfectly fine films and shows and damn good MEMORIES! And now we have this bullshit as well! (That's two separate links if you didn't notice.) TEEN WOLF?! FOR REALZ?! And MTV, too?! I mean forget the cheese of it being an 80's movie, it's classic! If for know other reason that it was a completely new take on the werewolf mystique. I mean, they already did a not too bad sequel. This is SO unnecessary. I am certain there are a few more things on the horizon that are being touched that SHOULD NOT BE but these executive assholes and nostalgic idiots can't seem to help themselves. And I just don't have the heart to go looking for any more right now. I mean I know there is some good and new stuff on the horizon but not enough to make this shit okay.

Astrology

2009-09-02T11:24:00.003-04:00

Just found out a new friend of mine, Mike's, Bornday is Sept. 3, which makes him a Virgo. I now know why him and I get along so well. I'm not a new wavy super duper astrological freak or anything, however, I do think there is more truth than not in the reading of the stars and planets. Here's my minimal proof. I have a rather strong bond to my mother. Before you scoff and/or laugh, know that not everyone does. I know, a few are friends of mine. Anyways, my parents weren't together at any point in my life really. My father had the bulk time of raising me. Fortunately for me my parents remained very good friends throughout my life and so I've always spent time with my mother growing up without much drama. My earliest years were with my mother and her side of the family. It wasn't until I had been on the planet a few years and my features formed enough that it was undeniable I was my father's child that he took responsibility for my existence. My mother was okay with this. We've since had conversations about it obviously. WELL, most of those early years with my Pop I was constantly wishing to be with my mother. Pop was strict! As an adult I see the necessity for me being with my father. Both parents are best, obviously, but things don't always work the way we think they're supposed to. Anyhows, because my focus for so many years was to be with my Mommie, whenever we were together was just the most funnest time ever and the spans of time were so brief that I'd developed a very strong emotional tie to her. To the point of this post, my mother is a Virgo. Next: During my teenage years, specifically the summer before high school, I met the person that would become one of the most important people to me outside of my blood family. My spirit-brother and best friend, David. I really hope you've figured out that he is also a Virgo. Him and I have been friends JUST over 19 years now. There's very few people I hold as close to me as I do David, blood or no. There's been a few other Virgos I've met over the years and I'm still friends with all of them. Not to say I'm only friends with Virgos but I usually have a strong connection with them. Which brings us back to Mike. It's been almost exactly a year since we met. New job. He happens to be one of the most level headed and responsible people I've ever met and the fact that he's so young and that balanced is amazing to me. I know adults older than me that aren't half as good at life as Mike is. Over the last year we've talked a bit and knowing more of his background I can easily see how he pieced himself together into the young man he is. BUT he also could have went a completely different way, too. I think the fact that he chose the path that he is currently on is so cool. Reminds me of David a lot actually. And that's why when I found out he was a Virgo, especially an early Sept. Virgo, I was like no wonder! Mommie and David are both first week Sept. Virgos as well. So with that, HAPPY BORNDAY! to Mike, Mommie and David! Also to Melinda and Michelle!

Metallica's 'Battery'

2009-08-26T05:33:00.004-04:00

WELL. Just watched a particular video my friend Brian put up over on facebook. It is a German acapella cover of Metallica's 'Battery'. I'll put my comments after the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni6MFKEVrMU

You know, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this being that Battery is one of my favorite Metallica songs. However, I am impressed. That took some serious effort and dedication which I always respect when done in some form of positive light.... And they're obviously Metallica fans so they can't be that bad. I noticed that their other youtube videos pretty much seem to be covers of heavy metal songs. I never would have even thought that was possible if I hadn't just seen it. WOW!!!!

Here's the original song:

And here's the same song done with a symphony, which some people didn't like but I happen to love!

Movies: District 9 and inglorious Basterds and other things

2009-08-23T04:44:00.010-04:00

Well it has been about two weeks since the last time. I know you missed me. Anyways, I've been to the movies twice in that time. Saw District 9 and Inglorious Basterds. I enjoyed both immensely while I was watching them and immediately afterwards. They are both very different films and therefore cannot truly be compared, which I will not do, however I did like one more than the other. Let's get to it:

District 9

I really, really liked this film. The story was good, the FX were wonderful, and the action was great. My Sci-Fi geek was completely satisfied. My action junkie was totally pleased. My social conscious was not so easily appeased. And my social conscious is a rather strong part of me so I couldn't even switch it off while I was watching the movie. The most I could do was put it as far back in my mind as possible and let the other two enjoy themselves.
First: The aliens looked GREAT! The CGI used for them was absolutely phenomenal. Their social behaviour not so much. The story begins after they have been on earth for twenty years. A bit of backstory in the form of interviews tells how they got here and were established on the land alloted for them, designated District 9. Well after twenty years these aliens seem to have become the stereotypical sloppy, nasty, uneducated, and violent inhabitants of a slum. (Being an american of African descent these stereotypes strike a particular soft spot. Not so long ago the collective white populace thought this way about all non-whites. Some of 'em still do.) It's inferred that they were just workers on the ship they came on, so, I guess that is the reason for their apparent unsophistication. Personally I don't buy it. I don't care if they are just workers, they are workers on a SPACESHIP! That alone, to me, tells me they are more advanced than us. This intelligence I know should be there is exhibited in three of the aliens. THREE! And one of them is a child. These three for the entire twenty years were the only members of their race stuck on this planet trying to get off. For real?
Second: The humans were shown pretty much the way they needed to be with one exception. The Nigerians, the human criminal element among the aliens, were stereotypically and quite offendingly completely uncivilized. To properly explain this I gotta reveal the main movie plot so, you know, SPOILER ALERT for those of you who haven't seen this or don't know the story yet. Basically the main character, Wikus, is supposed to get the aliens ready to move to a new location. While going in and out of their 'homes' he finds something of interest in one of them with some liquid in it. Moron sprays himself with it. Begins turning into an alien. For the majority of the movie the extent of his transformation is his left arm has become an alien arm. And here's the rub. The aliens weapons are basically genetically coded so only they can use them. The company Wikus works for is private not gov't and they want to dissect him once they prove he can fire the aliens' weapons. Typical corporation. He gets away. Only one place to go. Distrct 9, of course. Things happen while he is hiding out. He needs weapons, goes to the local criminal element, the Nigerians. His arm is discovered. The Nigerian warlord wants to cut his arm off and EAT IT to grow one like it so he, too, can use the weapons. DOES THIS MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE?! Now, to Neill Blomkamp's (screenwriter and director) ignorant credit, he ESTABLISHES this scenario a bit earlier by showing the warlord taking the advice of his, I guess, female spiritual adviser/witchdoctor and eating killed aliens raw to absorb their power. Oh realllllllly asshole. Don't get me wrong. I know those beliefs existed and still do. BUT this is a man who runs a rather SUCCESSFUL criminal enterprise, has the presence of mind to stockpile a cache of the aliens' weapons even though he can't use them, just like the big evil corporation, so there has to be some above primitive intelligence here, yes? And when his solution walks right in his front door, UNLIKE said corporation, his solution is to eat the arm. WHAT THE FUCK? You couldn't come up with anything MORE INTELLIGENT than that. I came up with a very usable and more intelligent solution as I was watching the damn movie and was DUMBFOUNDED though NOT surprised at what was used. Real simple: cut the arm off, hollow it out, and use it like a glove. I mean COME ON! Wouldn't that have been more intelligent not to mention more FUCKING BELIEVABLE! I mean, it's not like the warlord was going to achieve his goal anyway, right? He just gets to blurt out his intentions before they get thrashed, right?! So where is the harm in making the man sound just a little bit intelligent as befits his status as a warlord running a SUCCESSFUL CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE! Can you tell I'm completely disgusted about this? (Don't get me wrong. I understand that people like this probably exist but it wasn't necessary to put them in this supposedly intelligent sci-fi flick.) I shouldn't be surprised as this tale comes out of and was filmed in the land of apartheid. I'm not saying Neill Blomkamp is a bigot or racist, but certain stereotypes and old cultural norms have a hard time dying. American cinema is not much different, still, and we know the history of this country, don't we? The excellent movie Alien Nation and it's even better television series did this scenario much better.
Otherwise, though now it doesn't seem like it to you, I did enjoy the movie. I've been dealing with shit like this in movies my entire life so I know how to roll with it. But I don't view quietly, so to speak.

Inglorious Basterds

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Quentin does the damn thing once again. Let me open with this: I went to see this in the daytime, early afternoon. When I see new films the day they open I like to see them then because most people are still at work or wherever and not at the movies. Opening nights are a hell I can't stand. NO patience for waiting in line for tickets, only to wait on another line inside just to get into the theater I JUST bought a ticket for. I find that obviously annoying. Also, the theater is FULL, which isn't bad unless you are at the back of the second line. And if you're with someone it's worse. Anyways, I like the afternoon. So I buy my ticket an hour early, go burn about fifty minutes and get inside about ten minutes before, like I usually do. I almost didn't have a seat. Imagine my surprise! That has never happened before, and I've been doing this for a while now. SO, I get my seat and I'm looking around and I notice a LOT of white hair and old faces. I'm still oblivious until I hear the couple on my left speak. The woman has a bit of an accent and it dawns on me: There's a LOT of old Jewish people here to see Quentin's re-imagining of WWII. My brain continues to work. They've been WAITING for something like this FOR A LONG TIME! I understand. They've never had a conscious communal catharsis of the massive amount of fear and anger they must harbor within. I mean, look at how they've protected the memory of what happened to them as a people. Every film dealing with their holocaust has been so meticulously dour, melancholy, and damn near depressing. Even the recent film, Defiance, which was about a small band of Jewish resisters, was not really a catharsis of negative emotion. Just another factual reminder of how little resistance was given. Who wants to see that ALL THE TIME! I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with those true to life factual depictions of such a horrific period, but something has to give! And to be perfectly honest there was no one better to open the floodgates of such emotion than Mr. Quentin Tarantino. Talk about catharsis! It's human to want revenge, even if it is fictional. TRUST ME! I know. My own ancestors had their own holocaust right here and to be perfectly honest there is no way to take revenge for such things other than fictionally, other than educating those that follow so that the same things don't happen again. Back to the movie. Yeah, brilliant. No one could have played the part of the leader of the Inglorious Basterds better than Brad Pitt. I guess that's why Quentin wrote the part just for him in the first place. Brad is hilarious in this. (SPOILER ALERT) Especially near the end when he's pretending to be Italian along with two of his Basterds. I was cryin' I was laughing so hard! The one thing I really, really liked about this film was that Quentin didn't make the nazi's evil caricatures. They were people, misguidedly evil yes, but they were people with real human emotions and real human reactions. The main antagonist, Col. Landa was wonderfully acted and developed. He was a detective and his main job in the beginning of the film is to hunt Jews in France. And he is good at his job. This, among other things, is why I think the catharsis truly works. You see the monsters are just people and can be dealt with. And they were dealt with! Col. Landa, upon finding out a woman he actually likes is a traitor, is crying as he kills her. That scene was really well done and acted by Christoph Waltz. You could see and feel the betrayal he felt when he jumped up and wrapped his hands around her neck, and the tears running down his face as he strangled her to death. Another nazi, Zoller, is portrayed as a regular young man who wants a girl, Shosanna, to like him. At the end, the nice guy role drops as he gets tired of being rejected. He's a nazi war hero, the film she's showing in her theater is about the event that made him a hero, and his arrogant superiority comes out because of his frustration of being turned down by this girl who should be flattered he even gives her his attention at all. The nazi minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who made the film about Zoller, is given the highest compliment he's ever received from the man himself, Adolf. Adolf tells him as they are watching the film that it is the best work he's ever done. Joseph actually breaks out in tears and can barely thank Adolf for the compliment, he's so overwhelmed. See? Human. Just really had fucked up views of the world is all. And they needed to get dealt with. And in this film they get DEALT WITH! In particular Quentin style the story is told from the multiple viewpoints of the protagonists. With the exception of Lt. Aldo, played wonderfully by Brad, all of the Basterds are Jewish soldiers except one who's German. And though the title of the movie is the name of their little group the film is not just about them. It's very well fleshed out and well done. The story of Shosanna is set in motion because of the actions of Col. Landa. He kills her family and almost kills her, so, when she is presented with the opportunity to take out a bunch of nazi's, including Landa, she takes it. It's the opening scene and you get to see how intelligent Col. Landa is. The Inglorious Basterds are terror style shock troops and they do their job well! I'll leave the rest alone, just go see it! I will repeat though, Jewish people have been waiting for a film like this for a long time and they needed it. (They were all clapping at the end so I feel confident in my assessment.) I'm happy for them and I'm happy with them.

Now to the other things. My blogging anniversary passed and I didn't even notice until my best friend David mentioned his was coming up. Since I started mine before his I realized my anniversary had just passed. Well, I'm actually glad I got to do this post for my blogging anniversary. I'll be starting classes again at Fordham University in about a week. I'm dually looking forward to it and dreading it. But I'll be fine. I always am. Things are moving along. I'm still looking for a new place to live but I'm good. That all for now. Thanks for checking in. Until next time, LAter.

FOUND IT!!!!

2009-08-10T01:17:00.004-04:00

Interesting the small connections that are life. Being a kid in the early 80's and a fan of stories, written and visual, I was drawn to the fantastic. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the most fantastical of fantasticals, Sword and Sorcery. I LOVED sword and sorcery fantasy as a kid. I still have a soft spot for it today, though my tastes tend more towards harder Science Fiction and less Fantasy. However, Little Tarrell, who still has some control in me, is still very much in love with those sword and sorcery fantasy stories. I must be honest though, Big Tarrell is still a huge fan of Conan. But I'm talking about the past here.

A long, long, longlonglong, time ago, I was sitting in front of the television and I was watching one of the coolest most fantastical movies I'd ever seen. I don't remember the details or plot of the movie. All I do remember are there were warriors, a dwarf, and an elf on some sort of mission. In particular there are only two things I remember about this film. One: the elf was the coolest character EVAR! The elf shot arrows like a machine gun. That was SO COOL to a kid like me. Analyzing the images as an adult now I realize the camera trick they did to do that but the childhood memory ignores such things and sticks with COOL! Two: One specific scene. These band of companions are trying to get information out of this one person who just isn't talking. Yet he has a reputation for being a blabbermouth. SO, the warriors stake him down to the ground (in a forest of course) and string a VERY heavy mace directly above his face. They put the other end of the rope in his mouth and walk away. If he keeps his mouth shut, someone may come along and help him. If he can't keep his mouth shut, bye-bye birdie! Well, I remember there was a short scream followed by a rather large thunk not long after the band of companions rode off. Off camera of course. Even at that young an age I understood what happened. COOL!

SO, many, many years later, I'm an adult and I remember these little bits about this movie. What I don't remember is the damn NAME of the thing! SO, I'm at work, on the computer, in the very early stages of the intarnets and search every way possible I can but cannot find the title to the damn movie. I give up. Many, many more years pass. I periodically remember the film but never sit back down to search again. The intarnets have improved exponentially but the initial devastation of that first search just left me feeling it was pointless to try. WELL, imagine my surprise when I found it today, not more than about 15 minutes ago. Here's what happened:

I had a tab up for an article on MSN called, 40 fantastic time wasting websites. I click on one in particular because of it's description: "A must-try for any music or film fanatic, LivePlasma helps you find new movies and music by building interactive maps around your current favorites. It's like six degrees of separation, customized to your cultural interests." Well, if you know me at all, you know that that description is something I'm just NOT going to resist! I fart around with some initial things then PING! a light goes off in my brain. I'm talking about a lightbulb popping up lit up over my head just like in old cartoons. Six degrees of separation for movies? I can search for that elusive movie with the cool elf! I have a BUNCH of favorite fantasy movies from back then and that elusive movie with the cool elf just HAS to be a degree or two away from one of those! And I know the PERFECT movie to try first: The Sword and the Sorcerer! Come ON! How could that NOT pull up what I'm looking for? If this website is worth it's code and wishes to justify it's existence, it MUST have what I'm looking for! Well, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you HAWK THE SLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!

I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, when I first saw the thumbnail image of it on the site I nearly jumped up and down like a retard 'cause I just KNEW I found it. But I had to be sure. I went to IMDB to check the plot summary. In my mind Little Tarrell screamed at the top of his lungs, "I FOUND IT!!!!!!!" I must say I really do love when I make that kid happy. Big Tarrell knows going in that this movie is gonna look cheesy as hell, but he knows how to take a backseat and let Little Tarrell have his fun every once in a while, so yeah, I'm gonna get it.

SF spree

2009-08-02T04:07:00.004-04:00

Okay, so a while ago my best friend David mentions that amazon.com is having a sale on everything SF on the site. Pretty much half off of everything SF! You KNOW I couldn't resist that! Me being the SF freak that I am and the admitted consumer that I am I had to go and look, knowing I would not be able to resist a mini buying spree. Now usually when I get into one of these spending modes I just pick damn near everything I feel like buying at the time, which is ALWAYS a lot. Then right before I'm ready to purchase, I begin to wheedle down the items I have usually according to what I really really want and the prices. I do this online and in the store as well. Anyways, since I was online and it was a super duper sale I put everything that I wanted in my wishlist 'cause I didn't want it all in my cart and then make a bad mistake. I picked from my wishlist and still got rid of stuff after it was in my cart just cause I'm so weak and gotta push it to the absolute limit. SO, what did I get? Here's a list:

1. Eureka - Season One
2. Eureka - Season Two
3. Eureka - Season 3.0
4. Shigurui: Death Frenzy Complete Box Set BluRay
5. Firefly: The Complete Series BluRay
6. Patrmony: A Pip and Flinx Adventure (book)

You'd think I was done, and so did I, however about two weeks later I get an email from amazon.com telling me that it's the last days of the big SF sale! Needless to say my mind was blown! I can get more?! See, I thought the sale was over. In stores the sales usually only last a week, so, I figured I got what I really wanted at the time so cool. WELL! It had been just over two weeks! I have MORE MONEY!!!!! See where this is going? I'll just get to the second list now:

7. Crossworlds
8. Supernova
9. They Live
10. Alien Nation - The Complete Series
11. Alien Nation - Ultimate Movie Collection
12. Stargate (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]
13. Samurai 7: Box Set (Viridian Collection)
14. The Arrival [Blu-ray]

Well that's it. A bit about the purchases. I've only caught a few of the episodes of the Eureka series but every one I've seen I've liked, plus I'm a huge admirer/fan of Salli Richardson and Joe Morton, so I got 'em all. I saw the trailer for Shigurui on my Afro Samurai 2 dvd and was blown away, so I just said fuck it. And you know the trailer had to be REALLY good for me not only to buy it but get the BluRay, too. Firefly, because, you know, it's just GOOD. David had it already and showed me all the good episodes and I loved Serenity, so, no brainer here. Been a Pip and Flinx fan since the early days, been reading these a LONG time, so, again, no brainer. Always liked Crossworlds, mostly 'cause Rutger Hauer is in it, and when I first saw it I hadn't seen him in a film in a LONG time. Ever since Blade Runner I've been a Rutger fan/admirer. And I really liked the way they portrayed dimensional travel. Supernova is a space sci-fi film starring Angela Basset and James Spader. No brainer! It was also really good. I'm not one of those crazy fanboys that will just get something 'cause someone I like is in it. I'll check it out for that reason, but I'll only buy it if it's good. Where am I? Oh yeah, They Live. Do I really need to explain this? No, I don't think so. If you don't know, I can't help you. One word. CLASSIC!!!!!!! Onwards. Alien Nation: I got both of these because I am a huge admirer of the series and the tv films and I loved the original film. It is still one of the best Sci-Fi films to me and the series actually pulled off continuing the storyline very well. Which is rare. Usually a tv show and tv movies made from a studio film suck. These did not. Stargate: Now, you know, I really, really, really, really, really like this movie, right?! I mean this is a triple dip for me. I have NEVER triple dipped before. I rarely double dip. IF you check my dvd list out, you will see that I have this movie TWICE already. A very barebones edition and a really super duper Ultimate edition. Neither of which has an ENGLISH subtitle option. I know, I'm weird. I get it. I know you're saying, who gives a shit about subtitles?! Well, I do, thank you very much. I LIKE subtitles. They come in very handy sometimes. And I just like them. So I really like them for a movie I just LOVE. Stargate is one of those movies. Not a big fan of the show though. And I only got it 'cause it is BluRay. If it had been another regular dvd edition with english subtitles I would have just been pissed but I wouldn't have bought it. Anyways, moving along. Samurai 7 'cause I heard it was cool. It wasn't a definitive coolness so I didn't get the BluRay of this and also the BluRay edition was twice as much, so, no. I better like it ;-). And lastly, The Arrival. Now, I remember way back when when this movie came out. I heard so many bad things about it. So it took me a long time before I got around to seeing it. When I finally watched it I was PISSED! It was one of the BEST Sci-Fi films I had ever seen! I mean it was straight sci-fi all the way through. Most sci-fi films do well because they're about 20-15% sci-fi and 80-85% action. The Arrival was like 95-98% SCI-FI! That just doesn't happen very often. And when it does usually the movie suffers for it but in this case it didn't. At least to me. I was thoroughly impressed and entertained by this film. And THAT'S why I got the BluRay version, too. I just can't believe this film isn't more popular than it is. Oh well, I like it. And David likes it so whatever.

Anyways, just thought I'd share. LAter.

Conquer, conquer, conquer

2009-06-30T04:10:00.005-04:00

This article explores the act of a multinational conglomerate of mostly european countries and companies using solar energy generated and stored in Africa and sending that energy to various plasces in europe. It was mentioned that the local African areas where the solar plants would be would be direct beneficiaries of the project. Riiiiight. Of course they would for a while at least, in the beginning. I'm all for believing that people, and by extension governments, can change for the better. However, a qoute from the article, by Agatha Koprowski, kind of sums up what I've come to believe based on what I've learned about our world's history:

“Europeans covet Africa’s wealth of natural resources,” she continued, “so they make economic investments for the benefit of Europeans and the detriment of Africans.”

Can anyone look at the history of europe and Africa and deny this is true? Honestly? I truly think not. Believe me, I'd LOVE to believe this project was truly what the people backing it say it is, but history, and not distant history either, doesn't support that belief. But one can hope. This next quote, by Gerhard Knies, does not fill me with a lot of hope though:

“I think they overlook the positive side of this interdependence, which creates win-win situations for the participating sides,” he said. “And that is how neighbors become friends.”

Europeans have been using that neighbors and friends bullshit for centuries and look how well it turned out for the natives of the america's, especially north america, and the many African countries all fucked up by colonialism. Oh, and don't forget almost every small island full of brown skinned people they ever landed on.

I don't mean to sound bitter or angry, but really, what do these people behind this Desertec project expect. Underhanded business has been the european stock in trade and modus operandi for it's entire existence.

And yet, I truly do hope they pull this off and it's beneficial to everyone involved and affected by the project. History is history and it's done but we learn it to be wary of what not to do or fall for. Hopefully the African countries entering in this know their history.

Graduations and other things

2009-06-29T05:04:00.005-04:00

Well it's coming into the beginning of summer time. Kids are graduating school and school is out for everyone. I have been rather directly personally touched by the graduation season for I have a nephew and a niece that have graduated. My nephew, Christopher, who is a blood relative, my big brother's son, graduated Jr. High school and will be starting High School come the new school year. That is so cool to me because I so vividly remember when he was born. I was in basic training in the U.S. Air Force in Jan. of '95 and I received the most wonderful card in the mail and a picture from my brother. Christopher Childs, his son my nephew, was born! I was an UNCLE for the first time. That was so cool. Basic was already not too heavy a situation for me and that just made it that much easier. So, yeah, he's much bigger now (obviously:-)) and on his way. Can't wait for his H.S. graduation in four years. It may be sooner 'cause that kid is SMART! He's like me a bit, he reads A LOT! I think that's kind of cool ;-).

Then there's my niece Tyler. Tyler is not a blood relative, yet I refer to her as my niece because her aunt Veronica was the love of my life, and I've known Tyler since she was about seven. I've written about Veronica several times, here, here, and here. Well, while V was alive and we were together in Cali. I was warmly and openly accepted by her family as one of the family. Even after we split up they always held me close as one of them. When she died and I ran to Cali for her life celebration ceremony I was unsure of where to be: family was on one side of the room and everyone else on the other. One of her aunts, who I must of only met two or three times, remembered me, and grabbed me by my hand and told me, "You're with us. You're family." I cannot express here how good that made me feel (damn, I'm crying :-)) during a time when I was feeling like my world collapsed. Anyways, I've always remained close and in contact with the family so it's cool. Besides, Tyler's mom Jocelyn, was a friend first. She introduced me to her sister Veronica. Back to Tyler. Well, she graduated High School this past Thursday. (Yeah, her school was late with it.) She has grown into such a beautiful and wonderful young lady. It was so fascinating to see the child who used to frustrate my nerves sometimes, when V and I babysat, in the face of this intelligent and beautiful young woman. I am so proud of her. She is going to college. I'm not sure of her major because she's not sure but she is thinking about engineering, which I hope she does 'cause that would be great. So few females in that career field. And it's also a career field that has not been bleeding jobs like everything else. I'm so proud of her!

I had to travel down to northern VA, cause that's where J and Tyler live now. It was a cool trip. I like Amtrak better than Greyhound. No problems getting there. My train was almost two hours late on the way back to NY though. I'm so glad I went. I had know idea how much I missed my Holloway family. It was weird sitting in J's living room and everyone was just lounging on the couch. It's a huge couch. I had to take a video of it. I'll post those up later. But, man, did I miss Veronica while sitting there with so much of her family around me. I wonder if I remind them of her as much as they remind me of her. More than usual I mean. Anyway, I had a great weekend. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a lucky individual! I try to remember that as much as possible. What's good in your life? Remember to hold it close and cherish it.

Who I is!

2009-06-20T01:19:00.003-04:00

Interesting. I can live with being Mr. Benford. He is definitely a well respected author and and excellent writer/storyteller. Plus he's a real life, bonafide scientist! How cool is that! See which SF writer YOU are.

I am:

Gregory Benford

A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist.

Which science fiction writer are you?

More stupidness from people I work with.

2009-06-14T01:03:00.002-04:00

Some people are just morons. One thing I failed to mention in my video was the fact that someone went into something that wasn't theirs in the first damn place! Why are you opening something that doesn't belong to you? It's not on your desk. You didn't buy it or bring it in. Why are you even touching it? Some people are so simple.

Just 'cause

2009-05-24T03:46:00.007-04:00

I just feel the need to write. I have a plethora of things I want to write about but really have not the desire nor drive or whatever to actually take the time to write them right now. But I need to write so I'm writing. As I previously blogged I had neglected posting here because school was just really commanding my energy. Now that school is over I'm just drained. I've been trying to recharge my batteries but it doesn't seem to be working too well. At least I know the reason why though. My home environment is just not conducive to my being a happy human being. I need to leave and I'm working on it, however, I don't have the means or capacity to just up and relocate. So, like most everything in this world, it's going to take some time. I hate waiting. And though I'm not really waiting, 'cause I am looking and preparing, I am not the most patient person in this world. At least not when it comes to anything except kids. I like kids. I have patience for them 'cause everything is new to them and so they have to learn. Everyone and everything else just gets on my damn nerves. Back to home life. I am surrounded by emotional chaos which is something the I just CANNOT STAND! Look, I have no problem with conflict but I like to deal with things in a positive light, in the most positive ways. The people around me deal in negative emotions and that's what life is to them. If things are flowing along nicely and going well then something is wrong in their world and they HAVE to inject a bit of negativity and chaos energy to feel normal. That is SO not me. When I entered this environment I knew of a part of this but truly had know idea how deep this sickness in these people was. Well now I know and I'm getting the fuck out of dodge before I need a lawyer. It's that serious.

In conjunction with this external shit I'm also going through quite a bit of internal drama. I've been going through self exploration for the last year or so. I finally realized I need to deal with a lot of the crap I have floating around my psyche. I've always been pretty level headed and like to think I deal with my emotions relatively well. I've always been pretty honest with myself as far as my emotions and motivations are concerned but when Veronica died something changed. Not a lot just a bit. Enough to notice. Wow. Self evaluation and breaking down one's ego shell is some scary shit and not for the timid. And not to be attempted without some help. Trudging through adult emotional trauma is nothing compared to dealing with childhood emotional trauma as an adult. You might be surprised of the things that really had a lasting effect. Most things looking back are obvious but quite a bit is not, which is why it's good to take a careful and thoughtful look into such things. Then evaluate. Always with someone who is qualified to do such things though, as your own viewpoint can be obviously biased or skewed. Most people ignore pain for various reasons, usually fear, and that's understandable. But you cannot be a fully functioning and healthy human being if you don't understand yourself and facing and dealing with pain is a big part of that. That's one of the reasons why I follow Steven Barnes' blog so closely: He is a person who is publicly honest about his internal and external dealings with striving to be a complete and balanced human being. I have such admiration for that man. Anyways, it's an ongoing process, this self-evaluation stuff and I'm workin' on it. Have been for a while, actually, just read my book ;-). It's just now, I'm really focusing on it, because I really need my life to move forward and I can't do that until I get a lot of the shit from all these past years a bit cleared up. Or just a bit clearer. Thirty-something years is a lot of shit to slog through.

That all for now. LAter.

My Book. Yes, I'm proud and not above a bit of self-promotion.

The Dragun iz back. A bit Drained

2009-05-10T01:06:00.015-04:00

It's been over a month since I posted anything. My posting has been rather spotty for the whole year so far actually. Didn't even have a single post in my Bornday month, April. Weeeeeell, school has been kickin' my ass. I was actually trying to take it serious for once. Especially one class which I'm not sure if I'm going to pass. This is rather disheartening but quite possibly a necessary wake-up call for me. I'm fairly certain I will pass all my other classes. Though I am not anal and obsessed with making the best grades, as far as classes(or anything else for that matter) are concerned, I am NOT used to failing in any way. I'm smarter than I used to be but not quite as intelligent, I think. I think my higher power may have my back though, but I think that's only for this semester. Next school jam I get in I am sure I'll be on my own. We'll see. I won't let myself get in a academic jam like I did this semester ever again,though, no matter what happens.

Anyways, I did post about all my excitement in March, so no need to rehash that stuff. Except, I FINALLY MET STEVEN BARNES!!!!!! Just had to get that out. If you can't tell I'm still kind of STOKED about that. But for my Bornday, which is April 1, I went to the Museum of Natural History here in NY. Yes, I am an April Fool. I am THE April Fool and as such the whole month belongs to ME!!! My bad, slight megalomania moment there. My dominant personae likes to show himself now and then. Like I was saying, went to the museum which used to be my FAVORITE place to go when I was a child. Here is why: I loved wearing my white suit there. The old human history display was in a long dark hallway that had blacklights running along the floors. The light would turn my white suit purple. This delighted me immensely, I thought that was so cool. Still do:-). I have not been to that museum in YEARS!! and figured I might as well go to my old favorite born day place. And I wore my current white suit, too, you know, as an homage to the child inside (pics at the end). Wow has it changed!! That display has changed quite a bit as has the whole museum. I like it. I need to go back on a regular basis just to check everything out. Maybe I will do that over the summer. Anyways, I bought myself a book and a Playstation 3 for my Bornday gifts. I mostly wanted the Playstation for the blu-ray player. I am more a movie/film fanatic than I am a gamer though I do enjoy playing games every once in a while. They have to be very interesting to me though. I much prefer to watch someone else play a game as long as they play it well, as my best friend David does. For me, watching David play is like watching a movie, he's that good at these things. Cool for me he's my best friend then, huh? So, I have a bunch of blu-ray discs already but only one game. I haven't actually had the opportunity to play it because, like I began above, school was kickin' my ass. I need to work on my time management skills big time! Blu-ray movies look freakin' AWESOME!!! by the way. If you haven't acquired a blu-ray player, along with an HDTV, I highly suggest you save your pennies and go get them. Together they are so choice.

Nothing else really happened in April. Oh wait, I went to Connecticut. Went for a friend. I won't put her business on the net but I went for support. Actually stayed at this minor resort hotel at Foxwoods casino. It's nice up there. Visited a friend of my friend who has a house and some land on the Mohegan reservation land. It was really nice out there. Though it was my first time there and meeting these people I felt at home immediately, which is super rare for me. I look forward to going back.

Went to the world famous Apollo theater for the first time this past Wednesday. My friend, Wisdom Supreme, was performing at amatuer night. It was an interesting and very cool experience. I lost my voice cheering. Interesting observation from this experience: girls really do mature faster than boys in certain ways. There was a large group of kids from a school in Philly in attendance. The boys were rather a bit unruly and the girls seemed to have a better sense of decorum for the venue in which they were in. They were still kids though just a bit better behaved. Interesting to witness that as an adult. I ain't old, forget ya'll!! Wisdom did a great job by the way. He didn't get booed at all, which I was kind of worried about, being he was doing a spoken word piece which was rather deep, and you had all these pre high school kids there looking for fun performances. I was thoroughly impressed: with Wisdom as well as those school kids. They listened. Great night.

My Big Bro came up to NY on Friday. Hung out with him and my nephew Mikey. We went to see Wolverine. I am so not impressed. I know they had to take liberties to make it work, like they did with the three X-Men movies, but they went a bit overboard in my opinion. I think making Logan and Victor brothers was great though. Their relationship has, to my knowledge, never been explicitly explained in the comics. You know, it wasn't that bad but it really should have been better. Post Dark Knight and Iron Man this should have never seen the screen in the form they had it. I know it takes a LONG time to make films, so I can only assume that the script had been approved and principle photography had already begun WAY before the Dark Knight and Iron Man films saw the light of day. Completely fucked up the character of Deadpool, too. He's rather cool for a slightly insane assassin in the comics and they just messed him up in the film. They kind of covered that after the credits, though, but it's still kind of retarded what they did with him. Actually liked the live realization of Remy LeBeau, Gambit, though. Look forward to seeing that character in future X-films. Loved the way they SFXed his powers, too. That was way cool. Yeah, I'ma get it on blu-ray when it comes out, but mostly because I'm an X-men fan.

And yesterday, I helped my brother help my nephew's mom move out of her apartment. Got to spend some time with Mikey, too, which is always cool. I like my Nephew. Reminds me of, well, me ;-). Just a bit. Played catch with his football. He's got a pretty good throw for a kid.
That all for now. I won't be stranger. Especially since, Schooooooool's Out For Summer!!!!!!

Bornday pics
First pic on my Bornday!

Happy to be going to the museum.

Gotta do the hard rock pose.

Greater Koodoo. That's the name of these creatures. Thought that was cool. And they look pretty cool, too.

Petrified wood. When I was little they had a single slice that was longer than I was tall. I always thought that was so cool.

Had a happy day! (Yeah, my room is a bit messy. So?)

Having a good week

2009-03-29T08:16:00.008-04:00

Well, within one week I've met a few people I admire greatly. One I might even go so far to say I'm a huge fan of one of them. That one would be Steven Barnes, my favorite SF writer, period. That was yesterday. I also met two other excellent writer's, Tananarive Due, who happens to be married to Steven, and Nnedi Okorafor. We were all attending a symposium celebrating the life and works of the brilliant Octavia E. Butler. It was nice to receive a little more insight into the person that Octavia was from those she knew and considered friends. It's really eye-opening to hear that Octavia is considered a master storyteller above master storytellers. She didn't just tell stories she WAS the stories. I love her work and am sad that I never had the opportunity to meet her. However, this is a happy moment for me. It was so cool to hear Steven speak and realize that what I read on his blog, which I read ALL the time, is exactly how he is in real life. Not that I ever doubted that fact but to know in person is always a good thing. He was gracious enough to allow me to meet his son, Jason. I can't express in words how much of an honor that was! Anyways, I actually had the opportunity to converse with Steven and Tananarive and they are two of the most beautiful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I look forward to the next time I can meet them. I brought my copy of Street Lethal, still one of my favorite books of all time, and Great Sky Woman, a brilliant tale, for Steven to sign. I would have brought more but I figured I wouldn't be the only one there so decided to keep it short. Those are my two favorites. Oh, and Tananarive is sharp! We just recently added each other as friends on facebook and when she asked my name, for her to sign my copy of My Soul To Keep, she said, "Why is that name so familiar?" To which I responded, "Probably from facebook," and she was pretty much like, "Oh yeah! I love facebook. Isn't it great?" That was so cool. (Yeah, I'm still geeking out over all of this!) I did not get a chance to converse with Nnedi but she did sign my copy of The Shadow Speaker. She's absolutely gorgeous!! WOW! I can't wait to cross paths with her again one day. So,yeah, yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day for me.

Yes, I know I mentioned I met four people and only spoke of three. The fourth is Savion Glover. I actually went to a performance of his a week ago. I briefly blogged about it. Well, he's just a brilliant dancer. You can tell when he's dancing that's all that exists for him. I guess, maybe, not unlike Octavia in her writings. They simply embody what they do. Once engaged there is no separation between the executor and the executed art. Amazing to witness live. I got to meet him after the performance. Actually took a photo with him. Another genuinely beautiful person.

My Bornday is coming up this Wednesday, April 1, so I'm rather happy right now!

Oh yeah, and my best friend, David, and his wife, have returned from a wonderful trip to Paris! They had a grand time and David tells me it's a wonderful city. Seems I'm going to have to save up and make the trip myself soon! You can check out how his trip was here.

Tananarive, Me, and Steven. (If you can't tell I was STOKED!!!!)

Me and Savion (I'm kind of upset that the pic is a bit blurry. Some people just can't take pictures. Glad I have it though!)

DON'T MESS WITH MY FOOD!!!!!

2009-03-25T06:36:00.007-04:00

Yo, I HATE when something is wrong with my food!! I mean restaurant food whether it's fast food or sit down. And by something wrong I mean something being in it that ISN'T SUPPOSED to be!!!! That shit is ass-kick worthy right there. Like someone DESERVES to get STOMPED for shit like that. Ain't no damn accidents with someone's food, man! That all.

Video Blogging

2009-03-24T05:40:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I finally decided to use the built in webcam I have in my big-ass laptop. I'm working on the sound quality though. Not sure how to make it better. Anyways, here's the link to my youtube page. Enjoy!

Savion Glover rocks!!!

2009-03-21T04:21:00.004-04:00

I'll do a longer post on this later but I just needed to write something now. Went to see Savion's new show last night called SoLo in Time. He had a fusion of his tap with a bit of flamenco style blended with it and it was COOL!! Beautiful magic in motion and sound! I'll go deeper later, have school stuff to do now. LAter.

Oh yeah, a bit of proof:

Yeah, I was there, man, I was there.

Role reversal...

2009-03-21T04:17:00.003-04:00

This is funny!!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

The New White Face of Crime

comedycentral.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor

OW!

2009-03-07T04:47:00.005-05:00

Hey, okay, look. I have a question. Have you ever had some activity that you liked to do a lot, but haven't done it in a while and when you attempted to do it again you went at it like you never took a break from it? Well, I like to bowl. For a while I got to be pretty decent. I was on my squadron's base team. Joined the league and everything. I was getting a freakin' bowling newsletter in the mail. Got patches and shit to sew on my bowling shirt, if I actually had one. I even earned a specific patch. (I got the same exact score for three separate games in a row. Completely by accident and didn't know this was an actual bowling achievement but I was proud when I got my little patch in the mail. I'll dig it out one day and post a pic of it.) Anyways, this was all a couple of YEARS ago! I haven't bowled in quite a while.

Well after going to see the very pleasing Watchmen film, my friend David and I decided to go bowling. We knew of this new kind of swanky and high end bowling alley nearby and figured we'd check it out. Well! the place is called Bowlmor and it is rather swanky and pleasant inside. I proceeded to bowl and though I was conscious of the fact that it had been a while, I still went at it a little too much. Pulled my damn shoulder muscle about two or three times. But what is really bothering me is my damn left leg hip joint. I stepped wrong on one of my turns and that shit has been hurting ever since. And it's only been feeling worse and worse the more time passes. I wish I didn't have classes today 'cause I need to sleep and stay off of this leg for a while. This shit is annoying. And it ain't 'cause I'm getting old either. My technique was just a little off 'cause I was out of practice and trying a little too hard.

And the drinks I had had nothing to do with it.

Famous people

2009-02-11T06:09:00.003-05:00

I was wondering how often regular everyday people come across "famous" people, those considered celebrities or at least have jobs in the public arena, ie: actors and musicians. You always hear about people running into somebody famous out in Hollyhood, CA. And every once in a while you'll hear about someone running into a celebrity here in NY, a rather famous place for actors still, I think. Broadway is not dead yet, despite Disney's efforts to drive all semblance of serious theater out of the place. Anyways, I had my own experience of running into an actor some months ago. I was riding the train, I believe it was the 1, to go see my VA rep. I look up from the book I'm reading and see this older white guy standing by the door that leads between the cars. I look away but I know I recognized him. When I realize who he is, I'm like really stoked inside because I've always liked the work I've seen him do onscreen. However, I COULDN'T REMEMBER HIS FREAKIN' NAME!!!! But I can't let that stop me from at least acknowledging him. I always told myself I would never be a rabid fanatic if I ever met someone "famous" whose work I admired and I'm proud to say I conducted myself rather calmly. I approached him and, because I couldn't remember his freakin' name at that time, said, "I know you. You're an actor. I really like your work." He gives me a slight smile and says, "Thank you," rather quietly. I ask him if he likes poetry and he says, "some", so, I hand him my card and tell him I have a book of poetry published and he should check it out. He again says, "Thank you," and I say, "It was a pleasure to meet you," then I sit back down without another word. I then notice that he looks a bit, not haggard, but unglamorous. Yes, I know, he's not on set and all celebrities aren't always done up. What I really mean is that he seemed like he was dealing with something really personal that he was keeping under straining wraps. But that could be my overactive imagination. He might've just been playing low key 'cause he was riding the damn NYC subway. Right before I reach my stop, I remember his first name is David but the surname won't come to me for anything! What's really funny is when I got off another guy, a young black guy, got off too and he asked me, "That guy was a actor or something right?" I said , "Yeah," and he was like, "I knew it!" I wonder how many other people noticed Mr. David Morse traveling among them on the NY streets that day. I'd love the opportunity to run into him again. I highly doubt he bought my book but I expect that. I travel the NY streets all the time so I know that there's always people handing out shit that I just don't take seriously and usually don't even acknowledge. Anyway that was my only brush with Hollywood so far. And it was real down to earth. It would be cool if he did get my book though, huh? Figured I'd share. How about you? Ever run into a "celebrity"?

A Quick little Q&A meme

2009-02-11T00:36:00.011-05:00

My spirit-brother, Ryodin, did this over on his blog, and left it open to those who wished to participate. So here I is...

1)Who is the favorite person in your family?
Well that would have to be my little sister, Kiara. I still remember the first time I was made aware of her existence. She was probably still smaller than the tip of my pinky. I went to visit my Mommie in the summer of '88. As we were driving along home, from Ma picking me up from the bus station, Ma says, "I have a surprise for you."
With a child's anticipation and exuberance I say, "Oh, yeah?! What is it?"
And my Mommie says, "I'm pregnant."
Me: "Oh." Now I wasn't crestfallen or disappointed but that must be how my reaction came off because Ma says, "Are you disappointed? You were expecting something else, huh?"
ME: "No. I wasn't really expecting anything and I'm not disappointed. I'm gonna have a little sister." I now have a huge smile on my face. I'd wanted a little sister for quite some time by this time so inside my mind I was STOKED!!!
Mommie: "Don't be disappointed if you have a little brother. I might have a boy."
Me: "I won't be disappointed because I'm gonna have a little sister." Long story short: I got my sister and I been in love with her ever since. And she's loved me back. She's going through her surly teenage into twenties years, so she don't talk to me as much as she used to but I know she still loves me. She also had a baby recently, so now I have a niece to spoil as well!

2) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you pick?
I'd have to say Arizona right now. I lived there for two years, years ago. While I was there I couldn't wait to leave because it was SO different than what I was used to. I'm a NYcityboy!! Born and bred. I didn't know nothing about no desert! But I did like aspects of it while I was there and after I left I did miss it. Over the years it has been intruding on my thoughts more and more. I actually don't mind the desert heat. And I love mountain hiking out there. On the east coast you can sweat buckets standing still just because of the humidity but out west humidity is pretty much nil most of time. I miss it and wouldn't mind going back. I still have my AZ driver's license. It doesn't expire until I'm 65! Why in the hell would I get rid of that!

3) If you could meet anyone, who would it be and why?
I assume this means alive and not the classic hypothetical alive or dead, so, I'll fall back on an old one and say author Alan Dean Foster. This man has traveled this globe several times over and continues to do so. He travels into some of the most remote places on this earth and makes friends, human or otherwise, wherever he goes. I think a conversation would be mostly one way 'cause I'd just ask a question and let him expound on it. The wealth of knowledge and experience he's accumulated is just awesome to even consider.

4) You get a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Well, my natural reaction is to, again, fall back on old wishes and say either New Zealand or Japan. New Zealand because of a wonderful book Alan in #3 wrote titled "Maori". And Japan because I love and am a middling student of Samurai culture and also a newly dedicated student of Aikido, a Japanese martial art. However, my true answer would be the West African Coast. I'd really like to move up and down the coast and see the ports and areas where some of my ancestors were captured/stolen and sold from their HomeLand.

5) Have you ever dreamt your own death? How did you die, if so?
I've dreamt situations where I should've died but I never actually dreamed my death before. I've been running for my life and actually shot in the head but I kept going. That was a weird dream. Never forget it. I was actually on the elevated train. Some guy I had been running from came onto the car I was on and shot me right in the head. And I mean a real shot. Not a bang and oh wow I'm okay but a BANG and I have a big ass HOLE in my head and a fucked up face. I actually got up and ran. The train stopped inbetween stations and I actually got off onto the walkway on the side of the tracks and ran until I came upon a utility pole near enough to jump to and climb down, then run down the street, the guy chasing me the whole way. The only thing I don't remember is the ending. I'll never forget that shot though. I'm amazed I didn't wake up because I've had less traumatic things happen in dreams actually cause a physical reaction that woke me up. One day I'd like to be hypnotized and have the hypnotist ask me what I really think about myself and record that shit. I don't think to many people are that brave.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that little foray into me. I don't have many followers here, so, if you stopped by to read leave a comment and if you like do your own and link it in my comments so I can check it out.

LAter.

SEEK AND DESTROY!!!!

2009-01-31T01:30:00.017-05:00

FINALLY!!! FINALLY!! I FINALLY GOT TO SEE METALLICA LIVE!!! I've been an admirer of the band's music for quite some time now and always wanted to see them in concert. However, due to a varying combination of time, place, and fundage I've never gotten to see them live and in person. I've watched their concerts on video/dvd and been astounded at the level of musicianship and energy they exhibited on stage. And I LOVE that they sound as good live (if not better at times) as they do on their studio releases. But of course, live video, no matter how good the recording, in not as good as live in person.

Now this journey to see Metallica live began way back in August 2008. While perusing these here internets I discovered that one of my favorite bands had a new album on the way and relatively soon, too! The awesomely titled 'Death Magnetic' was scheduled for a Sept. 12 release. The band has set up a separate webpage from their fansite for all things connected with this release. So I naturally signed up and actually pre-purchased the album (Which is awesome and which I blogged about here). I simultaneously bought tickets to the only show they were having in NY, Nassau Coliseum, since that was my current city of residence. Long ass wait as the show was January 29, 2009 but what's a few more months after YEARS, right? Anyways, I would periodically check the livemetallica.com page and also since I was signed up to the site I got the emails they sent every once in a while chronicling their new tour. As the time got closer I realized I need to find out where Nassau Coliseum is and how the hell I'm going to get there. Welllll, That shit is all the way out in Long Island! I live in the Bronx, so this is going to be a journey to get to the end of a journey for me. First natural thought was to take the LIRR (that's Long Island Rail Road for you slow people and non-New Yorkers). But checking the schedules let me know that while getting there would be no problem getting home might pose something of a problem as the last stop at the station nearest the coliseum would be before my concert would be over. SO, I figured what the hell, I'll rent a car. This is all about Nov/Dec some time. Fast forward to Jan 29.
Well, catching up on sleep, I wake up a little late so I can't get my hair braided before the show, SO, I'll be head bangin' with a HUGE afro tonight. Anyways, I head to JFK airport to pick up my rental car. Well, there is a slight glitch there and I almost don't get it but it gets resolved nicely and I'm on my way. I have pre-printed the directions so I go straight there with not a single mis-turn. I AM GOOD! Like I said, I started a little later than planned so I missed the first of the two opening acts, The Sword. I wasn't really that worried about catching them 'cause this was all about seeing Metallica, however there is a bit of curiosity about who they would choose to tour with. I did hear most of and catch some of the performance of the second band, Machine Head. They actually weren't that bad. Anyways, my ticket is general admission which means I'm on the floor around the stage, standing room only, which is where I wanted to be for my first Metallica show anyway. I was actually quite near the front, closer than I thought actually, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I arrive at the coliseum, get my ticket at will call, and enter the madness. Well, as anyone who has been to a concert can attest to, EVERYTHING is expensive as hell! $8.50 for a beer. I bought two shirts and a wristband, all for $90!!! But I went knowing how expensive it was going to be and prepared to spend money so I wasn't surprised but I still felt a slight twinge of DAMN!!! Since I slept the day away I was a bit famished as well so I got a cheeseburger for $6.50. About halfway through my burger I realized that Machine Head had stopped playing for a while now so I figured I need to get my ass down to the floor. First off, these assholes that run the place take the tickets and give you a wristband. A FUCKING wristband!! And not some cool wristband with METALLICA written on it, no. A generic ass green and white wristband like I'm entering some cheesy ass club and I need a sign that I'm old enough to order alcohol! I'm still upset about that if you can't tell. Anyways, I get down to the floor and begin inching my way through the thickening crowd to get as close to the stage as possible. I decide not to press too much and stake my little space and immediately to my left a fucking fight breaks out. Two big meathead white boys going at it. The slightly older one looks like hie used to be solid muscle that is now going to fat and the younger one was just kinda big with a big beergut. Anyway, they're mostly yelling back and forth when I notice them then out of nowhere a shorter white kid flies out of the crowd and clocks the older guy from slightly behind and to the side. Seems the younger guy has a crew with him. They tussle for a few but security comes down quick and breaks it up. They disperse. The meatheads find each other again. Beergut gives the older guy a quick two-piece to the mouth. Here we see blood, busted lip. More words back and forth. Security descends once again. Another dispersal. Beergut and his crew dissolve into the crowd. Older guy spots one of beergut's crew. Catches him by the throat and they go down swinging. Security bots back in effect. Another dispersal. No more drama. At least not on my side of the stage. Then the lights go down. And so it begins...

The lights go down and then we hear their standard introductory music, 'The Ecstacy of Gold, which they use before every show. It's a music piece by Ennio Morriconne, from the film, 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' I believe. They opened straight into the first two tracks from Death Magnetic, the album they're touring for. These guys have a rather large catalog and they played songs from the first to the last albums. I was really happy because they actually played my very favorite song, 'The Thing That Should Not Be', which they don't play a lot live because it's long. However, it's heavy as hell, which they're known for, and I still remember my first mental images the first time I listened to this song. It's like listening to a fantasy short story. Pretty cool. Anyways, Metallica is excellent live!! Twice some kids tried to start a mosh pit like right behind where I was standing but they didn't take. I took mad pictures with my camera. Most of them are crap but I actually got a bunch of good shots of three of the guys. I did mention I was pretty close to the stage. But my digital camera is a regular home one not a pro so I obviously couldn't get a decent shot of Lars as his drum kit is right smack in the middle of the huge stage. They end the show with their crowd rouser, 'Seek and Destroy', in which the crowd chants/yells/screams at the top of their lungs, "SEEK AND DESTROY," for the chorus. Being the admirers and fans we were most of the crowd was singing along to every song during the whole show. Because I'd watched their concerts on dvd repeatedly and I was having so much fun the concert seemed short. It wasn't until I was home the next day that I realized the show was just over two hours. I had a great time.

Only one thing bothered me at the concert and it wasn't the band. Looking out at the crowd I had a bit of mild panic. A little atavistic fear at being in middle of a sea of white people. You can take this observation how you want but it's absolute truth, I was COMPLETELY surrounded by white people with a few, very few, non-white people, like myself, sprinkled around. This IS Long Island, NY but I'm sure most of the crowds at 99% of Metallica shows look like this one. It did not help my mind state that right next to me the whole show was this skinny tattooed white guy with a mad face on the WHOLE SHOW!!! He didn't sing along to a single song or smile the whole damn show! Actually, I think I caught him mumbling the lyrics to either 'Sad But True' or 'The Unforgiven' but that was it. He didn't jump up and down or nothing. Just stood in place focused on the stage. I had a glancing thought if he had any swastikas anywhere among the tattoos I couldn't see. That ain't prejudiced, that's just a conscious self preservative thought. I've read and heard accounts of people of African descent being harassed at rock shows just because, so I was a bit self conscious the whole time I was there. I had a good time but the history of the country I was born and raised in coupled with those stories, my mind couldn't ignore. I wasn't truly afraid or anything but...I ain't stupid either. If anything would have happened I would've been done. Groups tend to band together when trouble starts and I was greatly outnumbered! But obviously nothing happened.

Overall it was a great concert and I had a great time! I plan on seeing Metallica again whenever they tour anywhere near where I am. Hopefully, the next time I'll have someone to go with me. Here's some of the pics:

James

James

Kirk shreddin'

Kirk

more shreddin'

Lars

Robert killin' it!

Tradin' licks

The Four Horseman (I'm mad that James is decapitated in this shot.)

The Afro-ninja rockin' out.

I got some good shots. I'll have the rest on my Facebook and myspace pages.

LAter

This shit has to stop!

2009-01-14T05:30:00.003-05:00

We all know about the conflicts going on in the Middle East. I just finished reading an article by Alice Walker who, no surprise, makes an intelligent plea for fighting period to stop. Here's an excerpt but I urge you to read the full article linked above.

"And that, I feel, is ultimately what I am objecting to: the terrorization of the planet by the United States and Israel. And yes, I know African armies and Indian armies and all the other smaller armies are imitating the big guys as best they can. I happen, however, to be attached to the U.S. and Israel through the strongest possible bonds: birth and taxes. These overly armed countries are attacking people who cannot possibly put up an equal fight, which makes attacking them sadistic. Where is the glory, the freedom and bravery, the wisdom, the profit in this? All the oil in the world will not wipe away the bomb scar now seared on the hearts of billions of Earthlings, cowering in their beds or losing themselves in licentiousness and drugs."

Because of the close ties israel has to america people are scared to speak negatively about israel. And those who do are persecuted to varying degrees. Interesting as that's pretty much what happened to those people in WW2. Wars are unnecessary to live on this planet now. The only thing it's good for is profit. Defense is a person to person thing, anything bigger than that is frivolous bullshit. Country against country combat is ridiculous and NO ONE but the cowards NOT fighting profit.

People of Action

2009-01-09T05:30:00.003-05:00

It seems to me that very few people are people of action. The majority of people in this world are not people of action but they rely on people of action to make their worlds safe and orderly. But once order has been maintained after a while these non-action people turn on the persons of action that helped balance their world.

I know I had just read or heard something that sparked this thought but I cannot remember what exactly it was. However, I do remember the perfect example of this thought. The experience of U.S. Marshall Wyatt Earp. Dodge City was a hell-hole and he cleaned that place up. Twice! People of non-action have very short memories. Wyatt Earp went into Dodge City and took care of the criminal elements and maintained law and order. NO COMPROMISES! To quote a character from a very good movie, Batman Begins, "Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." I'm fairly certain way back in Wyatt's time he understood that and tolerated nothing that was against the law. Perfect example of a man of action. However, the populace he was tasked to protect was comprised of non-action people and they are usually very tolerant. They became distrustful of the man they tasked to keep them safe and turned on him, so he left, leaving his more affable but less intense friend to take care of Dodge. Not long after, that friend was shot and Dodge reverted to a lawless city once again. Them damn people begged Wyatt to come back, which he did and cleaned the damned place up once again. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for tolerance and compassion but in some things there is just no compromise. If Wyatt had no compassion or tolerance he would have never went back to Dodge or became a US Marshall for that matter. You have to care about people to want to keep them safe.

For those who want to know what I'm talking about see the excellent film Wyatt Earp, starring Kevin Costner.

I think if more people learned to act, for instance learned so form of martial art, then there would be less tolerance for criminality as a whole. Learning how to defend oneself is a catalyst to not tolerating negative aggression towards self and the community in which one lives.

10 Honest things

2008-12-31T00:30:00.004-05:00

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!!!!!

2008-12-19T05:53:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-18T03:47:00.001-05:00

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

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Plain WRONG!!!

2008-12-18T03:32:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-17T01:22:00.002-05:00

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?!

2008-12-07T05:58:00.005-05:00

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

2008-12-06T05:27:00.002-05:00

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

2008-12-04T05:58:00.006-05:00

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

2008-12-04T04:09:00.008-05:00

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

2008-12-03T05:10:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-29T08:11:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-29T01:09:00.009-05:00

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

2008-11-23T05:59:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-23T01:08:00.004-05:00

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.

2008-11-19T05:43:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-19T04:40:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-14T03:47:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-14T00:35:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-14T00:13:00.002-05:00

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

Can You Feel It!

2008-11-12T08:18:00.003-05:00

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!!!!

2008-11-12T06:10:00.005-05:00

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.

2008-11-08T07:28:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-08T06:51:00.004-05:00

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.

2008-11-07T07:10:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-07T04:01:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-06T07:15:00.002-05:00

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.

2008-11-06T07:05:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-06T00:42:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-05T06:26:00.004-05:00

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!!

2008-11-05T02:47:00.003-05:00

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

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

BOOM!!!!! AVALANCHE!!!

2008-11-05T00:51:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-02T01:42:00.003-04:00

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

2008-11-02T01:01:00.003-04:00

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

2008-11-01T04:57:00.003-04:00

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

2008-11-01T03:11:00.002-04:00

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

2008-11-01T01:53:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-10-31T06:33:00.005-04:00

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.

2008-10-31T04:51:00.000-04:00

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

Down to the line

2008-10-31T01:51:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-29T07:29:00.009-04:00

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!!

2008-10-29T06:27:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-26T05:45:00.010-04:00

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

2008-10-25T04:31:00.007-04:00

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

2008-10-25T03:01:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2008-10-24T07:07:00.003-04:00

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

Hard. Core. Hip. Hop.

2008-10-24T04:37:00.005-04:00

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)

2008-10-23T07:32:00.007-04:00

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

2008-10-23T06:50:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2008-10-23T00:50:00.006-04:00

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.