The Professor...

[The following was deleted from a comment on Lasu's MySpace blog. I wanted to keep the comment short, but still wanted to expound on the idea.
The topic was "What if people were simpler?" cognitively. 'They would have fewer problems...' and so forth. However there was a dual acknowledgement that we must also appreciated how far we've come. A few people agreed. I responded "What if people were smarter? We would have fewer problems." I explained how I defined "smarter" as exercising the ability to acknowledge futility, especially when setting goals for contentment. The simplicity of this is usually hindered by yourself and your relationship to society...]

Pride is a very dangerous thing. Apparently, it is one of the seven deadly sins. Too much pride can get you into trouble. Too little pride may not get you anywhere. Unfortunately, one person slightly deficient in pride often jabs at another person as a twisted form of therapy (sometimes consciously). Even worse, our society easily allows for people to feel worthless. Doesn't have to be this way, but it creates a pecking order that makes some people feel better. It is similar to the adage "Life is simple; it's the people that complicate it". If people were 'smarter' more of us would acknowledge the absurdity of the 'pecking order'. We each could feel more content about the lives we carve out for our selves because it would play out on our own scale, as opposed to the scale we interpret from society.

The best thing Lasu said [in my opinion, of course] is "it's unfortunate that humans have to live in a society driven by economy and monetary profit." It was the line that kicked off his blog and it is the first step (I believe) in making people smarter; which is to think outside of society - to step out and look at our absurdities as a whole. The line acknowledges the inevitability of an economy, whether it meant to or not, but suggests a longing for more than the monetary measuring stick. Meaning Lasu can then move in society with a new perspective.

Now I just wonder the futility of my response. Hopefully it came off less existentialist than it could have, because I have yet to hear what I mean properly conveyed in philosophic text. However, I don't really look to them to shape my view, but that is because I can never really get past the first chapter without feeling there is something more productive I could be doing with my time. (For everyone who questions how long I spent writing this blog, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!)

Meh, essentially what I want to express is that ALOT more of your contentment rests on you claiming it that it does in your possessions, relationships, career, or beliefs. Evaluate your goals with the question that I used, "then what?" You have set all these goals for yourself, but "then what?" If you found contentment in all the aforementioned popular quantifiers (job, possessions, relationships, etc) where would you go from there? Does the lack of those really stop you from being content? What if you never reach them? Can you be content with having lived at all? Do you feel like you are "living"? Why/Why not? Do remember that someone will always have it worse than you, and you didn't have to exist, so...

peace!
==============================
A rough idea to help grasp the point as not to misinterpret the message.

He's smarter than he lets on. Which is why he hasn't been assassinated! Making it sound like a joke helps too (i.e.> 'The Reparations Sketch' or 'Black Bush').

Created or Destoyed...

The amalgamation of letters you see before you is the seed of my procastination. Seed in the 'offspring' sence not 'farming' sense, though the potential for a double entendre is not lost on any of us I hope. Speaking of hope, I call upon it as a crutch in the creative battle within which I am currently caught.
It is a fascinating thing 'to create'. There are many portions of this to marvel at but allow me to clarify. Not the process, or the art of it, but i mean the actual point in which you go from attempt to success in creation. Especially if it wasn't something that came to you, but when you actually worked for the idea. Well, that is what i'm trying to do now.

[Insert 3 hours of being distracted learning to play "Stairway to Heaven"]

The hardest thing to do is to stay focused and actually build upon the idea before it morphs into whatever else you come up with. Because ideas don't come solo. Oh no, they flow in like a flood. Then you have all these ideas that you have to ignore. Before you were literally at your wit's end, now you want you wit to shut up and give you a minute. Y'know, so you can actually develop the first idea. I should go do that now.

Peace.
===============================

Links coming soon... soon as i remember them.

How many words does it take you to get to the center of a Footballer?...

I've been away the last few days, meeting with roommates for the new apartment and chillin' with Carla. (Sidenote: My new roommates keep adding the qualifer "so if you decide to take the place" into their speech. Which would be fine were we not talking about things like HOW I'M DEFINITELY SIGNING THE LEASE and WHEN I'M DEFINITELY MOVING MY STUFF IN I and how I told them from jump that "I AM DEFINITELY MOVING INTO THIS PLACE." Indeed my precise words. Anyway...)

On Sunday, we caught the 2006 World Cup Final, even missed a movie for it (hadn't bought tix yet, so it was all good). It was a good game, and also funny. Especially when Zinedine Zidane waylayed Marco Materazzi. Catching one of those blows that makes you wince in sympathetic pain, Materazzi proved why you DON'T insult a three-time World Player of the Year. "Three-time!" means he wasn't just a lucky pick. It denotes that dude ain't no punk (as proven by informally introducing his head to your sternum).

As is the world, i'm curious what you have to say to make a dude ram his head into your ribs hurling you to the ground. I say hurling, cus Materazzi indeed went from standing to slamming into the ground vertebrae first on impact. Surely Materazzi's should be put into that rule book of shit you just don't say period.

Peace.
=======================
Izza my fava renedizzion of the Zidane Headbutt. (I feel no remorse for my bad italian impression. If you don't know why turn on MTV!)

Why you don't insult talent...

Best way to insult = with 2400 word vocabulary (the average vocab = 800 words).
Change 'Thou' to 'Yo momma' and it's a wrap!
Oh, and a crowd going "oooooooooo"!

An interview between Saul Williams and Henry Rollins, two cats that could easily verbally shit on you...

Like a rolling stone...

Oh my my my... So yeah, remember how I told you I got a new job and a new place then i quit the new job. Well, yeah... now my new place is going bye bye as well. See my roommate is a teacher, but on the side (and really just the summers) he does real estate. Well, he just got the chance to buy his first complex and for a chance actually be landlord and get paid rent, rather than paying rent. Which, if you know anything about the cost of living in Boston, is HUGE. So of course, I was like do your thing.
Now what this means is that cus he is moving out I could either, find a new roommate or peace-out. Sure enough my landlord calls me with this same ultimatum. Now he's probably thinking, I'd just scrounge up the money rather than be homeless. If i stayed but didn't find a new roommate I'd be responsible for not only my rent, but the non-roommate's share AND the security deposit. Hahaha... silly man. I laughed and said "So your asking me for $2,100... haha, I can not do that!!" I put him on hold and called the roommate and made sure this wasn't just some scam he was trying to run on me. Then I called him back and said "Is there any other option?" Essentially meaning is there a way I could pay part and stay til Sept 1st. He declined to which I replied "Okay, then I'm out!" Let him know that this was my last month and that i'm out.
What he does not know is that earlier that day I found my new place. Which is actually closer to where I wanna be. Much nicer than his place. AND, far cheaper as well. Additionally, I asked both my girl and my new place if i could store my stuff with them til I move (I was not surprised that he called thus I was prepared). So yeah, I was straight. Now I just saved money. I love my life. "Ha, the Lord is GOOD!"

Peace.
=================================
He helped Gilligan-n-n get off the Island, ha!!

How I find everthing!!

The O'Jays - A Family Reunion

Battle was Saturday. Sunday morning I was off to Connecticut. It was a last minute decision but I didn't want my girl to weather the barrage of inquiries into her life solo. We took a bus down, which meant 4+ hours of reading this one news paper i like. We intermittently debated about Superman Returns but for the most part I was just stuck reading this article on fusion-voting. The odd thing was that I basically could not finish the article. I suddenly felt like I was in school again. No matter how I tried to just read on through it, the words just bounced off me. I was left with little grasp of the content and thus resolving to re-read. Very annoying and time consuming.

While in Connecticut, family didn't seem to understand that I-i-i didn't give a flying [edit] about how things were going to work out. Where we slept, when we ate, where we spent our days before the actual cookout: no importa. What amused me the most was the penchant family has for repeating itself. Captured best in this moment i recant for you now:

My girl, her pops, and I sit outside her brother's apartment. Yes, her sister lives in a seperate joint on the third floor but we were waiting on her brother to return. Our eyes are fixed on the flowers in front of us, not for their attempt at urban beautification but for the possible exit of yellow-jackets. We shoot the breeze, nothing important at all, in fact we actually come around to talking about the weather. The most cliché topic of all time but we progress with it rather than delving into deeper topics. (I mention this because the conversation originally kicked off with Pops observing that my girl's thighs had grown thicker...oops, haha. I am not sure he wanted to commit himself to deducing the cause - as she and I sat nearly holding hands.) Now talking about rain, I mention my fascination with it's near-precision. Especially how it can be raining across the street from you and you never feel a drop. Also the way rain seems to commence and cease within a few seconds at times. You can go from dry to downpour in almost an instant and vice-versa. It really is fascinating. Carla seconded the observations and just then her pops offered his own. "Yeah, you know, boy, you could be sitting on one side of the street watching it rain over there and you never even feel a drop. Man, I'll tell you, that is something, isn't it?!" To which I replied, "Yes, sir!" to this completely new observation on the subject. Fin.


Now multiply that by however many subjects people can fit into three days of pseudo-catching up and you have the trip. Overall it was still fun. The "Most Fun People to Chill With" awards go to Carla's 15yr-old cousin from South Carolina (whom we are trying to kidnap and put into a good school in a big city), her brothers (both are cool and funny) and her sister's girlfriend (as in romantic insterest - who probably understands how I feel though her broken record collection probably consists of "I just don't understand" and "The bible says"). At times, i just wanted to be like "dang, mayn, you must be tired" but i'm sure she gathered my views when it was mentioned that I fundraised for the HRC (Human Rights Campaign). Also she listens to 'Little Brother' so she MUST be cool on some level.

Anyway, amid attempts to escape to video games and suffering through folks watching 'they stories' (their soap operas) on the biggest screen i've seen in a minute, the cookout was cool. Especially the music (when they were playing EVERY old-school favorite of mine) before it eventually rained. Oh, and of course they tried to overfeed me cus i'm "skinty". But hey, free food, is free food. Also, my southern accent made a triumphant but laid-back return, cus they all are originally from South Carolina. Lastly, (as stereotypical as it is) GOOD KOOL-AID IS THE JAM!!!

Peace.
=============================
The Human Rights Campaign, let it be known that I fundraised the most at PRIDE; making me not just an eco-hustler, but an all-round non-profit paper-chaser.

Maybe it's just me, but fusion-voting makes so much sense that I doubt people are ready.

Little Brother on MySpace. I also recommend visiting 9th Wonder's page, he makes the tracks.

Redefining First Place...

So my band (in which I feel ownership as being a part of it) was in the regional finals of this international Battle of the Bands contest this past weekend. I originally felt like the thing was a pyramid scheme (which it is to a degree) but I still let us participate anyway.
Why?
Because we would get to play the top venues in the city if we won. Well, as mentioned before we made it to the regional finals. Meaning we essentially bested hundreds of other bands (cus there were multiple rounds with multiple nights of contest with multiple bands that competed) to finally arrive at the finals we were in Saturday night.
How did you guys do?
We placed 3rd overall, as so voted by the judges. Their decision was final. However in a seperate vote we were picked #1 by the other competing bands, which we feel is a major compliment. Plus I think we will be quite fine in the long run with our 3rd place. Thus the experience was everything we thought it would be and more.
We went farther than we thought we would. We were heard by more people than we thought we would be. And, we gained the respect of the musical community (artists and enthusiasts alike). Thus we came out on top, ask the bands! :-)
And sincere thanks to anyone who came to any of the rounds and voted us on. THANK YOU!!

Peace.
=====================
How did Melodesiac do? The answer is a few clicks away.

Super, man...

On this rainy day, I will see "Superman Returns". Which I'll probably write about tomorrow. Though for now I can tell you what I do know. I will be watching this movie in a packed theater. (I spell it "theater" when talking about movies and "theatre" when speaking on stage performances.)

The reason I bring this up is because I actually loathe watching movies when other people are around (excluding friends - not to exceed five in quantity, else it's the same problem). People talk. Why?! I don't know. Movies don't ask you to say anything. In fact, they explicitly ask you NOT to say anything.
Sidenote: "Inconsiderate cell-phone man" was SO great, bravo, encore.

But yeah, I like having a theatre nearly to myself (and maybe 20 strangers). I go see movies at like 2-3pm in the afternoon for this purpose. I guess because I feel I REALLY respect the art of film and to talk through it is unfair to you who subjected yourself to the experience as well as the crews who toiled over the project. That's just me though. So to avoid the ingrates I go to movies at odd times.

See you anywhere but the movies!
Peace.

====================
Ace reporter Valerin has discovered this story citing the inanity of the news: CNN.com - Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes - Jun 27, 2006

Them dang ole spiders, mayn...

Dear Spiders,

I officially announce my beef with you. Not ALL spiders, just stupid spiders. Never have I ever ... (never have i ever?) walked through spiderwebs on a consistent basis. It has become a battle. First assumptions were that the webs only existed over the sidewalks between hedges and street signs. So naturally i figured walking in the middle of the street equals a solution. BLASTED SPIDERS got me still. Really though?! What warped spiders are trying to catch food on a street?! They can't be eating that much cus PEOPLE TEAR SPIDERWEBS. Like really though?! I want you all to eat. For the most part, I like spiders. Just not on me. You know I have a 1-foot rule. (If your within 1-foot of me, you relinquish your right to live.) Remember when it was 3-feet. I'm trying to help y'all out.

Also let's look at this from your point of view (POV). You're a spider, you just spent a long amount of (whatever concept spiders have of) time building your food trap and rip-rip-rip ya whole masterpeice gone. Surely you're not going to build a web in tear-down territory again, right? Oh no, you're hard-headed little spiders. You just keep on building. I mean you think Darwinism would take care of this. No web, no food, lesson learned. I don't know though, I KEEP walking through the spiderwebs. It always catches me off guard. You basically ruin my whole vibe. I go from happy/clean to sticky/webbed. I don't know where you're web has been. Nor do I think I want to know. I also REALLY don't want believe that you are now ON me with your web, cus I'll kill ya!! I completely understand the malice villians and thugs must feel toward Spiderman. Webbing folks in the face is NOT cool. Shame on you spiders. I usually wish the best for most creatures, but I'm kinda indifferent about you right now. Just the stupid spiders, not you good fly-killing spiders. Keep on doing what you do.

Sincerely,

All-in-your-web!


===========================
The World Cup is evil for pitting Brazil vs. Ghana so early knowing that i'm rooting for both of them.

No line, just unemployed...

I've been unemployed for a week now. I think of it like a taste of what writing full time will be like. So far, the only thing missing is performing on the weekends. But next weekend we're playing the regional finals of the Emergenza Battle of the Bands. So that will be tight.
For now, I spend most of my days coming up w/ music and lyrics if not finishing whatever I came up with in the days past. I'm already into a third song (of the new batch - I have others).

Outside of music, my girl bought Resident Evil. I played it, beat it. Which is bad, cus I really try not to play THAT many games now, cus I know I won't put it down til it's finished. And when I finish them I'm always like... now what?! What will I do now that my sole purpose for breathing has fallen into the limbo that is my past?! Ok, not that dramatic, but you get the point.

Anyway as not to sound completely slothful I shall inform you that I checked up on the job I want and they said they will probably have an opening in a week or two. Til then I'm all about the World Cup. I mean it isn't my fault that I resigned just as the World Cup began. :-) (I know that is completely false but play along.) Brazil is my fave, but I really want Ghana to do well. Anyway, i'm going to get back to writing/watching. I really meant to blog about my beef w/ spiders right now, but tangents rule.

Cosine, bizl!!
Peace.

================
?uestlove's Blog has become a must read for me now. I like knowing there are more of 'us' out there. If you know who 'us' is go read and enjoy.

Jay-Z makes one small step for Hip-Hop... (Pun aversion program.)

The rebirth of a meantime...

Alright, so if you've noticed, i haven't been blogging alot recently. Usually like three times a month. The reason is that everytime I want to blog it feels like such a task; expounding massive amounts of mental energy to deliver a lengthy blog on brief topics.
For example, topics like my departure from the "Eco-thugs", or why Spiderman is the only spider-related entity i can stand right now can henceforth fall into much shorter blogs (bloggitos, if you will - which you shouldn't). I'll explain about the spiders in subsequent posts (probably later on today since I don't have a job now.)

In other news I've started another blog on the MySpace page for my music. Basically just to chronicle the journey i've enbarked on. Nothing particularly special, though it will get more interesting from here. Also, i'll probably start throwing in links to stuff below my posts like Jes does. In fact let's end this here.

Peace.

=================
Prison is the continuation of slavery!

When I think of feminism, Wonder Woman is the last figure to come to mind... maybe i'm off.

I met Ryan Leslie way back when he was focusing on himself as an artist cus Zach Raynor dragged me to a club performance, but so far my favorite thing from him is his video blog. It gives me jollies.

Ch-Ch-Changes...

Time to face the change. LoOk to the left and behold the startling new addition to the 'Blogs I Read'. His name is "Saj". He was cool to know and now is cool to read. One of the many hidden treasures on my buddy list. Enjoy.

I ran into a friend of my ex today. Which was funny cus I actually didn't remember why I knew this person until after I stopped her and was ankle-deep in the brief catch-up. None-the-less it was cool to see that she is currently doing big things with the organization that employs her. Y'know...you always wish the best of people you know. (On the two 'know's in that last sentence: It was either end with a preposition or be repetitive...i believe I chose the lesser of two evils.)

Anyways, I have to go. They (the powers that be) are sending me out into the boonies tomorrow. Though I would love to run into a Huey Freeman, i'll probably cross paths with a less like-minded type. C'est la vie. (I wish i knew more French.)

Peace.

Do over...

Okay! So remember how last time there were a whole bunch of new things going on. Yeah... that all happened. Only i want to try again. Well the new apartment is perfect so that part is straight. However the new job... tsk tsk tsk. I thought I was signing up to be the person that sits in the office while the eco-thugs hit the streets. And then gives them pep-talks when they come back. Oh not so...
Never has there been a more despised being than a black eco-thug. (Eco-thugs are the people you see on the street soliciting the public for "help saving the environment". I call them thugs because they are aggressive, wear colors and move in small packs.) That being is thus me. Allow me to list off which groups abhor each of the characteristics that make me such an abomination (and thus why i so desperately seek new/better employment):

The Racists - i'm black
The Employed - i ask for their money
The Unemployed - my job is to ask them for the money they ain't got
Minorities - essentially i'm like Carlton (Fresh Prince)
Conservatives - see us as hippies
Hippies - see us as bureaucratic scam artists
1x Givers - feel guilty for not "contributing" enough (cus there's never enough)
Members - incessantly hassled by us to be involved
Everyone - tired of explaining why they do not stop
Myself - know all of the above yet won't quit til i have another job lined up

So in the end I actually wish I had not quit my last job until I found a job better than what I thought I was signing up for. Have I learned that lesson? I dunno, i'm trying hard not to take the first job that comes up.

Save me jebus.
Peace.

The Springingest...

Alright, so remember I told you we (Melodesiac) won the Battle of the Bands to open the Tufts Spring Fling. Well, that (Spring Fling) was today. I was simply happy to experience another Spring Fling. Well... until I did. After we played and then chilled with friends & associates for a bit then it just became a waiting game.
Waiting for... entertainment. This had to be the most relaxed Spring Fling ever. Relaxed is the wrong word. More like just damn lazy. Folks were just sitting around. Everything was at best describable as "aight".

How were the acts? "Aight"
How was the crowd? "Aight"
How was the food? "Aight"
How were the booths? "Aight"
How was the weather? "Aight"
Wanna attend again? "Aight"

Cus that's exactly what this was... the Spring Fling to re-establish Spring Fling. Not the "damn, that was off the hook" one, but the "sure... we should do that again" one. The one where nothing really went wrong cus we didn't aim that high. Which is probably exactly what it should have been. Another flop could have ended Spring Fling all-together. We found out that the torrential down pour that usually abolishes Spring Fling was held off this time until May 9; a bitter-sweet convenience of global warming.

Dah well...so be it!
Peace.

Brand New Brand New Brand New...

In the near future.

New apartment.
New job.

New birthday.

Brand new...
peace.

Mr. Robber's Neighborhood...

So I tried to take a diff bus home from a different (but closer) subway station and wound up walking home. Why?! Because apparently the bus stops running at 7pm on Saturday nights... HOW GERIATRIC IS THAT?!
Anyway, on the walk home I found out some things that helped me better understand where I live:

1.> People keep their cable dishes inside their home down the streets. Take time to let the "why" of that action marinate...

2.> There is a trailer park a couple streets away from me. Slightly disturbing to a Black man; especially having to walk past it at night. Imagine the scene. I was praying that no one notices that there is a new "colored" in the vicinity.

3.> True to form not even 2 miles away from the trailers are the upper-middle class homes (and city hall). I hesitate to call them fancy cus i've seen some NICE joints in my day, but I would say they are among the best I've seen in the surrounding cities.

Yeah... I am about the only Black person I see around the area. Seen some dark Dominicans though, and there are alot of Latinos in general... so I'm not worried about someones pent up rage over the advancements of 1964.
However supposedly someone did try to break in downstairs.

Peace & prosperity.

Sidenote:
Duke University Equestrian Team Hoping To Avoid Investigation Into Their Sex Scandal [view more]

Let the church say 'Amen'...

(You may be seated. Turn with me in the bible of ur minds to 2nd brothers conversing about 1st sisters pictures for an ad campaign.)

BadAssBradley (10:38:23 PM): the problem w/ the african attire
Berendth (10:38:24 PM): [joke from previous part... would take too long to include]
BadAssBradley (10:38:37 PM): is that if an african sees it, they will ask "WHAT THE HELL IS ON HER HEAD!"
BadAssBradley (10:38:41 PM): right away
BadAssBradley (10:38:47 PM): right away
Berendth (10:38:49 PM): rofl
BadAssBradley (10:39:00 PM): i mean i knew that just looking at it but
BadAssBradley (10:39:07 PM): i showed my mom the pictures, and she commented on it
BadAssBradley (10:39:11 PM): and couldn't stop talking about it
Berendth (10:39:23 PM): the hair?
BadAssBradley (10:39:28 PM): like the picture showing ended there and she kept asking like "who the hell did that?"
BadAssBradley (10:39:33 PM): no the headtie
Berendth (10:39:37 PM): oh
ScrotaWhola (10:39:38 PM): a white lady did it
Berendth (10:39:44 PM): lol
BadAssBradley (10:39:44 PM): and it's just soooooooooo wrong
BadAssBradley (10:39:50 PM): that shit makes or breaks and outfit
BadAssBradley (10:40:05 PM): like u know how old black ladies are w/ thier church hats
Berendth (10:40:12 PM): TRUE
BadAssBradley (10:40:15 PM): yeh, multiply that by Africa
Berendth (10:40:20 PM): lol
BadAssBradley (10:40:27 PM): it's that serious

Yep.

My friends are naturally great...

(We pick up this conversation clip talking about a performance we did when we were captains of the stepteam 'BlackOut' and I had to call out a step and misspoke, but stuck to my guns...and then we change subjects so i guess there was no point in catching u up...)

BadAssBradley (12:29:05 AM): u said the letter b
BadAssBradley (12:29:07 AM): the letter 6
Berendth (12:29:51 AM): the letter 6...... >:o...damnit!
BadAssBradley (12:31:10 AM): i am drinking beer cuz there is no water in the house
BadAssBradley (12:31:15 AM): and i was too lazy to go get some
BadAssBradley (12:31:20 AM): but I'm not anymore
BadAssBradley (12:31:21 AM): but i can't
BadAssBradley (12:31:25 AM): cuz i was drinkin beer
BadAssBradley (12:31:26 AM): lol
Berendth (12:31:45 AM): ROFL!
Berendth (12:31:57 AM): HAHAH!!!


WAIT... There was more...

BadAssBradley (12:33:15 AM): i didn't realize that that was funny till i wrote it
BadAssBradley (12:33:18 AM): and read it back to myself
Berendth (12:33:42 AM): haha
BadAssBradley (12:33:43 AM): my excuse: I was reeeeally thirsty
BadAssBradley (12:34:08 AM): i mean it works temporarily, but beer dehydrates you
BadAssBradley (12:34:23 AM): so this is soooo counterproductive
BadAssBradley (12:34:35 AM): unless....
BadAssBradley (12:34:53 AM): I keep drinking beer! lol
Berendth (12:35:49 AM): lol
BadAssBradley (12:36:05 AM): tha's some shit homer would say

YEP!

Despacio...

Yeah, so I'm going to really ask time to slow down. I've been at work everyday for the past week cus one my co-workers "resigned" leaving the boss and I. Guess who's getting overtime; well, barely cus I had 10hrs buffer before overtime, but I crossed that threshold. Oh yeah... thus leaving me tired.

Did a show on Tuesday night (3/21) at Harper's Ferry. Not really "my" show, but more-so a substitute show for what would otherwise be a missed gig for the band. I don't think there was one song I did where I didn't flip the words somehow. Only one/two people actually noticed though. In fact it was actually REALLY fun. Maybe the most fun I've had at a show in a long time.

I have resolved also that I need to make a point to warm-up before each show. I thought I had a sore-throat from quickly and quietly practicing just before arriving at the venue. But it turns out that what I think is 'straining my voice' before a show is actually 'my voice warming up'. For instance, this show I didn't actually warm up... thus my voice didn't really start to open up until the last song (Mos Def - Umi Says). It's not good to show that you can sing circles around yourself, LoL. it begs the question... "what does that say about you?"

The pay off though was a huge compliment. At the end of the headlining band's set they launched into a freestyle. Not like hip-hop but just a tune they made up there and the vocalist just sang whatever came to mind. Within that, she spent a good 32 bars (musically a long time) on how much she loves my voice and what it 'does to her'. I mean that is cool were anyone to say it, but definitely cool coming from another singer. It's respect from someone who is passionate about the same thing you do. It's the true value behind a Grammy. So that made my night (as well as performing cus i love performing). I hereby encourage all you to spend some time on your passion right now.

That's my word.
Peace.

In case you were wondering. The band.


I hope that I will be able to save the moment I have to respond to ignorance and that I enjoy my response as much as I enjoyed this one:
"If You Have Big Nose, You Shouldn't Call People Niggers"

Awwwwww BT wooooooo


I thought that was them. When I first seent it, I told my housemate "man, they have the same uniforms and everything." Interesting...

Courtesy of Th'Abad: "Washington Students "Touch The Sky" with Recording Artist Kanye West"

P.S.> Jes' blog is the sh*t right now. Please read it.
And visit this link that I stole from her:
Librarians are okay with you being gay...

Bill Napoli hates America

Bill is the kind of person who yearns for the good-ole days. The days when entire neighborhoods came together to do what was right. That being said... Bill is exactly the kind of person who scares me. Bill is the reason most nations hate us and why Bush is STILL president. (Insert a rant about how one administration can have two of the greatest disasters in the nation's history and still go out with a high approval rating.)
Anyway, the reason Billy scares me is because the good-ole days which he so loved were probably the 50s. I don't know if you paid attention in your history class, but the 50s weren't exactly among the better decades of my people. In fact, I can't say we've been doing so hot in the last half of a millenium. But if ole Billy gets his way... to the back of the bus we go. (Clearly that wasn't the worst it ever was, but I'm sure Bill wouldn't mind that.) It probably eats at his core to have to participate in a society that nominates movies like Crash and Brokeback Mountain for prestigious entertainment awards. He probably can't stand that his offspring can recognize 50 Cent faster than Buddy Holly. Honestly, can't say that I'm too keen on that one myself, but it doesn't really phase me to the extent it does him.
Where in "conservation" is there anything about "regression"? Aren't these right-wing fundamentalists supposed to be keeping things as they are rather than as they were? You can't "conserve" something as it "was"!! That makes no sense and in that case neither does Bill Napoli. Let's keep this bus we call a nation moving forward. Leaders have to move in front, patna!

Courtesy of Jes: Bill Napoli Video

Peace.
Actually... let's amend that to "Peace & Understanding"!

A great Boondocks moment...

[Click Here] <--edited...
Peace.

Time for another: Moment from the Daily Show...

"Evil democrat empire?! I got news for you. If we're going to do the whole 'star wars analogy' thing, the democrats are at best Ewoks. At best. Believe me, you'd be pumping up their egos to call them Jawas. Why can't the republicans just admit it? You're in charge. You control the white house, both houses of congress, the supreme court...you're not a bunch of ragtag rebels fighting the empire; you're the empire." ~Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
(via cocacolafreak07)

Today's Best Away Message


"Mommy: it hurts baby I know but it gets better... toughen up!
Me: I know it gets better, I just wanna know when.
Mommy: B*tch I don't know, do I look like Jesus or Dionne Warwick to you? jeez!

... ahhh my momma, always good for a kick in the ass and a good laugh, lol, also the only idiot who group together Jesus and Dionne Warwick, lol." ~ Honey86627

Run Train, Patna!!

It's a warm evening. Super suprising for East Boston (as well as the region). I got out of work early enough that I had time to grab a snack before going to wait for the shuttle. I ate my snack, and it seemed a little more delicious tonight. Then I gathered my things and went to wait on the shuttle. Soon after I get there it shows. Tonight is going marvellously well. I mean I have the day off tomorrow, everything could take as long as it wants to, but no it's being super-nice to me tonight. Thank you. So as I get on the shuttle I see a couple people eyeing me, but it's no biggie, I'm singing in my head. Smile on my face. THEN the moment of truth. Will the train come in a timely fashion so that i don't have to wai...
OH SNAP!! There it is... No!! No!! To early, run... I can make it. I can make it. I'm in the station door as it stops. People are leaving the train as I pass through the gate. Warning bell of door closing as I sprint and make a world-series slide right into a closed door. THUD!! As I bounce off the train I watch it pull away without me, lol. "NO SOUP FOR YOU!!" Now all the people behind me file in. They know. And they know I know that they know.
Imagine "Grant Hill drinks sprite?!" times two.

Egg.

Peace.

Today's Best Away Message

"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence." --Rummy from Boondocks
posted by: Lilishortyrox23

The Boondocks

Today's Best Away Message
(First time, hope it keeps up.)

"SENIORITIS--We'd fight for a cure, but we're too lazy..." ~ dayseedo

The Re-pimping

If you have noticed, I have been rather absent on the blog as of late. Heck, from the internets (plural, lol) period. But no more, why, because I have Microsoft 2000 (Professional) again. See, I engaged in a war with my computer. It then proceeded to basically b*tch me. Whatever it did, I had to put up with. Then I got a bootleg copy of windows. Which wasn't that bootleg, but it was not as useful as my re-installation disk. So then I was winning, except for this "Please Activate Windows" but each time i went to do so... it said "Already Activated". I paid the countdown no attention. "21 Days Left to activate". Uh huh... "12 Days Left to Activate". Started to be like a countdown to New Years. Then the big day came. And that's when I realized that i had been re-enb*tched. Yep. Couldn't log in without activation, and you couldn't activated cus it said "Already Activated". Then logged you out. Yep. So i conceded that battle and ordered a new 2000 disk from Amazon.com. I used Knoppix 2.0 in the mean time, which was cool-ish minus that it would kill my computer whenever u stopped using it. As in turn the power on and nothing happens. Except a small acknowledgement that ur comp has power.
The 2000 CD, however, arrived a day early; pimp. Installed it real easy; pimp. Had all the important old files, program installation files, internet favorites, and important pictures burned on a ReWriteable; pimp. And now I've cleaned all the BS from my college days that was still lingering around in here without fighting the little bit of pack rat in me; pimp. All hail the reinstallation disk. Mwa ha ha ha ha.
Peace.

Filler...

I'm not even going to lie... I have no idea what this blog will be about until it's done. So let's just begin.

Tonight I spent most of it writing a letter to my half-brother who was recently let out of jail. Not that they 'gave us us free'; he's in a "transitional center". (Think possible ankle bracelet, but maybe that's just for house arrest.) Anyway, in the middle of writing the letter my girlfriend IM's me that Coretta Scott King has passed on. It is like someone cocking back and punching me in the chest.
Take a moment (of silence if you wish) and think about WHO she is. Dr. King didn't want to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This means at some point she was probably talking him into being who he was. It's like they say "Behind every great man there is a great woman." She was not only 'behind' though (in both senses of the word) but she was also beside.
Definitely have to be strong when Klan members know where your live, want you dead, and your stance is non-violent protest. ... Yep.

So then I come back to my brother and wonder what his life would have been like if he had different people influencing his life. He was the smarter, stronger, more handsome brother. It makes you think about what your own life could have been like.

Anyway, I feel like we've (as a people) have literally lost a little bit of our strength with Mrs. King's passing. The media doesn't help and i see people following our image there religiously so where are we headed. It's like we should get a do-over right after Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "The Message". Or maybe the Panthers. I dunno.

Let it marinate.
Peace.

Jobba the Hutt
(Backlog pt. I)

THE SETTING
So as of January 5th I started my new job at a retail store in the airport. Yes, I could have gotten a better job, but I didn't want to have to think or have something to do when I left. I wanted to clock in, do some BS, then clock out and get paid. That's what i found. Not only that, i'm overpaid in my opinion. Who ever heard of $9/hr for retail? But i'm happy there. That's all that matters.

THE BOSSES
Now, this company is run like a company i owned would probably function. On the surface it appears precize to the T (plug). But beneath that, it is very formless. Kind of a 'whoever sees something that needs to be done should get it done or tell someone who can get it done' atmosphere. Which works... so long as people do things. Of course not everyone does, but you tolerate them for a few strikes and then their out. Leaving hopefully the people who are on the ball.
Let's start with my boss. We'll call her 'C-Murder', just cus it's fun that way. Now I can roll with C-Meezy cus she doesn't BS around. Like if the technique worked with customers i'd swear she'd ask them straight up when they walked in, "You gone buy something or you just pussyfootin' around." I can roll with that, cus it saves time. Also she's a Steelers fan to such a degree that you actually get interested in the game too. Oh, and she's one of those people who can't have a "Hi, Bye" phone call... meaning she has to at least say a couple of paragraphs then peace-out. Which is commendable but not necessary with me.
The 2nd tier bosses (her bosses) are fun. Now I don't know everyone's role, but there is a merchandiser, a tech guy, an operations dude, and a bookkeeper (but i never met her). They are all fun, they kinda play hot potato with the tasks that need to be done, but eventually mess gets done. Maybe not on time, but eventually. And usually they have a good excuse, except the tech dude, he's just MIA all the time (maybe we'll find out why one day).
The 1st tier boss is the coolest mofo in the game. We'll call him Nas, cus he seems "hood" (for an Israeli immigrant) but can easily drop some knowledge on you. Also, dude is funny as hell, but smart funny. You have to know stuff or at least be quick to get his jokes, but they'll have you rollin'. AND dude is ballin' so he pays for everything. We went to lunch ... it was on him. We went to dinner... it was on him. Next day same thing. I had to go buy some extra supplies last minute (cus someone below him f-ed up and didn't order it in the 4 months that they knew they were opening the Boston store) and he whips out the cash like, "What do you need? Pick yo president. I didn't know I had bills this small. What are they doing here? Take them away."

THE JOB
So I'm a "key holder" which seems basically their way of saying "manager in training" which I can roll with. It also explains the pay. The first day was spent unpacking the merchandise and putting it up on the fixtures. As well as assembling a few of the fixtures. I know I spent a few hours folding the pashminas. I feel personally responsible for how pimp they look. The next day was more of the same. Of course after that was the whole learn our means of operations. By Saturday at 4PM we were opening the gate for the first time. Then came the crash course, how to open, how to ring sales, assist customers, how to close. Which meant working 14hr days for the first 3 days (if not more) but we pulled in 38hrs in 3 days. "Genarate money. Ch-ching."

So... yeah... two careers, one income.
"She gives me money, when I'm in need..." ~ Ray Charles ("I've Got A Woman")

News to me...


So in these nights of CPU orneriness I've rediscovered the late night news. Maybe they believe that noone is watching so they can be more accurate and informative but for whatever reason the news is just plane better at three(3) in the morning. So good i actually have trouble picking between ABC and CBS. ABC is falling off though. They use to be real good and even had Black anchormen. I guess the ratings went up. I know for a while a couple of my more nocturnal friends used to IM with me as we watched the news. Not like we were really doing homework those days. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe one day The Daily Show won't be the best informative telecast.

I do love The Daily Show.
(The Colbert Report is getting better to...especially "The Word" segment.)
Peace.

Cold Jam...

JAM
Last night Melodesiac had our biggest show at Tufts to date. We played the infamous Hotung Café. Yes, infamous. It was straight. Actually, it was the jam. I ain't even gone lie, we had a blast. And the crowd showed us alot of love, which just makes you feel better and get more into it. We definitely packed the place too; that felt good. So all-in-all, I'd like to thank ANY and EVERY body that came out last night.

COLD
So... I woke up this morning... saw myself some snow outside. As i've said for years, snow is definitely the Batman of weather. (Mainly because of how quietly shows up. Like you look outside and there it is. )
As the day progressed the snow got really intense; like blizzard intense. Then something happened that I've never conceived of before. It started to lightening & thunder during the snowstorm. Though it makes logical sense it just seems freaky. Like I thought thunderstorms were bad, but like real snowstorms... nothing to be messed with. Just now i heard somebody talking about "...well I'll just risk it." This is a serious threat here. LoL, the snow/lightening combo ain't a game, son. It's like tag team terror over here. Granted hurricanes often spawn tornados and that's just wrong by all counts. But snow AND lightening... there should be a warning for that. The meteorologists up here are cool about the mess too like "Hey Bob, yeah seems like a snowstorm will be passing throw tomorrow, we expect a good few inches..." like it's nothing. I'm watching plows strugglin outside. PLOWS...strugglin. Seen somebody's lil snowcovered SUV outside tryina make it and i just shook my head. The REALEST soldier though, was this bird that flew by when i looked outside. Well... flew is kinda a misnomer, it was more like thrown. Yeah, that bird was getting its ass handed to him by the storm, but he was pressing on. That's bold. If i was a bird, i'd be in Texas. That's just me though. Sometimes as a me I want to be in Texas, but again that's just me. Dah well.

Frosty the snow-peace.

Me vs. XCP...


Yeah, so you know that CD you love to listen to on your computer cus you never really bought a nice radio for a couple hundred dollars. Well, you check your Task Manager to see what processes are running and realize that $sys$DRMdrivers.exe is running. That's odd.
Then it hits you. Sony put spyware on my computer. So you look around the web on why that .exe is running. You find it's a program called XCP that is basically spyware for the company. Also you find that deleting it can be risky.
Thus I nearly kayrowed my computer this weekend trying to delete it. However reinstalling a couple of programs should put things straight. I'm already back on AIM. Sidenote: the new AIM is evil. It just isn't as tight as the last version. Plus all the new graphics are just too extra. Basically they tried to hard. Yep.
Anyway, I think I have beaten XCP. I will find out whenever all the scans are done. Spyware is evil!!! Well, that's that and i'm out.

Peace.

First of many...


YEAH, Buddy!!! BlackOut the step team my boy Uchenna and I started at Tufts just one their first 1st place trophy at the step show at Cornell University. I ain't even gone lie, it's been a long time coming. Our history in competition so far has been: Null, 3rd, 2nd, 1st!!!
I'm so proud of the guys.
To check out the old webpage [Click Here]

Peace.

Exactly...

"If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more." ~ Harriet Tubman

Surfing and writing...

Hey, so i've been so busy that i haven't even realized a whole two weeks passed since my last blog. As always i'm still writing my music. I did the vocals for what might be the intro. In the rest of the time i'm just taking in the world via the web. Peep game:

Canada threw out it's government. {more}

I'm more mispelled and revolutionary than I thought. (more)

That's it for now.
Oh and go listen to Marvin Gaye - Soon I'll Be Loving You Again if you never have.
Peace.

Google Video = Yes.

Rolling Bomber Special: Katori's battle to find himself (far less boring than it sounds).

AMV Wars: People have alot of time, sometimes that's good...

Late and errs.

A bat on one hand is worth two at a Bush...


Returning from T-U-F-T-S today, I went to McDonald's. In McDonalds, I sat by the window juxtaposed to this elderly duo who were engaged in banter that did not concern me. I eavesdropped my little heart out though, while i peopled watched out the window. As well, i tried to avoid superfluous eye contact with the brother sitting opposed to me at the table in front of mine.
The conversation between the elderly duo was actually a recitation of anecdotes about church, served a side of updates on friends and acquaintances. The conversation became more interesting when the gentlemen was misheard by the younger elderly woman. She thought he mentioned his friend George Bush to which she replied that she can't stand him. However, he corrected her (it was George Bonner) and also divulged his own resentment for the commander-in-chief.
I sat surprised and delighted. Here, two old white Christians actually did not like the President. For all my gripe about it, at least Massachussetts is a blue state, and that's makes up for a lot. But wait there's more.

Leaving Davis Square I hopped on the T. My car was fairly empty which is always nice cus I'm not a fan of people. At the Harvard stop the woman that was sitting across from me stood up and exited, but as she left the door she seemed to give polite directions to another person about to enter. That person turned out to be a blind woman. She stepped into the car carefully loosely using her cane and sat down opposing me one seat to my right or one over from where the other woman sat. No shades, eyes open and a little cock-eyed but, according to all the clues, still blind.
I tried not to stare, but then i thought... "Wait... it's not like she gone see me!! What? Is somebody gone go tell her, 'Hey that Black guy is watching you'?!" Never-the-less I tried not to stare. But then she started to take apart her cane and put it away; needless say... all bets were off. I was staring. But stopped before she "looked" around again.
As we're riding along i noticed the blind woman fixing her cap, and then her hair beneath her cap, and I thought, "I've never seen a blind person so concerned about their appearance." Really though, the inescapable amount of vanity shattered all acknowledgement of her blindness. By now, I wasn't the only person staring, cus it was like... "dang, that's pretty superficial." It wasn't a couple hair flips and hat readjustments, oh no... she was getting that joint set JUST like she liked it; followed by a double and triple check. Fifteen minutes later we were at her stop and she was satisfied... I hope. She stood up, grabbed her purse and walked confidently off the train.
HOLD UP!!! Ain't this woman blind?! Um, doesn't she wanna break out her cane or something...she's not even walking along the wall, she's dead-center of the side-walk how does she know she's walking in a straight line?! I looked over at another passanger just as confused as I was. By the time the train pulled off she was out! I mean OUT!! Straight Batman, all-day.

Yeah... that's all for now.
Actually... tonight the Mrs. has left me with this:
Go to www.google.com
Type in "failure"
Click "I'm Feeling Lucky"
Smile like me.

Peace.

Mighty Casey the genius?!!



Um, you have to know BET Uncut to get this one. Those who do ... read and be amazed at the depth behind Mighty Casey's "White Girls"; recently used for the motion picture White Chicks.

Peace.

Jack be back!

Dear Jack,

The time has come for the antenna balls to unite and conquer New England; specifically Boston, MA. Far too long the name "Jack" has fell on lame ears with replies of "Never heard of it." A generation is left in the shadow of golden arches. RISE UP and take back that which is rightfully yours. What "that" is I don't know. But I know I miss Jack In The Bos!!!

- Brendth
born & raised in Houston, TX (the chosen land).

A legend passes...

R.I.P. Rosa Parks. You treated this world far better than it could ever treat you, and for that you are in a better place now.

Peace.

Throwback Nolan Ryan!!


So I'm watching the Astros game last night and just on an emotional rollercoaster. We're up, then tied, then down then up 2, then ... yeah. Who saw that? Freakin' grand slam!! WHY?!!! Oh, the agony. C'mon 'stros!! You can do it!!

Peace.

What's in a name?

B	Brutal
R	Revolutionary
E	Extreme
N	Nice
T	Twisted
L	Loving
E	Earthy
Y	Yucky

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Not that Ludacris...

So I was doing some e-promoting and the like around MySpace and I got to Ludacris' page and it sent me to this website. After my initial 5 secs of wondering if I clicked something I got enthralled in this video. Mainly cus it "asks" the same things I was asking 4 years ago. Get ready to read fast. So for everyone like me who wondered why there was little coverage of the Pentagon during 9/11 [Click Here].
If anything happens to me, you know who to blame.

Peace.

Alumni powers... activate...



Coming soon.

"Toot Toot go down the hole..."


So a couple of mornings ago I wake up before everyone, BS on my computer for a bit then go potty. As usual the toilet handle is unresponsive to ur usual gentle twist. THough I never touch a toilet handle with more than one or two fingers, cus you don't know who does what and such. So... yeah... usually all it takes is a gentle push past a certain point and voila. Today, not so much. In fact, not at all.
You can hear the start of what would be the flush but the handle has turned all that it can turn. So I lift the lid and just raise the lever that pushing the handle usually raises, and of course the toilet flushes and I go on my way. Now part of me hoped that those who followed me would do as I did, but this was not to be. I heard another get up and use the restroom. they seemed to have a bit more difficulty than I did. Then I went to sleep. When I awoke I heard others fumble with the bathroom. Yet eventually they all seemed to emerge victorious in their experience.
I came to find out that unlike me, someone used a bit of excessive force in their attempt to expel their excriment. Now the same lever that was so securely attached before was now in the murky depth of the plumbing water. One of the house guest had fashioned a hook from a wire hanger. I hereby introduce our new handle. Being the least bothered by it, i passively wait for the next outing to go purchase a new handle. I already know that I will be the one who has to fix it. I just wish I could have therefore been the one to have broken it. Though i never want to claim poverty because I don't intend to stay in a poor state of mind, I can easily understand the "Broke Phi Broke" skits on Late Registration (Kanye's sophomore album).
WE FLUSH OUR TOILET WITH A HANGAR!!! LOL, mayn that's ghetto!! I'ma put this in a song somehow.

Peace.

Gotta hand it to them...


I like to thank Uchenna once again for this clip of this administration getting their *ss handed to them. This could only be trumped were the commentator to have a sidekick that said "Yeah!!" Or a amalgamed group of spectators who offered one united "oooooooo"!! Here:

MSNBC: News Commentary

The funny thing is ... this is one of the more conservative channels.
Tsk Tsk Tsk...
"Mayn... Bush is fucking up!" ~ Dave Chappelle

Peace.

The Damn Truth


This here is for everyone who has ever been asked "What are you going to do when you graduate?" Big ups to the inmates at T-Block.
The Damn Truth Manifesto

Peace.

Follical follies

So... tonight I have crossed another milestone of life. Having purchased the necessary equipment earlier today, tonight I cut my own hair. It was past due. One day I may grow my hair out, but my hair is like a girlfriend that I don't exactly work well with. At first, it's great, then not so much. I start to ignore the problem, and keep busy. Then i start to look for ways out. In this case, I was stuck. My boy that usually cuts my hair is not coming back to MA. And all my other dome chopping chums are MIA. Thus I was left to me. I don't trust other people cutting my head anyway, unless it's for near nothing. My favorite moment was when i essntially had a mohawk. Neverthe less I am cute now. As well, I cleaned up the evidence quite well, so it would be hard to tell where I cut my hair. I'm very sneaky. Anyway, you should see me so you could marvel at my one-handed, tiny-mirror-using, hair-cutting skills. Not like i'm a total novice, I've cut another person's hair... multiple times. Me do good. Me look pretty one day.

Peace.

SOS


Can I tell you that I love my people? We just keep on going. No help from anybody, ever. We get sh*tted on and keep on moving up. We are destined for greatness.
My favorite member right now is Kanye West. I've always liked him; especially the more others dislike him cus I think he is more real than most of the cats you see. Even the mere fact that he takes time to point out his own hypocrisy is distinctly noble to me. Aside from that I'm even more pleased with his recent stance on the current situation. Mainly because he has a STANCE meaning he hath taken a STAND. I like it when folks are like "f*ck my endorsements, this sh*t is foul!" People are rich enough already, why should those in power hold back? They should be the first ones calling for change. Especially since so many of the rest of us follow them. Keep an eye on Diddy, I would not be surprised if he runs for political office in the future.
In the meantime visit the BET Saving Our Selves site. If you can't give anything monetary, at least send up a prayer.

Mos Def - Umi Says
Peace.

(AI) Artificial Intelligence...

THE IDEA
On monday, my boy Zach Raynor(www.zachraynor.com) suggests that we try out for American Idol. We as in 'he won't do it unless I do it with him', so i'm like "sure" and then we reason it out. We play catch with phrases like "what have we got to lose" and other excuses to let our inner superstars out for a minute.
We tell Alejandro our excuses and eventually win him over. We figure we will at least make it to Hollywood, but we figure this year they are looking for a Justin Timberlake so they would probably arrange a way for us to be ousted before challanging him. If they asked why we were competing, we (Zach and I) would say that we wanted to sing against the other in the finals.

THE LINE
Tuesday morning we wake up at 3:30AM. We pick Zach up by 4:30AM and then head to Gilette stadium. We are there and in line by 6AM. LONG line, but strangely less people than we figured would be there. I mean it's a good thing, but still somewhat sad. At least this means we have a better chance of getting in. We really aren't worried about the first round, more so it's the second round when they REALLY decide who they want to put on TV, and then after that it's mostly fluff.
7AM and we've moved about 20ft in this rediculously long line at this pace we expect to be at the front by 5PM. By now we've started making acquaintances in line cus Zach is a superstar so he draws attention and I'm a gent so I smile and acknowledge people who make I contact with me. So we move a couple more feet in line, but we are much better at manuevering in the line so when we move we just fill all the gaps and wind up 15ft past the people were next to each time. So then we make new acquaintances while we just entertain ourselves. Through unseen portions of the line ahead of us you hear cheers and such, most likely for the news crews that are around. We aren't concerned with them. Instead a new concern arrises; i feel a drop or three.
8AM... It's pouring, like seriously pouring. I squat down and use people as my umbrella, but then my leg starts hurting from what i believe now is a pulled quad (thigh muscle) from moving my girlfriends stuff from the 2nd floor apartment to the 3rd floor dorm room. I'm not the type to take a break cus i just want it done, so yeah...I think in my 'work through the pain' mode i worked into a pulled quad.
11AM... We're finally nearing the front of the line. By now we've made acquaintances that we pull with us whenever we manuever through the line. It is still raining rediculously hard, as in it did not pass rather the cloud brought all of its homies to piss on us too. After a couple of hours of managing to duck under strangers' umbrellas while the umbrellas next to them poured the water in 8 directions away from their holder directly onto us, Zach acquired a HUGE umbrella from someone in line. This woman was seriously just holding this huge umbrella while standing under a smaller umbrella of her friend. People never make the most sense, so rather than pointing this out Zach asked for the big umbrella and then we all moved up under the guise of not wanting to be more drenched than we were.

THE OLD LADY
So about 30mins later we were at the front of the line. After hours of getting drenched and longfully wanting to be at the front of the line so we could go through the bag check then stand under the covered entrance to the stadium, it stops raining as we get to the front; like a final diss. Now it's like "Go under the cover for what? ... We caught it all the hours of rain."
Now we are behind maybe 5 people and infront of everyone else. The next group to be let through will be about 25 people. Now about 3 people back from Zach is this woman who calls forward to her daughter and the daughter's grandmother. Something about bringing her purse back. The grandmother is like 'just move up in the line'. The mother is like 'there are too many people just send it back'. The grandmother is like 'hold on I will bring it to you'. Now everyone else in the line is looking at them like are you really going to push past all the people to hand a purse over. Before I could suggest anything the woman asks Zach and Alejandro if he could push aside as well as the tightly packed people behind him. Zach replies exactly as I'm thinking he politely says 'Ma'am if you wait for like 2 mins the line-attendant will move all of us into the open area infront of the bag check and you get do what you need to then.' The old lady is like that 'doesn't make any sense' and proceeds to start to push past Zach and Alejandro. Now you can hear the politeness starting to fade in his voice as he again says "Ma'am if you just wait 2 mins we can all move out your way but right now it's packed too tight." The grandmother doesn't listen and instead pulls the mother past everyone else for what was clearly a cut in line, cus noone passed any purse. So the old lady says something about us being rude to mother and daughter. Now we don't say anything about how unlikely it is that her child is going to be the next American Idol (i'm not saying she was ugly, but ....well... if she was the last woman on earth, it would take me a few weeks to warm up to her looks), instead Zach just asks me if that was completely pointless which means talking over the rather short grandmother. I, as well as everyone around me, smiles holding back a laugh of agreement. The grandmother looks up at Zach and says "young man you need to start acting more like an idol"... I shake may head. Zach is the WRONG person to come at like that. He already has an easily flared attitude and the past few hours of tight line, umbrella showers and "northern hospitality" (an oxymoron) have not fostered his best mood. Only the frequent little bit of singing we have done has soothed this savage beast. So Zach looks at the old lady with the famed black neck roll and "I'm sorry, and how should an idol act?" The lady trying to get smart says "You're here triyng out, you tell me..." Not missing a beat Zach (who was educated at about the most-respected institution in the nation) replies "Oh no no, see you obviously no how an idol is supposed to act because you told me I should act like one, so PLEASE educate me cus apparently I don't know!" The grandmothers stumble for a comeback is quelled by the mother and daughter who say "Grandmother don't waste your time, there is no use talking to him." Zach looks at me shaking my head and the other people trying hard not to laugh at the old lady, and says "I'm not starting, anything she feels a need to talk to me." We spectators smile and nod while trying not to laugh at the old woman still trying to muster an impossibly smarter comeback. Check and mate. The line-attendant waves us on into the bag check, which I and Alejandro pass through quickly cus we had no bags. Zach soon joins us in line. Shortly after we are ushered into the the entrance and pick up audition rules, the coveted wristband of admittance and a ticket.
We go find our seat according to our tickets in time to hear the latter half of an assistant producer telling us basically what was on the rules sheets we just picked up as well as answering crowd questions, etc. Among the interesting information is finding out that we were in the first three sections. Then we head back to the car just before noon.

WEDNESDAY (AUDITION DAY)
So we do the early morning thing all over again and get there about 6:30AM. Only this time we get to go straight to our seats. As an extra little burn we notice that they are still admitting people today. No line or anything, just walk in and get ur wristband, rules, and ticket. It's ok though, we're still among the first three sections. Zach had tried out two years ago and heard the words that haunted him until this year, "Individuals like you make this hard to say, but we have already picked the people we want in this year." Then the producer looked to his constituents and agreed. So this year that won't be the problem. However we are still concerned that they are looking for a white male singer, since there has yet to be a white male winner.
In the meantime, we are joking around and singing. Most of the people our age are from Berkelee College of music. We chill at our seats cracking jokes from "Meet The Browns" (a Tyler Perry play - think Black families and Black baptist churches). The two young ladies in front of us joins in and we all are laughing and having a good time. Zach takes trips to the bathroom from time to time and really lets out there, apparently his vocals impressed some folks whose raised eyebrows and nods signify their respect he tells us. It starts raining again so we head up to the concessions area, but most of the stands are closed so it's just a place to chill from the rain. We practice a bit but mostly rest our voices. I practiced the day before so I'm cool, a little nervous but confident. We sit in some random chairs and watch the area fill more as the rain heavies. There really isn't anyone that worries us. It's more sad than inspiring. I'm sure there are people we hadn't seen yet, but still... You had your Aguilera/Mariah wannabes who made sure to have one hand up signifying their attempt at vocal runs/trills. Then rest were some sort of Carrie Underwood blend in all shapes and sizes. No Tamyra Grays or Fonzells really, again more sad than relieving. I would say the guys looked better than the girls, but I didn't hear anyone really.
Eventually our section gets up, we watch as a guy we know goes up. He's there for a long time, but eventually walks to the left. Zach says the guy can REALLY sing, so it's surprising to see him go left. However, the guy is as big as Ruben Studdard, but also like 6'5". Eventually we are up, and rather being split up among the 12 booths of producers, Zach and I are together at the first booth with what seems to be the BOSS. She is a middle-aged woman with a leathery Hollywood tan. Who has a fake smile planted on her face. She watches the people before us and tells them "Thank you but your voices aren't at the level we are looking for Season 5." We are up... the girl next to Zach sings her 30 seconds. She seems shy and stares at the tent ceiling the whole time. Her voice seems to barely reach the 5feet to the producer and PA. Then it's Zach turns, and he smiles and breaks into his 30 seconds a powerful ballad which he entertainingly delivers. Then it's my turn and I laughingly smile then break into Luther Vandross - Superstar... I did it well; about as good as Ruben and well enough to advance. Then the girl after me went she was alright, better than the first girl. "Thank you but your voices aren't at the level we are looking for Season 5", which is apparently the "bye"-line.

THE REST
As we were leaving, Zach let me know that she was the same woman he had when he tried out two years ago for the first round (he made it to the second round where he heard the "sorry") and that he performed better this time than he did then. So tune in this year and watch with us to see who made it from Boston as well as who they will "guide" the audience into choosing as this year's winner.

Superstar! Peace!

Revere...

I have the feeling that my blog will continually be less and less interesting and less and less used. More so cus my days will become more and more business oriented, and I am not really trying to put business things in my blog, cus where is the fun in that. When i'm done w/ business for the day the last thing i want to do is recap the day. Nope. So...consider this a disclaimer. I will let you know of anything that I can, but don't expect that to come too frequently.

Peace.

My bad...


Hey, i am really sorry. I've been busy. In my absence I built or had a hand in building this (and anything connected to this) site: Vetto Casado
In a couple of hours I shall be moving into my new place in Revere, MA. I am excited. Well, about as excited as I get over things. Yep.
That's it for now.

Peace.

Bansky slaps the wall...

People rarely do the things that make the most sense. For instance, why is the most outspoken person against the absurdity of the Israeli/Palestinian dispute not speaking at all? If you don't get what i'm really saying, nevermind.

West Bank Barrier art...

Peace (for real).

I've HAD IT (my way)...


Alright, i can't take it anymore. I am straight up tired of Burger King's ignorant *ss commercials. Really?! Ask Black people before you market to them. What dumb*ss do you have working for you that you thought "Rebel Unit". I mean sure the chicken on dubs was bad, but you learn to let some ignorant mess slide. After a while it's like a neighbors dog that keeps trying to hump your leg. There only so much that you can tolerate. I don't know if it's true but folks say you gotta kick them in the nuts. Well, I REALLY want to kick Burger King in the nuts right now. Like one of those good cock back and then run and drop kick the mess out of 'em deals. Of course this isn't the most ignorant mess on TV but it sure does irk you. Keep watching TV, maybe you'll understand.
Big ups to The Daily Show, Adult Swim and especially Chappelle's Show (slowly slipping in good sense to the fold).

Peace.

Get Lifted... (Short Version)

Saw De La Soul, Common & John Legend in concert. It was great. Basically me, Zach Raynor, and Major Johnson (two singers I know) went. So you know we were just singing all night long and having a great time. Rahzel kicked it off holding it down. Then De La Soul got the hands in the air. Common put on a great show, even breakdancing (windmills and everything). Then John Legend killed it (more or less) just sanging all your favorite tunes from the album and a few other amenities like the Selfish (remix). Then we went to the after party because another singer we know (Lee Wilson) was performing. And then we just hung out cracking jokes and chilling with some folks, it was a blast. I love musicians and people who love music. Also, i really like concerts... and earplugs.
May earplugs reign.

Peace.

Test this out...


So the Mrs and I are walking back from Harvard and this guy is just standing on the sidewalk doing the superman hands on his hips stance peering down the sidewalk in our direction. We look at each other like, "What the...." Just as we get about arm's length away, another man comes running up and superman bends down pressing on his shoes and asks him how they fit. Turns out he is standing outside of a sportswear shop.

We are relieved, cus superman is not crazy. We are very glad that he has work. However, when did people start taking shoes for test drives (test runs)?! Really?! The world gets more odd. Just gets much more odd.

Peace.

Him & Her


The other day my girl, my friend, and I went out to eat. We are there going through conversation when this couple walks in. The woman caught my attention cus from periphial vision she was fine. But in the two seconds of a glance you get when you have a girlfriend I noticed something. I took another glance, but the friend saw me so i just tell them straight up. "I think that woman is a man."

Of course this halts all conversation, you can't just let that mess slide by the wayside. So they both break they necks looking. But they can only see her ... him... him/her from the back. So we engage in speculation and excuses.

They get a few more brief stares in and after a while they agree that she's:

Wearing a wig
Cain't walk in heels to save her life
Has an odd lack of curves
Has a strong jawline

By the time the couple left the girls had convinced themselves that him/her was not "all woman". I don't think any is wrong, it just caught my attention. Honestly, i think it's cute that they found each other. Unless he doesn't know. Then he's in for the SERIOUS surprise. Maybe he thinks she's fine and that's why folks are staring. You never know, but i know that i would love to see that moment of truth.

Dat's it.
Peace.

Decision Makers...

So apparently NASA had to call off a launch recently because a portion of the ship that manages fuel consumption was damaged. The chance of fatality in the mission was just shy of certain. From there NASA deliberated 5mins then decided to call off the launch. My thing is...

...what about 'certain death' takes 5 minutes to scrap.

______________________________
Nasa Launch Staff (Harry): Well it looks like we have a problem. There's about a 50% chance the shuttle will expunge it's fuel and drop back to the earth.

Nasa Staff (Norman): "Hmmm..."

(Harry): "Geez. 50%. Should we send them or not, there's got to be a way to decide this. Screw it. Anybody got a quarter, we'll flip for it... Anybody..."

(Norman): "Wake up people... quarter... got one?"

(Harry): "You seriously going to tell me no one has a quarter. Oh my ... who are you people?! Screw it, let's do ODDs and EVENs. Alright, call it. Odds or even?"

(Norman): "Ummm... evens."

(Harry): "OK."

:: They shake and throw out the fingers. ::

(Harry): "Norm, that's three fing... You've never played ODDs and EVENs have you?! Great! You're a freaking rocket scientist... You know what?! Screw it!! NO LAUNCH!"
______________________________

Yep...
...
...
... rocket scientists.

That has to be the most pimp thing you can say... "Yeah, I'm a rocket scientist."

Peace.

Hi,

I am simply writing to say hello. It has been a while. I'm in the midst of doing things for the business so i have little to no time for things that are not that. It is essentially killing the relationships i have with people outside of the business. Not only with time, but it has become apparent that i'm so detached from the rest of life that I am seemingly left speechless in non-business related topics. Besides certain things that come on 'The Daily Show' and 'Adult Swim'. Case in point this blog... oh well. There will be a trade-off; some means of balance. :-)


Peace.

Writing material...


It's so funny, i have SO much I can write about right now, but i can't write about ANY of it right now. Keep coming back, cus there will be a time i can just go "there was this one time...." and just go off. Provided i don't bust my situation at that time... but still. Wow, i am essentially overflowing with everything i can't say. But i will summise it with... life is a trip.

Peace...

Too busy to write...


Well, write more than this. Most of my time goes to the company. Check it out.
Precize Productions

We're actually really nice, we just need to reach people in the music industry. Soon enough though.

Peace.

The MOS DEF-initely...

I don't know if i've logged this, but northeast mosquitos are insanely tiny yet just as annoying. This problem is only compounded by the lack of A/C up north, thus we got to put the windows up to stay cool. (Minor help staying cool, but hey, cooler is cooler.) Point is it is easily believable that they pass through the screens. This leads to that sucky paranoia where you think you are being bitten by mosquitos more than you actually are. In fact your never definitely sure that they are even in the room. Can you understand why I hate them so much? They drive you crazy. The ONLY creatures i go out of my way to kill. I actually enjoy their demise. Death to all mosquitos!! Insecticide! (This blog has no real point other than to place a new post between the last and the next one.)

Peace.

You suck at life...


When you have to argue that you are NOT dead... you suck at life.
President Mugabe of Zimbabwe denies that he died last week. You can't write this stuff.
President Mugabe: I am not dead!

Peace.

Who lines up ducks anyway...

I'm writing songs. Commercial R&B songs. It's actually hard, I can't get deep, cus I'll lose people or have folks saying "What's that mean?" but I can't get too light or else I'll sound like everybody else and/or corny. Though they are almost one and the same. Darn the masses, if they wanted more we could give them more, but more fails miserably and leaves people unemployed.
Dah well, K.I.S.S. is the phrase.
In a hot room steady writing songs with my days.
Getting thangs in line for the next movement.
What do you do?

Peace.

Jane Doe...

So a friend of mine recently started a blog and in it she mentioned her views on platonic relationships. Her view is that they are completely possible, whereas I view them as rare. She mentioned this and I believe it to be true, in most cases one party has unreturned attraction to the other. Instead of courting the person however they settle for friendship. I think the only cases where this doesn't happen is between homosexual males and women; which it may still happen in one of those "If he wasn't gay..." type of deals. See the thing is... people usually hang with folks that are around the same attractiveness as they are, were we to quantify attractiveness that is, give it a number and such. In fact, lets say i'm a 7 (out of 10)... then most of my close friends are probably 6,7,8s. This is the norm. Some folks have the friend that's a 3 or so, but you know how those things work out. At some point they've probably worked out the issues of "You pretty, I'm ugly... blah blah blah" until both are secure in who they are. However there are studies that conclude to what I said before. (Go find them.) The point is... if you are around someone long enough that you have no reason not to find attractive (meaning you very well should) then eventually the thought will cross your mind (probably multiple times). The way it works is that one or both of you is in a relationship already or some other hindering circumstance. Or (like alot of people) you believe that intimacy changes the friendship or something like that so you never let anything occur from fear of losing the friendship (that's a norm - hence the cliché: "I don't want to ruin our friendship"). Which is quite useful if your not the type of person who has those types of interpersonal fences, cus it's a good way to let someone down easy.
Now for those people who have a more liberal view on interpersonal relationships, sh*ts just not that crucial. As well, alot of would-be drama is saved due to that view; except when involved with non-liberals. (Liberal in this sense having nothing to do with politcal stance, more so the degree of nonchalance with which you cross the norms of relationships...be they friendly or romance.) So for these liberal people it's you and your friend and you both are nonchalant so mess never gets awkward cus there's no reason for it to be so why not explore? That's the thing that I wish more people could understand. Life is only as awkward as you accept it to be. In many cases you could brush mess off as 'not that crucial'. You're attractive, you're friends attractive, and the only thing stopping you is that you think thing will be awkward... that's BS. But that's how people operate, while the rest of us live happy freaky lives.
People rarely do the things that make the most sense. They really should. What would Plato do? The real platonic relationship is between those who very well could be intimate together but just choose not to; not for any reason but simply that they never feel like it. When they do they do, when they don't they don't. I would be interested in meeting those who have this mentality. I feel like we would be very cool. Dah well.
Peace.

Different Area Codes...

So... it is official. I have been to NYC.

I have walked the streets (a bit) and ridden the subway.

Looked out the 30th floor window of the place I stayed everyday to the Brooklyn bridge (we just south of the lower east side of Manhattan; which seems near the west side of the island, but nevermind that).

Good ole Cliff St. It was fun.


Also I discovered the addictive substance that is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The whole game really is one big racial slur that you just can't get that mad at cus yeah... there were/are people like that. So... dah well. Fun game though. Plus it's rare that the protagonist of anything is Black, so... yay!
Alright, me go now, they have digital cable at the place i'm staying. That means a WHOLE BUNCH of channels.
Peace.

Gala...

We (me and the Mrs.) just returned from the senior Gala. I got to where a Tux. I looked damn sexy. The Mrs. had this little black number (which I picked out.) Compliments all night. I like being sexy. Vanity is good in small doses. It's like crack. A little crack never hurt anyone. (The former statement is completely untrue, lol. Wow.)

-Peace

Redefining Hip Hop

We came we saw, we broke the muhphukin' stage! Melodesiac is the new new. God bless.
Check out the website.

-Peace

Come see my band...



Hip-Hop Anonymous
Sunday, May 15, 2005
21+ $7
Harpers Ferry
156 Brighton Ave.
Allston, MA
Peace.

Bilal Concert...

Coming soon...

The Translator...

The morning of my birthday, I walked from the southeast end of campus to the northeast end to start work on a final project. I get to the comp sci building and realize that I can't get in because I gave a friend my ID. So i call them and ask them if i can come pick it up from their place (the southwest side of campus). It's agreed. I start walking over to her spot. At the top of the hill, I see a gentlemen coming down a side street to my right, and this lady emerges from the building to my left looking for attention as if she is supposed to meet him. "Sir" she exclaims, "Sir! Can you help me?" I look to my right at the gentleman before I realize that she is addressing me. She's frazzled and hurried. It's currently 9:52AM = She explains that she is looking for the American Translators Association certification exam. So I let her know that I honestly had no idea what she was talking about but would see if I could help her. I'm from Texas, we have an inherent hospitality.
9:53AM = We check the largest room in the building she came from (she hadn't checked there yet).
9:54AM = I called my homegirl who was going to open the Campus Center at 10AM to see if she possible was there a bit early and could let us in, "No, but i'll be there in two minutes." she said. So we head down to the Campus Center to meet her.
9:54AM = I call Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) to ask if they know about any exams on campus since they are supposed to be given a list of all room reservations. They tell me they don't know anything about it.
9:56AM = At the Campus Center we wait for about 2 minutes and then the lady (obvioiusly getting more and more frantic) so she suggests that we go to the Dining Hall where she originally got the information to go to the wrong building. So we go there.
9:58AM = The lady talks with some manager in the back who resolves to call TUPD just as I had, this time he puts the french lady on the phone. She askes and they quickly respond.
10:01AM = The lady wants to run to Cabot to catch the start of the exam. She can't run nearly as well as I can, so i feel bad cus I don't want to burn off, but I don't want to just be lightly jogging along side her like I don't take her problem seriously. So i suggest that I will run ahead and find the room its in then come get her. Agreed.
10:04AM = Found the room, go back get her, she goes in talks to the test administrator and explains her situation. Everything is good, and I go off on my business.

I'm nice.
Peace.

I am: 1% Republican.

"You're a complete liberal, utterly without a trace of Republicanism. Your strength is as the strength of ten because your heart is pure. (You hope.)"

Are You A Republican?

I actually don't think the questions were liberal enough.
Oh well. Not surprising.

Nassa

The Real History Channel.
The Old Negro Space Program


Um, I'm wrapping up finals, so take this and love it.
Peace.

School's out for ever!!!

Today.... oh Today.... today was a joyous day for me. Today was the last day of classes EVER! I will never again suffer through such institutionalized torture against my will. So long i've been a student; no more. It is an interesting crux. I nearly don't know how to identify myself. Not in greetings, but more so in the sense that school has been a given for so long, it seems odd to be without it. Like getting a cast removed after breaking your limb. You are happy to have it gone, but it was cozy inside. Well, I shall find my comfort in sleep. What remains is a deceptively high bar known as finals. I feel like I don't have jack to do, when in reality I have nearly half a semester's work to catch up on, a 25-page paper to complete, and an original project to finish. Feels like nothing, as if somoene asked me to run a mile for a billion dollars. I'm like ... "that's all", attempting to deny the fact that I don't run very often. Enough about me, how are you doing? So long we've been in school and now not? What is up?

Oh, for all of you who care, I talked to steven. His commencement was today I believe, or yesterday. I think yesterday. He is moving in to his new place w/ his roommate, somewhere in OK. I couldn't tell you specifics, it's all OK to me. I am glad he's doing well though.

Bah dah dahdah...
Peace.