In this day and age of harsh realities (I ain't forgot about Jena at all), sometimes you just need a break. A break from the bullisht on your job because there's one person who steps over the line. A break from realizing that black folks have so far to go for our civil rights. A break from "the housing bubble" that's got folks being foreclosed on left and right. You don't have to marinate on these realities all of the time.
That's what TV networks believed in the '60s with classics like "The Munsters" and "Bewitched" being on television to divert us from the saddening news images of an unnecessary war that kept sending thousands of American soldiers home in coffins being broadcasted in our living rooms. Sounds familiar right?
Well, the idea is being recycled in 2007 with shows like "Heroes", "Bionic Woman", and what I'm expecting to be a great show (that'll get cancelled like all great shows) "Pushing Up Daisies".
Dwell on swell sitcoms for a spell.
9.26.2007
9.11.2007
September 11, 2001 was supposed to be a nondescript kind of day that didn't matter. I had skipped work on a Tuesday and was lounging in bed. It was kinda bad that I was skipping because I had already had Monday off to begin with.
That was the best Monday in a while. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day as I walked around the Little Five Points area. My red afro was shining in the sunlight as the hippy population all around me didn't blink because there's no such thing as weird or abnormal in Little Five Points. Nag Champa incense bounced around in my paper bag as I left Junkman's Daughter and walked anywhere I pleased without a care in the world.
Everything just felt so right, so easy, so beautiful. I even decided to treat myself to a delicious lunch at Bridgetown Grill, a Caribbean cuisine restaurant. While I was enroute to Bridgetown, I still recall a clear thought crossing my mind in the middle of a great day in a great city. "Hmm...Nothing's happened in a long time that shook America to its core. Nothing like Pearl Harbor. I wonder what could happen to break us down like that ever again." The only thing I could think of was literally seeing America shook to its core and having buildings crumble before my eyes. But that was just a creative, overactive imagination. (NOTE: This is not fiction; this is an actual recollection.)
Then, my Mom woke me up. I was in my Grandmama gown that my grandmother gave me. It's literally one of those zip up gowns that grandmothers answer the door in, but it's so comfortable. Mom was kind of frantic as she told me, "A plane hit the World Trade Center." I waved it off and went back to sleep. It was obviously just an accident. Someone would save the lives, and it would be okay. I wanted my Z's.
Amazingly, I woke up later and felt the pain later. I felt that we were officially shaken at our core. My world crumbled around me for three days as I lay across my bed in a depressed mode because someone could take a plane and use it as a weapon against innocent people. So, I could only imagine what it was like in New York and Washington, DC.
I could reflect on and on, but we all know how it went down. It's still amazing six years later. I'll never forget what happened. What scares me is that 54 years from now, our children and grandchildren will treat September 11 just the way I looked at Pearl Harbor: just another day. It's quite possible, but I hope our generation doesn't let it go down like that.
That was the best Monday in a while. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day as I walked around the Little Five Points area. My red afro was shining in the sunlight as the hippy population all around me didn't blink because there's no such thing as weird or abnormal in Little Five Points. Nag Champa incense bounced around in my paper bag as I left Junkman's Daughter and walked anywhere I pleased without a care in the world.
Everything just felt so right, so easy, so beautiful. I even decided to treat myself to a delicious lunch at Bridgetown Grill, a Caribbean cuisine restaurant. While I was enroute to Bridgetown, I still recall a clear thought crossing my mind in the middle of a great day in a great city. "Hmm...Nothing's happened in a long time that shook America to its core. Nothing like Pearl Harbor. I wonder what could happen to break us down like that ever again." The only thing I could think of was literally seeing America shook to its core and having buildings crumble before my eyes. But that was just a creative, overactive imagination. (NOTE: This is not fiction; this is an actual recollection.)
Then, my Mom woke me up. I was in my Grandmama gown that my grandmother gave me. It's literally one of those zip up gowns that grandmothers answer the door in, but it's so comfortable. Mom was kind of frantic as she told me, "A plane hit the World Trade Center." I waved it off and went back to sleep. It was obviously just an accident. Someone would save the lives, and it would be okay. I wanted my Z's.
Amazingly, I woke up later and felt the pain later. I felt that we were officially shaken at our core. My world crumbled around me for three days as I lay across my bed in a depressed mode because someone could take a plane and use it as a weapon against innocent people. So, I could only imagine what it was like in New York and Washington, DC.
I could reflect on and on, but we all know how it went down. It's still amazing six years later. I'll never forget what happened. What scares me is that 54 years from now, our children and grandchildren will treat September 11 just the way I looked at Pearl Harbor: just another day. It's quite possible, but I hope our generation doesn't let it go down like that.
9.03.2007
"You got music in you the whole world needs to hear."
I disliked most of the OutKast CD, "Idlewild". That CD never truly grew on me, even after playing it for a straight month. Just tonight, I just finally saw the movie on HBO, and I appreciated the movie and music. The title for this post is my favorite line from the movie, but you have to know what happened before I heard that line.
I woke up in the middle of the night on the couch. How did I sleep through the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend? Well, I guess I was tired from shopping with my Mom. I rarely shop with her, and she asked me if I wanted to go with her to this place around the corner that sells sheets, comforters, rugs, and other goodies for the house - except it's in a warehouse/outlet environment, and I hate that type of shopping. Nonetheless, Mom wanted me to go, and I did. I had my MP3 going and I was dancing all around to "Go" by Common, "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge, and "Sunshowers" by Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band. Mom found nothing, and I bought my first set of 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Golden with vertical stripes for $34.99. Mom was ticked because she wanted the same sheets, but there was only one set in my size. *Kee kee kee* Then, I got a pedi and dealt with crap at Walmart.
Maybe that was too much excitement for me, but I awoke at 11:30 going in and out from one of those "Haunted History" shows. Honestly, I'm still not sure what was going on, but there was a psychic contacting a miner, and then another psychic was saying that the spirit was actually Carole Lombard, the wife of screen legend Clark Gable. While the second psychic was saying Lombard and Gable visited that particular location even today, I coulda swore a third spirit was contacting me. Maybe I was sleeping too hard, but it was so hard for me to wake up that last time. It was almost as if someone were lying on top of me and applying pressure to my whole being. I actually told someone in a long drawl that required great energy, "Let me wake up." Once I woke up, I had to take some direction from Sylvia Brown, the psychic that's always on "Montel" on Wednesdays. Three times I told whoever might have been visiting, "Thank you for your time. You're no longer welcome."
Flipping through channels led to the final hour of the film "Idlewild". Based on the last part, I have to see the whole movie sometime. Now I regret not seeing the movie while it was in theaters so I could contribute to another black movie in the Hollywood machine. Now, I'll have to purchase the DVD.
OutKast - Idlewild Blue (Don't Chu Worry 'Bout Me)
Awfully enough, that is not the first time that has happened. Something tells me that won't be my last time. Again with the psychic tendancies, but no winning Mega Millions ticket. *sighhhh*
My favorite line came when Rooster (Big Boi) belligerantly knocks on Percival's (Andre Benjamin [who is more than just 3000 to me]) door right before a pivotal moment. I can't tell the whole movie in case someone else hasn't seen it yet. Percival recognizes Rooster won't be denied as usual and answers the door. Rooster works hard to convince Percival to take train tickets to Chicago to pursue his dream of making and playing music beyond Idlewild. "You got music in you the whole world needs to hear," Rooster pleads.
Damn if that line didn't speak to me. There are stories in my head that the world should hear. God blessed me with a talent for putting words together, and I believe this life of mine is making more sense now because of the talent. Maybe I'm going through the things I go through just so I can give my unique perspective on ideas. So, I'm gonna keep blogging, but I know the world should be able to hear my perspective on this life. A smart person once said, "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." -- W. L. Bateman (Don't know who that is, but it's still a brilliant idea.)
I woke up in the middle of the night on the couch. How did I sleep through the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend? Well, I guess I was tired from shopping with my Mom. I rarely shop with her, and she asked me if I wanted to go with her to this place around the corner that sells sheets, comforters, rugs, and other goodies for the house - except it's in a warehouse/outlet environment, and I hate that type of shopping. Nonetheless, Mom wanted me to go, and I did. I had my MP3 going and I was dancing all around to "Go" by Common, "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge, and "Sunshowers" by Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band. Mom found nothing, and I bought my first set of 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Golden with vertical stripes for $34.99. Mom was ticked because she wanted the same sheets, but there was only one set in my size. *Kee kee kee* Then, I got a pedi and dealt with crap at Walmart.
Maybe that was too much excitement for me, but I awoke at 11:30 going in and out from one of those "Haunted History" shows. Honestly, I'm still not sure what was going on, but there was a psychic contacting a miner, and then another psychic was saying that the spirit was actually Carole Lombard, the wife of screen legend Clark Gable. While the second psychic was saying Lombard and Gable visited that particular location even today, I coulda swore a third spirit was contacting me. Maybe I was sleeping too hard, but it was so hard for me to wake up that last time. It was almost as if someone were lying on top of me and applying pressure to my whole being. I actually told someone in a long drawl that required great energy, "Let me wake up." Once I woke up, I had to take some direction from Sylvia Brown, the psychic that's always on "Montel" on Wednesdays. Three times I told whoever might have been visiting, "Thank you for your time. You're no longer welcome."
Flipping through channels led to the final hour of the film "Idlewild". Based on the last part, I have to see the whole movie sometime. Now I regret not seeing the movie while it was in theaters so I could contribute to another black movie in the Hollywood machine. Now, I'll have to purchase the DVD.
OutKast - Idlewild Blue (Don't Chu Worry 'Bout Me)
Awfully enough, that is not the first time that has happened. Something tells me that won't be my last time. Again with the psychic tendancies, but no winning Mega Millions ticket. *sighhhh*
My favorite line came when Rooster (Big Boi) belligerantly knocks on Percival's (Andre Benjamin [who is more than just 3000 to me]) door right before a pivotal moment. I can't tell the whole movie in case someone else hasn't seen it yet. Percival recognizes Rooster won't be denied as usual and answers the door. Rooster works hard to convince Percival to take train tickets to Chicago to pursue his dream of making and playing music beyond Idlewild. "You got music in you the whole world needs to hear," Rooster pleads.
Damn if that line didn't speak to me. There are stories in my head that the world should hear. God blessed me with a talent for putting words together, and I believe this life of mine is making more sense now because of the talent. Maybe I'm going through the things I go through just so I can give my unique perspective on ideas. So, I'm gonna keep blogging, but I know the world should be able to hear my perspective on this life. A smart person once said, "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." -- W. L. Bateman (Don't know who that is, but it's still a brilliant idea.)
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