social networking…

ok, so i was really way skeptical of like myspace, friendster…waaay long ago…like when all you heard was that creepy guys were lurking for baby girls and stuff. it took one musician that had inspired me while in college and that i was in awe of to get me on…and i’ve been hooked since. altho…i’d surmise that one network is far better than the rest. my friends would argue that i am wrong about my pref…i didn’t intend on writing today but sitting here previewing/reviewing for my freelance opp…i’m just really in awe of what social networking has brought me (i’d hope to say “responsible” social networking)…and then some.

a few weeks back i had lunch with a college friend i hadn’t seen in like eleven years. sorta like how it is with really good friends, we kinda hadn’t skipped a beat in us…our conversation and it was a truly enriching experience. and i’m really editing out A LOT about what i’ve been able to do…and who i’ve met and their influence on my life…

and even just today i got a message from another college mate i haven’t seen and/or heard from in about eleven years…emailing me from his blackberry. social effin-networking is kinda cool in regards to that…i’m sure if without it…someone would have been more inclined to write pen and paper style…but it’s cool when technology can reconnect us. this guy i’d be hard pressed to forget…one night he sung/yelled stone temple pilots lyrics across the way. crazy guy!!

this being said…be careful, stalkers, weirdos, creepos abound…but that’s everywhere, right?

right now i’m listening to some hip hop outta rio de janeiro…life is way too short to NOT travel and step outside our comfort zone more often than we do. i wish riches and wealth wouldn’t be allowed to limit us so much in this. life is waaay rich, i don’t want to miss a thing, you know? and would love to say i’m preparing to travel to some country i’ve daydreamed of floating about in…

i’ve also watched my share of tv programming aimed at charity work…the cnn heroes special and oprah’s program last week…i’m reminded of how loserish i am…with the ability to give…but just needing to make time/effort to lend a hand to someone…anybody.

maybe over the next couple weeks i’ll list some charity/non profit sites so we can…out of our smallness give together and make a difference in someone’s life.

nelson mandela’s 46664…site is currently being updated for donations but read more about it….

tide’s loads of hope…is really cool. u get a vintage tee for fifteen bucks…

kanye west’s dr. donda west foundation…is geared at keeping kids in school

of course, with anything always check the legitimacy and…give.

the prop 8 blame game

marriage makes me nervous. relationships make me more nervous. the whole “i do” forever, baby becoming a lifetime of fluttery moments but then real work when love’s supposed to be buttery and sugary and warm and effortless like movies and disney magic. and schtuff gets hard when you love your mate more than yourself but they are especially flirty with others and leave you wondering or when all they listen to is like celtic rock and you much rather listen to coltrane or they snore through lightening storms and over the decibels of ambulances outside or they fall asleep during movies or hate your incense or your hair. marriage…makes me nervous. two people deliriously in love with each other enough to make the jump despite occasional schtuff…are we really sane if we really wanna do this thing…forever (gulp)? shouldn’t that be the question? shouldn’t it? which leads me to this year’s election and the promise of better government and proposition 8 and the new blame game.

prop 8 makes same-sex marriage illegal in california. personally, who gives a flying f*ck about who wants to marry? do they love each other? let people marry and be happy. i mean, what harm does it me that anybody wants to marry? i speak this as a christian, also. but what also angers me is that although they comprise only about 6% of california’s population, black people are being blamed for the majority ‘yes’ vote making same-sex marriage illegal in cali. this sort of blame game takes away the real issue at hand and our maturity as a nation. why are ethnic groups being called out? is this valid? i immediately became suspicious and wanted to do some investigating myself.

here’s a good article by teresa morrison published by advocate.com…debunking black blame.

“the air i breathe”

“you are arty. you’ll like it,” i was told about the film, “the air i breathe.” a non-stop story churner that grabs you the instant it starts. sort of a mixture of a quentin tarentino, robert altman, richard linklater film called, “slacker,” an indie film i fell in love with years ago. “the air i breathe” definitely appealed to my inner dark chick, the arty part i’m still evolving towards. the story has this residual anecdote where you meet characters who are connected to others, and for the relationships to make sense you have to watch the whole film, which isn’t a task. it is easy, so easy to get caught up in this post-modern underground crime world where andy garcia is a cruel arse, sorta mob guy and brendan fraser does the dirty, yet hauntingly cerebral work. this movie reminds me of “slacker” not to be confused with “slackers,” “slacker” is a richard linklater film where you meet a host of about 20 or 30 characters, you become privy to them, their conversations their quirks, like you’ve been invited to meet a bunch of your weird cousin’s weirder yet crazy interesting crazy weird friends. sound weird? i love linklater’s, “slacker” all the way up until the end of the credits that begin when a character takes the super 8 camera that brought you the film and tosses it over a hill. the shot, the last shot is a spiraling tapestry of trees and sky until the camera crashes to the ground. beautiful yet symbolic art, right?

“the air i breathe” begins with happiness, played by forest whitaker who is a regular corporate robot thriving for change in chance (horse racing). and later with a scene memorable to those who would only chuckle if familiar with playstation 2’s video game ‘grand theft auto: vice city’ and the pizza boy scooter, and trying to drive up steps with those things, video game speakingly, of course. whitaker’s storyline later ties in with other characters played by garcia, fraser, sarah michelle geller, kevin bacon, emile hirsch and julie delpy.

so for the arty, or the curious, “the air i breathe” is oddly both conventional and unconventional and somewhere in between, it’s hard to be disinterested.

i’ve put off long enuff…canvas anxiety

ok…i’m about to paint. i have my piped in pat metheny radio station, a la itunes and i’m ready. the incense is burning and my navy blue corduroys are way baggy. i’ve squeezed thru a vibrant gold on a white pallette and i’ve thumbed thru enough acrylic guidebooks and i’m tired of thinking of stuff. i’m just gonna do it….wish me luck…

the way i are aka i just don’t know what to do

several weeks ago i bought this huge canvas and some paint…maybe, hismuse, you had or better your picture of your workspace had a lil something to do with it as i was standing in an art store that had this huge major sale. i just can’t commit to what i want to do with my canvas. i’ve sketched out a few things…but i just can’t commit.

having visited miami has really messed me up. right now, in my ever evolving ‘where i wanna live’ mental thought process…i think the only places i’m really into (er…right now) are miami and new york city. only those two…both expensive…miami has the weather. i can’t commit…

here’s how it’s been for the last couple years….heartbreak thought she wanted to move to DC or new york…then, really wanted durham/raleigh (i have a special affinity for this area and it’s not far from the ocean), then seriously thought about vegas…then atlanta…all the while not letting go of LA, seattle, toronto…maybe philly, maybe dallas…maybe san francisco…maybe jacksonville or back to boston, alright, i seriously considered jacksonville but now…i’m so stuck on miami. i’m just…i just can’t commit.

it’d be ideal if 10 million of us…unemployed (as of this week’s news)…had a better job market. that would help my situation if i could actually get hired…but still, to relocate myself…i can’t commit.

a favorite song selection by john legend…another again.

oh my…

well, the election is just … tomorrow. tomorrow!!!

i remember being a slow supporter of obama, way back when. out of fear, i was scared and i doubted my country’s ability to embrace his message. now, he’s my only hope to change the failed policies of the last 8 years. he’s my only hope to get working families what more they should have…he’s my only hope that the troops come home from a war we can never win with guns and bombs, he’s my only hope for young people everywhere to see that whoever you are and where ever you come from, hard work will get you your highest dreams. he’s my only hope that more jobs come back home. he’s my hope that people get healthcare…i could go on…barack obama is my only hope.

i was fortunate enough to see him and wife, michelle speak at a rally yesterday in columbus, ohio. the weather was sheer perfection and the crowd was so incredibly diverse. i’m not meaning so much, racially but just that there were so many different kinds of people. it was refreshing. i know it’s superficial but when i see mccain/palin rallies they look like a sea of all the very same kind. i know some cities and communities hold their own similarities but the mccain/palin rallies also lack a new freshness. a new direction for the world at large, for our country. we all have to be together to work…to make it. to survive. outside of our religious beliefs or lack thereof…we are all we got. it’s together or not at all. and divided is how we’ve operated under bush for 8 years. we’ve been told what not to say, our privacy has been violated. it’s time…today and tomorrow to wipe that curse away…to scrub at it as much we can.

later on today, jay z, mary j blige and p. diddy will speak on behalf of obama at the king’s art complex. this election is for our youth. i feel deep within me that we are at a major crossroads…the choice is between choosing a new direction or operating under what feels like a lack of direction these last 8 years…and look at where the past has brought us. over the weekend i saw oliver stone’s ‘w’…wow…it put in perspective the visual demise, alone.

last week, i was enjoying the warm lusciousness of both atlanta, georgia and miami, florida. i had a blast and am still dealing with the heartbreak of coming back to the ultra-conservatism/boredom and cold that is columbus, ohio. i loved miami…and decided to go on a fluke. but it was the most exhilarating fluke i’ve ever had. just a travel/tourism note…boat tours rock.

oh well and oh my…go vote. vote your conscience. enjoy your right. and hope/pray for the best for us…for you…for our country and the world.

thank you…and good nite.

(even though it’s only like 2.25pm…)