Luke Cage: Urban Knight

LE 189 - It's 2009: ReBoOt!!!

2009-01-01T10:05:00.018-05:00

Okay now...
Wait for it. Wait for it...

...Lets get this started off right...It's 2009!
Happy New Year folks..

LE 188 - Seven Pounds

2008-12-18T18:01:00.003-05:00

Superman Will is back...
Oh yeah. You'd best believe, that I'm in there!

LE 187 - ...Silence....

2008-11-12T18:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, so now it's a week later. After the thrill of victory that saw Barack Obama capture the Presidency, and not long after the cheers of those who helped him get into the White House had died down the morning after, there was this deafening and eerie silence that settled across America.

We're looking at 250 years after slavery, and somewhere in the area of over 100 years of Jim Crow laws, and a legacy of racial terror (lynching, segregation, hate mobs, etc.) America has elected a black president. I'm among many who thought that we wouldn't live long enough to see this day.

Obama’s election reflects the fact that this country has made great progress in the area of race relations and is likely to propel it to even greater heights. I'm optimistic enough to believe this. But as we all know, progress is never a straight line. There is always the danger of a backlash. Some of the backlash has been silent.

And the sad truth is, we know that backlash started well before the campaign was over. Let's be upfront about it y'all. Racial rage, clearly driven by fear of a brotha in the White House, began to break out around the country several weeks ago. Folks knew there was something big about to happen and they were beginning to act out because of that big something.

Remember the effigies of Obama that some idiots hanged with nooses on university campuses? And lets not forget that mob of McCain and Palin supporters caught on video shouting "Kill him" at a campaign rally. Or the shameless Republican terror tactics that included e-mails warning Repub members and supporters that carloads of Obama supporters were going to be coming from the inner city to cast their votes. And it didn't stop there.

The real is a healthy majority of Americans did vote to send Obama to the Oval Office. But, clearly, there are people, perhaps millions of them who are deeply upset over his victory for reasons that are fundamentally racial. And their anger is likely to intensify as the economy, especially unemployment, continues to worsen.

Right now though, there's that silence. It's loud and it is deafening. Akin to when a person goes into shock. Or as someone else told me, when one mourns.

Even as we embark on a new national adventure, the signs are, well pretty distressful. It may be that the hatemongers are wrong, that Americans’ better angels will prevail and the changes that President Obama has promised are already sweeping this country will not result in a growing rage on the right.

But experience tells us that while we hope for the best, we also must unfortunately prepare for the worst. And that worst can be a dangerous, racially motivated backlash of hate. You can't hear it now, but it is being whispered. In the dark, hell even in the light. Right beside you and beside me. In that cubicle to the left of you. Or that car to your right. Maybe even closer than we may think.

Do you have any experiences that you'd like to share with us in the blogverse about how some folks have changed (whether you know for sure or you're basing this on your best estimated guess) since Obama won the election? Let us hear from you.

LE 186 - The 44th POTUS

2008-11-05T01:47:00.000-05:00

Here's an understatement. The US 2008 presidential election campaign has been exciting. At times for me, even stressful. The election of the 44th president of the United States may very well be the most historic and important election in this country's history. President Barack Obama not only has become the first African-American president but will have the full support of a Democratic party led Congress.

We have finally (sweet Jesus it took forever didn't it?) seen the demise of the Republican party that was jacked up by the George W. Bush administration and the handling of the economic crisis that is currently kicking our country in the backside. Now, as the USA is in full recession, can we say that the ghosts of the past are rising?

What a ride. For some, it took awhile before they boarded the Obama express train. There were specifics that had to be acknowledged. What exactly was the Jr. Senator from Illinois bringing inside all of those candid speeches and fancy words? Charisma can only go so far after all. But that was yesterday and I'm not one to look back. It's all about the future now.

Will a Barack Obama and a Joe Biden administration launch a new deal in the style of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt? (Do your google search on what FDR did when he got into the White House) For now, we savor this sweet victory as we look forward to a new and wise government from the White House.

Here's to a brand new day...

LE 185 - Tightening Up

2008-10-20T00:46:00.004-04:00

I have 2 accounts right now and I'm constantly looking at them to make sure everything's on the up and up because when the economy is in a massive state of flux like this one is right now, financial institutions find ways to compensate.

Nickel and diming everything in sight. And anyone who knows me, knows I'm not one to take a magnifying glass to my account. Making small numbers into big numbers by examining the placement of every single decimal point does nothing for me unless those big numbers are synonymous with showing more green in the black on my bank statements.

But after Wall st. became a farmer's market a few weeks ago, one thing is for sure. NOTHING is certain and folks are scrambling. People who I never thought would consider working 2 jobs are trying to work 2 jobs. Even though when I accepted a night position that had nothing to do with my day time job about a year ago, folks thought I was putting more pressure on myself than I needed to.

Truth was, without the supplemental income that I had coming in from my art ventures to pad my bank accounts, I had to rely on my actual paycheck to pay for things. Imagine that! Not a big deal because my art money was for luxuries. That was my play money so nothing "important" was being choked off.

But once the play money began to thin out and I looked back at the assignments I did last year, 2007 had become the worst year I had drawing for income. The only good thing I can offer in this is that with less than 90 days to go in 2008, THIS year will unfortunately take that crown.

Unless of course, I have a deluge of assignments between now and December 31st, this will make the third in as many years of a downward spiral in commission work. You'd best believe true believers. Things are getting serious.

So I've begun tapping into my lil luxuries cutting things down or off altogether to compensate for the storm that's coming. I don't have my car detailed that much but I do it enough that when you add up the receipts, ooo-weee. What a shot in the pocket that is. Maybe it was my washing my car last week in front of my house that drew the attention of Ms. Parker 2 huh? -lol

My house phone, the one I barely use has far too many additions in it for me to keep them. I don't need 3-way calling, call-forwarding, caller ID, and whatever useless functions on there. Besides, with me using my cellie nearly 99% of the time, most of those features became expendable quickly.

Aside from long distance, out the door with them. And I've also downgraded my Blockbuster membership from the 3 movies out at any given time with unlimited store exchanges, to the option that offers a one for one for a great price of $5.99.

I drove Mimi's car to work a couple of times per week to save on gas. I've got a large SUV, and Ingrid consumes a nice sizeable amount of gas even when the prices are at $2.89 a gallon. Saving is saving. And I'm sure there's more to come in the upcoming months, but this is a start. oneSo faithful reader.

What are you doing to compensate for the financial tsunami that is going on out there? Are you making it, surviving or just trying to get over the hump on a slippery slope? Let me hear you. Cage from the bunker, out.

LE 184 - 10 HONEST things about Me

2008-10-12T23:37:00.003-04:00

Okay. I've had little time to blog lately, but during my breaks, I was forwarded lots of meme's and I've slowly began going through them one at a time. And here is one of them. There were certain rules that came with this meme, but they got to be a little restricted for me -lol- so I just decided to wing it and post it. Copy and participate if you'd like.

Here are ten honest things about the man you know as Mista Cage:

1) When I drive long distances, I have little regard for the speed limit. But let me have at least one passenger or a carload and all of a sudden, the speed limit becomes my best friend. Usually to my passengers' chagrin. It's very simple. When you get in my car, I am obligated to get you from point A to point B safely. Its not in my best interest to break the speed barrier.

2) With shame, I've unfairly leaned into my friends when they've gone drinking and got behind the wheel of a car to get home. I explain to them that I just don't want them to be on the wrong end of a drunk driving incident like the one that took my girlfriends' life. So much so, I've also told them if they do that, they shouldn't even tell me about it. I'm fine without knowing, because once I know, I am no longer in control of what comes out of my mouth.

3) How shallow can I get? I once didn't call a woman after a few months of dating because she continuously maintained an untidy home. Yeah, she was fine and yes she was fun to be around, but I'm a self-proclaimed neat-knack. And there's just no way that was going to work.

3) My wife has been away for 8 months. It's caused some friction, but not with her and I. But with my closest friends who feel I deserve better. I admire the fact that they are open about it, and can say some of the most difficult things for any friend to have to say to another. I'll always thank them for having my best interests in mind. But the person going through it (me) isn't as concerned. Naivette?

4) My best asset is my patience, but at times it has been a MAJOR liability.

5) I was hooked on pain killers a month ago for back problems. The bad thing is, I didn't stop abusing the self-medication because of what it was doing to me, but for what it was doing to someone else. THAT, got me to stop.

6) An exgirlfriend somehow got the address to my job and sent me 1 of 2 scathing letters (the other was an e-mail) because of what I can only sum up as a weird breakup that occurred over 17 years ago. I guess time doesn't heal all wounds after all.

7) A female blogger once faked being an anonymous commenter to send me a message in my comments section. I never revealed to her that I knew what she had done, but I thought it was cute, ultra-sexy and I was pretty flattered that she went through all of that to get her point across.

8) For some reason, I'm one of those people that folks want to tell me their most private affairs or business even though I'm very uncomfortable knowing them. Maybe its because I do not judge them for their actions. I don't know. The flip side to this coin is, I will still give them the best advice that I can give them if they so choose to hear it.

9) I once daydreamed about having a menage-a-trois with 2 of my female coworkers. I later told 1 of them. (snicker)

10) This year alone, I've had 4 dreams that involved Senator Barack Obama. The funniest one was when he smacked me across the face for not calling him President Obama because I simply called him Barack. He pulled me from my neck and did a Sylar and said, "THAT'S PRESIDENT OBAMA to YOU!!!" -lol

10) My neighbor across the street is showing signs of having the hots for me. Twice on Saturday she came by with 2 lame excuses just to get me to answer the door. She's obviously noticed that the wife is away too. Another Ms. Parker moment? Only time will tell.

-- did you notice that I had Two #3 and Two #10 entries?

LE 183 - Armadillo

2008-10-04T20:46:00.004-04:00

For most of my "young" life I watched others crumble when the crunch was on or when their personal "overload" light was flashing incessantly in the corner of their eye. Somehow, someway I found myself to be of another breed. The breed of man that took some of life's large and small obstacles in stride and regarded them as a constant challenge to succeed in spite of everything.

While others were thwarted by every unexpected turn of events, I took solace in knowing that life happens and the daily irritances and bullshittery was part of that life and how I dealt with it placed me in that box that was labeled "Only the Strong survive."

One would have to be strong nowadays. With the economy on the brink of snapping, the leader of the free world and his cabinet without a clue on how to pull out of the quagmire that is the mess in the middle east or even more domestic issues such as health care reform, loss of jobs, the mortgage crisis and the like, we my fellow bloggers are on the cusp of disaster. Yet, some of us find a way to make it to the next day with our mental faculties intact.

But lately, extricating myself from the fodder that is found on CNN and life's issues hasn't been so easy.

In fact, I've had to work quite hard at removing those constant irritations from my mind. And you know what? I don't even know what they are because most of it is coming from my subconscious.

Yes, the obvious is shaking a brotha to the core, but I'm not sure it's entirely just that. Or perhaps it is. It can be any of the very things that I suspect, or maybe none of them at all and something completely out there that I haven't even touched upon yet.

And with me, the unknown has always been scary. I'm looking at my personal body armor that is bearing the weight of constant assault from all of life's nonsense right now. Looking at it, I liken the stress to the tension of a violin string. One needs enough tension to make music but NOT so much that the violin string snaps y'know?

I know that most of my subconscious stress is not the grand result of great tragedies and the like, but rather a sad accumulation of a bunch of minor irritations that have grinded this brotha down the past few months. Yet, still I rise.

What I face now is the totality of these residual deposits building to a crescendo of some sort. And now, an uncontrollable power surge is building in me and a violent detonation is nearing epic proportions. And there's going to be one helluva big bang if I don't grab a handle on this soon. -lol- As you can see, meladrama hasn't abandoned me.

What has is my sleep. Sleep has been hard to come by for the better part of 7 months. I sleep for an hour, I'm up for 2 then get sleepy again just in time before I have to get up and go to work.

And at work, I'm alert enough to accomplish my job, sleepy on the drive home, on another level when I get home, and just in time to catch one of my programs or 2 before I have to try to go to sleep.

On the surface, I cannot tell what's been at the root of my sleep deprivation and unlike others who go through this, I'm not a walking zombie. I'm doing what I've always done even before the sleep issues began and very little about myself has really been altered except when I sleep at night, when I wake up, I feel as though I've slept hours. Even if only an hour or 2 has gone by.

Dreams, which I've always had trouble remembering, I'm recalling in vivid detail playing them back in my mind like a movie I've just seen. My doctor administered some pills, but I'm very hesitant to take them because I don't want to become dependant on them so I compromise and take only 1/2 of the pill.

Because after all, the great Dr. Cage knows better than the good ol' doctor. The heck with all of his PhD's and medical degrees huh? All I know is, this condition started in the spring and now we're in the fall. Will it drift into the winter? Only time will tell.

LE 182 - Musical Meme

2008-09-22T00:07:00.004-04:00

What's happening party people? Before things went severely wrong and fubar with my blogsite several weeks ago, I got tagged by my girl Ms Behaving to participate in the following meme...

If you've ever happened to stumble upon my Ipod (and some who will read this post have), you'll find that most of my songs are of the old school variety...like late 60's, 70's 80s and early 90s. There's a spatter of 2000-ish music, but they pale in comparison to their old school counterparts. So, with that little tidbit in mind, it'll help you understand the picks that resulted from my latest participation in this meme.

The rules are simple:
1. Put Your Ipod/mp3 player or whatever you rock that has this function on "Shuffle"

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT!!!

After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!

Now, feel free to vic this meme if you choose. I don't tag people so you'll just have to jump on this if you feel like doing so. And with that in mind, and disclaimers all out of the way and stuff, here we go!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?

Make Me Whole - Amel Larrieux
Thanks Val. You put me onto Amel Larrieux about 4 years ago. Your taste in music is impeccable.

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

You Got the Best of My Love - The Emotions
I leave the ladies strung out to the point that they are hitting the bottle. I'm not bs-ing!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

King of Sorrow - Sade
That Sade. She knows a little something about leaving folks strung out so I guess we both have a little in common. Although, I don't even know how that's suppose to describe what I like in girl, but we'll run with it.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

Stuck on You - Lionel Richie
Sometimes, the magnetism is so strong, even one as strong as Luke Cage is unable to break it. Heck, why would I want to huh? -wink

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?

Outta Control - Mobb Deep w/ 50 Cent
LOL! How fitting, because according to a few friends, this fits me to a tee!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

Addictive - Truth Hurts
I take the 5th!

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

Buffalo Gals - World's Famous Supreme Team
I love the Buffalo Gals. So rich and thick and chocolate!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?

If I can't Have you - Yvonne Elliman
I miss you and love you mom!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

Get Down On It - Kool 'n the Gang
Well, that's about right. I do wonder about that sometimes

WHAT IS 2+2?

Baby Doll - Tony! Toni! Tone!
I love the Three Teez! Music is definitely missing you guys.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Oh What a Night (1993) - Wyclef Jean
Ooooh shit! Even the year is on point!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Porn Queen - JoAnn Gray
Geez. Okay my friend JoAnn cannot see this post! HOw often does a friend's actual recording make it on a musical meme of mine? It's never happened. Perhaps the first and last time eh?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
Sometimes, with what comes out of my mouth and the thoughts I have, maybe I am on acid or something. NOT! This is all NACH-ER-AL!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Love Online - Guy
Inside joke, but someone knows exactly what this is in reference to.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Star of a Story - Grenique
2 scary entries in one meme. Now that's JUST not right. SECK-URR-iTEE!

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

SuperRappin' - GMFlash & the Furious 5
My Mom would totally agree... -smile

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?

Cryin' Overtime - Alexander O'Neal
Okay. As ms. Behaving would say, that's bad juju!

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa
God Willing! And leave the way I entered. In a paroxysm of fire and brimstone...

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation
*one raised eyebrow like the ROCK*

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

Where I'm From - Jay Z
Few people know that I'm actually from Brooklyn. Who'da thunk it?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Lady Don't Tek No - Latryx
Nothing wrong with a little tech no huh?

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?

Forever No More - Mary J. Blige
Now that I've started limiting my use of the words forever and never from my linguistics, how fitting that it's my girl Mary taking us home and out of this meme. See you soon troopers!

And don't forget... Are you ready for 3 hours of HEROES? TONIGHT! Season 3 begins!!!!

LE 181 - Never Gonna Give You Up!

2008-08-15T01:09:00.001-04:00

It's Friday and we made it. Have a great weekend family. I leave you with this! Barack, take us home...

LE 180 - How Ya Like Me Now?

2008-08-10T21:37:00.003-04:00

When I came back from Comic-Con a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a car in my parking space. My wife's car was in her space, but my space which should have been vacant wasn't. So I did what any ticked off coming back from out of town red-blooded cool hand Luke Cage would do.

I shamelessly boxed their asses in and had a devious smile on my face to boot while I did it. And for good measures, took out my digital camera and took a picture of the whole event. Now, if this was a first offense, I probably wouldn't have done it.

But in the past couple of months, my wife's car has been vandalized, tires slashed, rear windshield broken into, and trash placed in front of my house from my next door neighbors when they should have placed it in front of theirs. I guess there's a little bit of animosity floating around huh?

Well, enough of the nice guy shit. I'd just about had enough. In the end though, what I wasn't prepared for them to do was back up onto the sidewalk when one of the cars to the right had vacated their space. That gave this idiot the room for them to get out. Of course, I checked out my vehicle over just to make sure nobody had keyed Ingrid, or broken a glass or even punctured a tire.

All was well with my girl. But the culprit did get away. To my chagrin. Have you ever exacted a form of retribution upon someone when you felt that your personal space had been violated? (parking or otherwise of course)

And lookee here. Look what I got... finally, for your viewing pleasure. Bear in mind, I've taken better pictures folks, but this was the best of the worst. Hope you like!

And a rough weekend for the brothers:

LE 179 - the Blame Game

2008-08-03T06:25:00.002-04:00

It used to be that when things didn't go the way I planned, I found something or someone else to blame. Recently, one of my trips down memory lane took me to a point damn near 20 plus years ago. I was in the Army, and in basic training I was chosen to be platoon leader.

A nice honor of course, but nothing major. But here I was this city boy, still wet behind the ears and merely a month or so in the military, and my drill instructor appointed me platoon leader.

Anyway, we had this kid in our platoon. Reese something. He was this fat, gelatinous hulk of a young man and just repeatedly kept getting into trouble with the drill sergeant. Over and over again, he just kept on pushing the di's buttons, but it just wouldn't sink into his hard head that he needed to get his act together. Either that, or he just didn't understand the severity of his shortcomings and how it affected the platoon.

And the di did everything imaginable to this kid. Dusted him during pt, kept him out there longer doing grass drills, had him run up and down the steps for half an hour once and nothing. This kid just kept fugging up. Then one day, the di calls together myself and 3 other squad leaders. He told us that it was up to us, to straighten private Reese out and if we weren't successful, there would be dire repercussions.

I'm thinking, if he wouldn't listen to the drill instructor, what chance did we have? But from what I could see, the di leaned on him so bad, this kids self-esteem was just shot. If all this kid kept hearing, was the bellowing voice of the di time after time after time, I don't care who you are. That will get to you after awhile.

Maybe we could reach Reese another way. So I executed my Platoon leader privileges and passed everything down to my squad leaders to square this kid away.

We'll talk to him, we'll hear him out. And they would work with him. (notice how I said "they") In the end though, it turned out to be much more difficult than even we had imagined. Reese was a cross between that dude Private Pyle from the movie Full Metal Jacket and Gomer Pyle. Once you understand the meshing of those 2 characters, you'd get a gist of what we were facing with private Reese.

Ultimately, the squad leaders weren't successful. And the platoon continued to face the onslaught of a very angry drill instructor because of this. It didn't help when the platoon gave Reese a blanket party one night.

Seeing as I, the platoon leader and my squad leaders weren't able to change Reese's poor work ethic, and the di pointed the eye of his rage upon an unsuspecting platoon, the other members of B Battery had reached the end of their rope and took matters into their own hands.

The platoon often referred to me as a boy scout, and on one particular evening kept me out of the loop of a late night blanket party, an act that they knew I wouldn't have ever sanctioned regardless of the circumstances.

Even though I was out of answers, beating some kid into submission, to me anyway was not an answer. And they whooped that kids sorry ass that night. For those of you who don't know what a blanket party consists of, its when every member of the platoon, takes a bar of soap and puts it into a sock and pulverizes the intended victim. Reese was turned face down and held there by 2 platoon mates while members of Bravo Battery, nearly 30 strong took one shot apiece on Reese's back.

I wouldn't have been down with the beatdown, but I also did not stand up and try to stop it either. Part of me felt that he had it coming, but that didn't make it right. The next day, Reese bruised and battered along his spine and the back of his thighs, straightened up for awhile, but later succumbed back to his old ways. He was also told that it was in his best interest to keep quiet about the blanket party.

But before a week had passed by, the di took away my platoon leader status because I didn't stop the attack. I didn't face any disciplinary action, but secretly, I think most di's like the fact that some squad members take matters into their own hands and mete out their own brand of justice.

Quiet as kept, but he wasn't about to let that go by without some action being taken by my "lack" of action.

I never knew how the di found out, but someone had told him all of the details. And all 18 years old of my young self, blamed Reese for the loss of my platoon leader stripes. Even though, he really had very little to do with it.

I took a long hard look at myself and what role I played in this affair, and my mind just wouldn't allow me to shoulder the blame. I was trying to blame everyone BUT me over what had happened.

Truth was, by not attempting to stop the attack, nor making any progress on Reese's work ethic, I truly had nobody to blame but myself. And I knew this, but denial set in and I just wan't having it. And that mentality didn't sink in until I was in my mid-20's, some 7 or 8 years later.

Time after time, I could never accept my failures because I could NEVER OWN UP to them. But it was at that time, that I had an enlightening conversation that turned my destiny around.

One of my mentors, Mr. Groman told me he had had the same problem when he was young and insecure like I was. He explained to me that when you blame someone for your troubles or your short comings, you also look toward that person to make those troubles go away. It was one of the very few lessons that I didn't learn from my mother.

BUT, what IF that someone doesn't feel he or she is the cause of your troubles? Then some cat like myself will feel trapped in a sticky situation with no one to pull me out of it. That's when it hit me: When you cast blame, you disempower yourself and relinquish control of your destiny.

It's no wonder many of my plans backfired. After that conversation, I decided that instead of casting that long finger of blame, I would identify what I could have done better or differently to turn the tables in my favor. And I'd been deluding myself for an awfully long time y'all. Because there was so much muck and mire I had to navigate through. Both from my past and my present.

The responsibility for my success or failure in any given thing, regardless of what ever that thing may be, actually lied with me and the decisions I made. I try not to get caught up in the blame game.

I look towards myself FIRST when something doesn't go as planned and then I backtrack. Sometimes, I can narrow down the very moment where I messed up. And at other times, I see where it was truly the fault of someone else.

Today though, I find it so amazing, how many people will just not hold themselves accountable for the decisions they make. The constant harangue I hear levied at others for their own shortcomings can get tiresome. It's always someone else's fault. They are to blame. Not themselves.I mean, bearing the sole blame for what they weren't able to accomplish is never even considered. Not in the least.

"It's not my fault, it was her."

"It's not my fault it was him."

"I'm like this because of my childhood."

"My father/mother/et al. is the reason I am the way that I am."

Is that the case sometimes? Sure it is. But this is to the ones that use it as an escape. A means of absolving themselves of responsibility in something can be very daunting. After all, blame and denial can go a long way, so one should never underestimate the power of denial. There's a saying that goes: "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." -lol

Ever see someone come apart being their own guest of honor at their pity-party? It's both tragic and funny at the same time. That was me. I've been there before so I can see the signs when others are committing it. Low self-esteem and little self-confidence are breeding grounds for the blame game.

And from what I saw about myself and what I have learned in the years that I've been here is, one has to virtually LIE to themselves to not have confidence. Consider this.

You can't blame anybody but yourself when you have self-esteem and self-confidence, because they are both a function of the choices you make, NOT your past problems. Lack of confidence is a payoff and it's always a matter of choice. You have to CHOOSE to not have confidence. What you blame, you ultimately empower. It's really as simple as that.

LE 178 - '08 Comic Con Review

2008-07-30T05:15:00.002-04:00

Party people, what is the latest happening in your world? I have returned back from getting my annual geek on. Many of you know what the San Diego International Comic Con is, but there was actually people who attended who didn't know what it was. I mean, they knew that it had some reference to comics (hence the name), but the event now puts together most popular tv shows, along with their stars and creaters, while hob-knobbing with their fans and viewers. Plus, it's also when brand new, fresh news and premieres are shown wayyy ahead before the actual telecast.

This years con was truly jam-packed full of juicy tidbits for us fanboys and fangirls along with movie buffs alike, which I will share with you fine folks.

Here were my pros and cons of this years San Diego Comic Con. I don't know if there's usually a theme for most of the cons as this is only my second one, but this years focus seemed to be aimed at lovers of the vampire movies. I didn't attend any of these forums, but TWILIGHT, True Blood, Lost Boys: The Tribe, and even references to the now defunct CBS television show Moonlight were all mentioned or had their own panels. And I learned a new term: Do you know what you call women who absolutely go gaga and lust after vampires? Fangbangers. I'm not making this shit up! -lol

Being a huge fan of the genre myself, the only reason I didn't attend any of these panels were because of the conflicts presented by the scheduling guys. Although I've held it against them before, and others who attend the cons have too, I'm sure alot of the schedulers face tremendous hurdles trying to not mix up the panels and have them go head to head against each other. But I figure it must be pretty hard to do that.

Although it did seem as though they did a much better job this year in pulling it off, there were still some panels that I would have liked to have been a part of and was not able to attend. But before I launch into that, I'm going to get into my one pet peeve that seemed to keep repeating itself over and over again. And moms, don't jump on me for this.

I begin this part as I begin every comment I have regarding children. I AM NOT A FATHER, and obviously NOT a parent, so maybe I do not understand it. But as adorable and beautiful as they are, as soft-skinned and innocent to the world as we've come to know them, my love for these little tykes takes a direct hit on the chin when I hear them crying.

Crying and crying LOUDLY!!!! And I don't mean crying in a supermarket, or crying in the street, or even in the video store. But crying loudly at a Comic Con panel. Crying right through the middle of the questions. Crying right through the middle of the answers. Crying right throughout the interview, or preview, or clip, or intros, or... you get the point.

And you know what? They are acting the way they should be acting. Babylike. That's what babies do, that's how we've come to know them. But, I can't hold them accountable. I blame the parents. Yes, YOU! I sat next to a woman who had a 2 month old with her. 2 months! You brought a 2 month old child to this 50,000 people in one building venue? I'm not sure, but that sounds like some form of child abuse no? Am I wrong for feeling like this?

I mean, Comic Con has certainly provided an interesting insight into the minds of some of the individuals who attend these events. From the costumes, to the geekness factor, to the nerd in us just trying to bust out. But that's expected. Crying babies aren't. The parents of younger children strike me as completely selfish individuals. I truly mean this.

And selfish not just because of their disregard for the people around them who have to suffer the cries of their baby, but for their children, who probably don't understand much of the adult content on show or don't like the loud noises pumped out to show them.

The sound systems in some of these panels were deafening. Terminator: Salvation comes to mind. Thank goodness that trailer was only 4 minutes long and not an entire movie. Then again, the Heroes Season 3 90-minute episode was loud too.

And here brings the crux of my problem. A parent should not be bringing their babies, their toddlers, hell, they shouldn't even be bringing their 4 year old to an event like this. That's why places like Sesame place and Chuck E. Cheese exist. They are for the little ones. These events are for us nerds and geeks, and fans of these kinds of events who do not have kids and those among us who do have them and do not subject the lot of us to constant crying through a program we waited impatiently all summer to attend.

And this one just baffles the ever-loving shit out of me. The total and blatant disregard from these same parents for US, the public who they are sitting so painfully close to is staggering. They are completely unfazed. Instead of removing themselves and the poor crying baby from the venue, which would be the right and noble thing to do, they let the baby cry and then continue to watch the screen. And that was like 50 feet away. The 2 month old that I was sitting next to got wound up one time and went into a 5 minute crying spell which is like forever, before the husband took the baby from her and left the panel during the Heroes season 3 episode.

Please, have a heart and leave the poor babies where they belong. At home. With Grandma, an aunt, an uncle or someone. Any place but HERE! 'kay. I'm done. And I hope I didn't offend anyone.

NOW, on to the con.

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN?

(I've always loved this phrase)

Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real, Richard Nixon is president (that's right) and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (the Doomsday Clock is at five minutes to midnight).

It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. The beauty of Watchmen is that although they are depicted as superheroes, they are real people who must confront ethical and personal issues. When I first saw Heroes, I thought that the Watchmen may have been a big inspiration behind the tv show. I'm not alone in thinking this.

Because the Watchmen have problems just like the common man. Neuroses, hangups, and failings, and with one very notable exception, the lack anything recognizable as real super powers. So, this movie is an adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's limited series comicbook from the 80's and is directed by Zack Snyder. Remember him? He made this little movie called 300 last year. It was one of the most talked about panels at Comic Con.

I didn't get into this panel as it ran parallel to another one I attended. But here's a youtube clip of the trailer. I'm in line to see it next winter. Bet on that.

The Big Bang Theory

My girl Jaine Blaize put me up to this lil comedy last year and I've been hooked ever since. It's actually right up my alley. 4 geeks who do nothing but rant about geek stuff. And what a great venue this is for this kind of comedy. You know what would be cool? If they had an episode of the 4 geeks attending a Comic Con. I think that would be pretty fly. This panel was fantastic.

And there was something cool about knowing that the stars actually hang out together when they are off the set. In fact, they rented a boat and sailed around San Diego the day before the Con. I like that.

I recall during the Q&A session, it was revealed that some fans actually write the show's producers and writers and voice direct complaints if one of the actors happen to get something scientifically wrong. (if you've watched the show, you'll see how much scientific stuff is hurled around between the characters in every episode)

However, they do have a consultant that fact checks some of the stuff they mention. When the cast was asked if they feel any smarter now than they did when the first season began, I believe it was the character Sheldon who mentioned that they are just as dumb as they have always been. A truly fun and funny panel! And even more than that, I'm looking to a funny 2nd season. Big Bang Theory comes on CBS on Tuesday evenings.

Stargate Atlantis

When it comes to science fiction conventions you can always tell the difference between those panelists who are newbies and those who are veterans. As soon as the panelists for Stargate Atlantis (next to Battlestar Galactica, this is my favorite sci-fi show on tv) took their seats you could tell that they were all seasoned veterans of the convention universe.

They were relaxed, had fun with each other, and had fun with the audience. Combine those elements together and it makes for an entertaining hour and gives you a sense that they are talking to YOU... um, despite the 4000 other people in the hall. :)

There weren't many new bits of information that came from this panel that hadn't already been mentioned during the Robert Picardo phone conference a few weeks back on Sci-Fi. Yet, there were still some interesting pieces of information about the stars, the writers, and some behind the scenes items.

Joe Flanagan is as cool on the panel as he is on the show as Sheppard. And there was great banter between newly instated actress from last season Jewel Staite (remember her from FireFly) and Robert Picardo. Sorry Blaizie. No Jason Momoa. (wink) Maybe next time. Stargate Atlantis airs on the Sci-Fi channel on Friday evenings. Yes!

Battlestar Galactica

You know what? I would comment on this panel, but I won't yack too much other than to say, that it was a great panel moderated by the fantastic Kevin Smith. I wish all the panels had a guy like him moderating. Now, I shouldn't have been able to get into this panel, but a carefully positioned rest room, that split up a very long line waiting to get into this forum made for my accidental melding into the line for Galactica, and the next thing I know, I'm heading into the BSG forum. heeheeheee...

Chance favors the prepared mind. Remember you heard it from your boy Cage! But here's the entire forum on video. Go here and enjoy BSG heads! http://video.scifi.com/player/?id=279928

Chuck Vs.

Unlike most panels at this year's Comic-Con, Chuck vs. Season 2 panel revealed a significant amount of upcoming secrets and plot points for its second upcoming season. YESSSS!!! Um.. just one thing.

I don't watch this program -lol- it's like a cross between La Femme Nikita or Alias depending on who you talk to mixed in with a little bit of Get Smart. I guess. All this from the hour long panel I happened to sit in on. But it was enjoyable and the fans love these folks. Especially Adam Baldwin who plays the hard ass KC. Or is it Casey. Heck I don't know.

It's not my kind of show, but it did intrigue me enough to "possibly" check it out and if I end up liking it, then I'll rent the first season and check it out. But I only sat on this panel because if I came later, I would miss the panel for:

Fringe

LOL! Okay, so you know this is a new series created by JJ Abrams right? The nerd that created LOST? I have to say, I was totally disappointed by this panel. Remember last year when I was upset with the Rob Zombie: the Halloween retooling panel? Well, it seems like I'm back. And to make matters worse, make sure you read my LOST panel later in this post. JJ Abrams sickness spreads to his writers on that show too.

Here's what I came away with. This panel was in the 2nd largest sized conference room in the building, but as I looked around, it barely filled to maybe 1/2 capacity and really, not really a line to navigate through. Heck, there was nothing of substance revealed through the Q&A session either which leads me to this. Was it put together at the last minute?

When the panelists came out, they weren't sure where to sit. They were all over the place. The moderator comes out, then goes behind screen and a woman comes out to introduce the moderator. Huh?

Then when the episode started, it stopped because of lack of sound. Then once the show got going, there were at least 2 periods where the thing stopped right in the middle of key scenes. I should have left with the other folks who began leaving in the middle of the program. What a mess this was.

Hmm. I just didn't get it. I mean, this is one of the most anticipated new shows coming out in the fall and it seemed so poorly put together. But it does involve JJ Abrams and so, I guess I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but I was looking forward to the panel and came away rather disappointed. Note to you guys, the pilot they showed did show promise.

But I think we were fed some b.s., and I bet this won't be the version that airs on Fox in September. Remember I told you this. But like I said. There were rumors that the pilot was leaked online and on top of that, those rumors also include the leaks are by JJ Abrams himself to throw the fans off. I believe this. But truthfully, this was a waste of an hour.

LOST

And that is what our favorite tv show has become. Lost, and not yet found- or at least this weekend's past convention presentation had become just that. Lets be real folks. Comic Con is generally considered to be an opportunity for inventive people to provide an exciting look (even if it's the most limited look ever) at a new film or television series and its season.

In many cases, the studio's and networks delivered (Heroes, Chuck Vs., Big Bang Theory, etc) , providing an exciting peek at what fans can expect. Equally, the same studios and networks have done their bit in providing a great cast and list to attend the event. Heroes were brilliant in this regard (wait for it, it's coming. I saved the best for last), providing almost all their key cast members. LOST however, was the complete polar opposite.

Then again, it is another series created by that nerd JJ Abrams. Now, citing their filming schedule as a reason for the lack of attendee's (so they say) and despite the filming's not starting for another three weeks, the only actor to make it was Matthew Fox.

And while I like mr. good ol' "I'll get you off the island and stay with me if you want to live" and his not to shabby and undoubtable acting talent, his answers were very bland and he just doesn't whip up the kind of storm needed to carry the fans through a session.

Equally, in terms of providing an insight into the next season, this shit was a complete failure. While the Lost people can be proud for trying to make do with nothing, they really did fail and fail terribly. What resulted was an hourlong and disappointing, longing feeling, that Cuse and Lindelorf couldn't answer many of the questions, they didn't provide any genuine insight into what to expect in season five, and they didn't provide any other actors to get things going.

Sighhh... it was a real shame, because they could and should have taken greater advantage of the opportunity bestowed upon them. If you're keeping track, that's 2 hours I lost (pun intended to a JJ Abrams program) which brings me to the crown jewel of the panels I attended which was:

HEROES

Ahhhh. Now THIS is what a panel is supposed to be like. Remember last year when I told you guys we got on the Heroes line and never even sniffed the panel room... well, guess what? I started out even FARTHER this year because I wasn't even inside the building.

The line snaked all the way outside, down the street, around the corner, beneath an overpass, near the loading dock of the convention center, before I ever got on the line. I swear to you this is the truth.

I took my cap off and had about an inch of sweat filling up the inside liner of my Yankee hat. I was like, I must be crazy to be on this line. But, the beauty of this was, for 1, it was only 8:15a.m., nearly 2 hours before the event would begin and #2, that particular ballroom hadn't opened up yet which meant if that hall sat 6500 people, I knew I had to be somewhere in the top 1/2 of that total amount and they hadn't begun sitting anybody one yet. So, I was in business.

And in no time, sure enough, I was inside. Wow! With about 3,000 plus seats to spare behind me. How cool is that? Getting up early DID have its privileges. Now, this is the ONLY warning I am going to give here. I will be letting loose the spoilers so if you read something here regarding Heroes, and you didn't want to read about it, kindly leave or forever hold thy tongue.

The catch phrase of season 3 is: VILLAINS and the season 3 opening episode was titled, the Second Coming. That's right. The piece written by Yeats. Remember when I blogged about this some time back. Go Here for that post. So here's what we find out in the opener of Season 3:

You know what? I've posted it in a separate blog page altogether. If you're interested in the Season 3 summary, here's the link. HEROES: SEASON 3: VILLAINS. Have a great read. It's a fine episode. Hope the rest of the season follows suit.

LE 177 - 2008 SD ComiCon

2008-07-24T08:20:00.002-04:00

I'm off to the West Coast and will be back early next week family. And like last year, I will bring back all of the great news and report the fun I had out in San Diego. Stay blessed and have a great week. And visit periodically too. I just may post all the way from the con. Be back soon party people!

LE 176 - Everybody Loves Grandmom

2008-07-20T16:00:00.006-04:00

Even as a little boy, the best thing I liked about my grandmother was her soft, squishy, plump lap. I would start running towards her from about 15 - 20 feet away, leap and land into her legs. She would groan under my weight as I settled in and leaned back onto her stomach, but as she wrapped her chocolate arms around me, I would feel the somewhat loose flesh of her neck on the side of my face. I can't remember a time when my grandma was not soft and comfortable.

To me, she was someone who made yummy things to eat (the best double-layered chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes in creation made out of 1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut!) and beautiful braids when she worked on my sisters' hair intricately weaving these lovely patterns in them. It didn't do much for their looks, but their hair was steeee-riking! -lol

I especially loved it when Grandmom had the gumption to yell at my mother and sometimes my older sisters when siding with me and my little brother on numerous occasions. Man, I got a kick out of that. It didn't happen often, but when it did, I reveled in it. But good ol' grandmom had a dark side too, but we won't get into that now.

There was always been something so absolutely calming in staring at the face of someone that has been through a whole life and has come out at the other end of it without frayed edges and with her center intact, even when my grandfather passed on quite some years ago.

And as a man, who one day longs to be a grandfather himself (how I plan to pull this off without any kids of my own is beyond me), I shall count myself incredibly lucky if I could achieve a semblance of the kind of relationships she had with her grandchildren and the comfort they felt in her skin too.

Today, my grandmother has been calling home one of those assisted living / convalescent spots up in Jamaica, NY and I have not been a good grandson. Because I haven't been up there since last year and I have absolutely no excuses.

Sure, I've been working twice the amount of hours, and I'm pretty tired when I come home and Ingrid absorbs awhole lot of regular unleaded fuel and blah, blah, blah.. you know, I can make up a whole slew of excuses but none of them are justified. I need to get my ass up north and I can't do it soon enough.

Have you ever had a weird sense of dread that there is some impending doom or some calamity waiting to happen? Morbid, I know but I've been having these weird feelings lately that time is running out and I just have to take care of things. Not time running out on me personally, but on others before I get to say certain things or do some things for them. Just been surrounded by death alot lately.

I don't know. At the top of the month, I went down to visit my mother's grave. A sudden trip to Florida planned just a few days before I took off. I had everyone in my family tripping out on the suddenness of my jaunt which isn't so much of a surprise given my Gemini background. But I had this burning desire to just go down there and visit her and so I did it.

And now I want to see my grandmother too. At the top of '08, I planned out my year up until the end of July and some things got added on along the way. And with this weekend's upcoming trip to San Diego, everything has gone off so far without a hitch. (we'll see how things went when I come back from the west coast)

So now it's time for me to plan my addendum for the latter part of the year and make it happen. First order of business, will be to go up north. Here's to you grandmom. I'm coming soon.

Countdown: 4 days until:

Oh... and before I forget...

This movie was unfriggin' believeable. Wanna know the signs of a good movie? When the folks are clapping throughout, are sorely entertained and give the movie a standing ovation at the end. That's whats up. Whatever price your movie theatre is charging, it will be well worth the price of admission!

LE 175 - Love Knows No Limits

2008-07-14T01:42:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I've been going through a few things the past month or so involving loved ones who are sick, and friends with family members who have passed on or who are facing only a little bit of time in their lives.

This was sent to me by a close friend and I wanted to share it with my blog family. (I've been a bit of a YouTube whore the last couple of months and my favorites library has grown extensively) Yeah, it's sappy but I figure for about 2 minutes and 28 seconds, we can use a little bit of an escape from the harsh grip of reality. Enjoy my friends. Be back soon.

LE 174 - Your Approval Isn't Needed

2008-06-29T05:58:00.000-04:00

Some of my friends have asked me how is it that I got into the unglamorous existence that is the business world. You know the scene. Offices, cubicles, IT department, admin, business trips that kind of thing.

They say this of course knowing my background is so heavily grounded in art. They say I should be working in a kiosk of some kind in a mall, or drawing out of either my own business or a budding artist in someone elses establishment. Word to the uninformed. I make a lousy business man, so my working for someone else, would probably be my best bet. (smile) And do you know what? I agree with them.

How did my life take this awkward turn in this direction? This direction of course being an employee in a corporate office. I look at it this way. I love my art, but in no way would that condone parlaying my financial obligations.

A brotha's got to pay the mortgage which means I would have to work and earn money someway until that day arrives where I can do my artwork for a living. Other than that, to answer the question above would probably be my lack of application.

You see, for me it's always been about the art. Not the dollar signs. Just the art. Just the "art magnifico." (an ode to my boy Ryan) Consider that the existence of "the" artist has long been
romanticized and debunked, portrayed in turn as full of glamour, inner torment, living the high life but yielding low fortunes.

Although this is not true about me, I once told my brother artist in crime King that this probably hits closer to home for him. He is an artist who finds it difficult to complete his work, yet I have the opposite problem.

I can totally NOT lose focus on the current picture, yet can expand my mind to the point that I'm thinking about the next project before the former is completed. A mentality I also wield in my dealings of every day life as well. King says I have a "lucky" ability. One that allows me to be able to do this flawlessly without the high expenditure of brain power-lol- I say: Bah! There is no such thing as luck my peeps.

There is no external, omnipotent force that can make anyone successful nor make them lucky. Success, as cliche as it sounds, comes with hard work, dedication, determination, sacrifice and faith in yourself.

I wish I could tell y'all that there is, but there's no magic potion or spell. I'm a hard worker. Everything I've got that I wanted, I worked hard to get. I remember when I couldn't airbrush or couldn't oil paint. I taught myself with hours and hours of practice. Long and deep into the night, there I was practicing away.

That's the sacrifice. Bypassing sleep to embrace my love of art. I don't know about you guys, but there's nothing glamourous about losing sleep. And last time I looked, I definitely wasn't living the high life either.

As a little kid, when I did something wrong, my mother would not punish me by hitting me or banishing me to my room to go think it over. Nor did she commit this generations solution to punishing a child; the timeout.

She would take away my pencils, my crayons, my drawing paper or anything else that had to do with art away from me. The longer I was away from my utensils, the more detached from it all I became. And I would wail like a banshee when she did this.

Sometimes the punishment lasted days. And a little boy was dying. I had to either clean up my act fast, or continue to be tortured by my own flesh in blood to what I can only compare to a punishment worse than death.

And while I am an astoundingly prolific painter and artist, I do fit that picture of the struggling black artist who supported himself in the business world and played artist on the side.

Hard to believe that something I love to do so much, is actually the side venture that provides my supplemental income. Its not the way I pictured life turning out of course, but what did I do to apply myself to make it turn out differently?

My mom once told me find something that you love to do, and discover a way to make money from it. She was on point with that statement, except while the money was good when I painted for income, it simply wasn't a driving force behind my art. I simply loved doing it. So my business sense was warped early.

Thus, the weird, geeky, introverted and shy young man that attended high school in the Bronx's own Evander Childs High School, got older, my persona started to change. I became a bit of a flake. A good guy and very harmless, but a flake just the same you know?

And I think that this persona, this wildly motivated, runny mouthed kind of guy that emerged from this 16 year old cocoon, I think that sometimes that persona had really gotten away from me. At times, I had difficulty reigning it in. Life it seems, was not without a bit of irony.

I looked at life as a canvas, and my paints, utensils and other crafty materials were there for me to aid me in my construction of my life. To paint this picture to those that were within eyesight to see it. When that picture wasn't to my liking, I would just change it and start again.

Whether you call it fixing, altering, adjusting, etc., there was a change of some sort taking place. And my artwork actually served as a metaphor of sorts for the way I looked at my personality.

When my artwork evolved, so did my personality. And while my artwork style grew, my personality seemed to change also. I'm not bigheaded when it comes to my artwork. There is so much more for me to learn.

But I am bigheaded regarding myself at times and come off as a bit of a prude. "That's just the way Frank is" I recall someone saying once. I am that guy.

On Monday morning, I'm that guy who is smiling early in the a.m. greeting some of my coworkers when I see them entering the building or when I'm passing them in the hallway. I'm that guy who'll ask you how was your weekend and really mean it instead of the question serving as a footnote to accompany the good morning greeting.

I'm that guy who won't take it personally when someone snaps at me. (it helps if you consider that you are unaware of what that person may have gone through before they saw you. Sometimes its not you that they are upset with)

And I'm that guy who'll tell you come on, it's not that bad or tomorrow will be better. The last part, to my dismay, I was told that some people hate that. And not hate it because I say it. Merely the fact that to the person going through whatever it is that they are going through, the perception that is given is that it inadvertently simplifies their issues.

That a simple, "it'll be okay" may not be the most popular thing to say at that moment. Sometimes things won't be okay. Not for a long time either.

What I've come to realize now in my young age is that some folks do need to kind of detox on their own time and are not necessarily looking for a pep talk or some veil pick me up pseudo line. So I did what I do often when I feel I can change something about me. I take it back to basics.

The crafty artist in me had to add new colors into the mix and redo the palette some and add it to my canvas. This wasn't an overhaul. But I realized that I also had to tread carefully tinkering around with this. Saying something like I said, even if my heart was in the right place could be as disastrous as simply staying quiet and not say anything at all. Welcome to my world.

Some artists can find it difficult to level the demands of daily life with the voices of their artistic muses. I find myself to be an exception. Even though at times, perhaps what is most heartbreaking is that I know full well the damage I can inflict on others and myself just by opening my mouth.

Because one thing I know, all the weaknesses, all the faults I have, I am perfectly aware of. But, I also know my worth to people as well. And because what I'm worth greatly outnumbers all of my faults, then I say, leave well enough alone. And don't change shit as my brother is fond of saying to me.

There is a connection that is way past coincidental when it comes to the comparison of my art and my life. How weird I pick the projects that I do, or how weird how I talk and relate to that certain kind of someone. Not too long ago, I heard one of my friends say, "ooh Frank! Why are you like that?!" I told her, I'm me and I'm an artist. I'm weird in 2 different aspects so maybe that's whats up.

The other evening, while doing a meme that TikiDoll dropped on me, I came across this song in the trusty ipod.

And how strange I came across it as I was doing this post. I've followed the lyrics and loved the flow of the song from the turn of the century sometime, and you know it pretty much described how I saw life in general. It helps also that I'm a JBJ fan.

Life, contrary to public opinion, is simple, but not easy and as long as you keep that in mind every single step of the way, you'll be fine. I'm not saying that every problem can be solved by just saying some positive words and they magically disappear. Trust me, I know all too
well that's not the case.

But, if one does themselves a favor and keep an open mind and attitude, nothing will break you enough so you are not able to dust yourself up and keep kicking ass. Possibly a very naive and practical way of looking at things, I know. And this attitude makes me a blessing to some and an irritance to others.

People come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Personalities included. The thought of us having things in common with our neighbor, our significant others or a potential love interest seems to be at the forefront of many people's minds nowadays. I have no problem with that. But I want more. I'm attracted to people who are vastly different than I am.

Where I have very little in common with, but by getting to know them they can help me expand my horizons. Trying things I've never done before or considering thoughts I would otherwise have not considered before.

As for me pilgrims, I'm an acquired taste and I know I'm not made for everyone. But I do like it here, and here is my state of mind and nobody is going to disrupt that. Either love me or leave me alone.