Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving should be about celebrating this great country and families.  We should be enjoying family and friends while consuming tasty food and drinks.  Instead, the day has become a day of record profits for companies.  Companies are opening those stores on thanksgiving day to give us the opportunity to spend money we don't have.  Thanksgiving is no longer about family it is now a marketing campaign to get us to the stores a day sooner for monetary things that are meaningless.  Thanksgiving is a time to come together and focus on the ones we love.  This priceless and no sale is worth giving up that.  Please consider that before you walking into those stores that forces employees (employees that won't be with their families) to work on the day that celebrates the coming together of family.

second layer of the fourth poster, hope to be done soon and will post the final poster and the poem.

 These will be the before pics.  Finally getting the time to put together my darkroom with great guidance and mentor ship from Ruthie.  I hope to be printing in 2013.

 So picked up a Conley panaromic slash cabinet card camera from a friend.  Everything works though the bellows is shot.  I will be restoring it over the next few years.  Will keep this up to date with the progress.

This election

Over the past few months, I have read several comments about how a candidate's comments offend them and that is why they are voting for Obama or Romney.

I'm offended by the rational that few words gives a person clarity of whom they choose to run our country for four years. Are we really that shallow? Nobody will ever say the right thing all the time.

I would hope people will consider that possibility that no one will always have the right answer. However if you believe that one candidate values align with yours best then maybe you can ignore a few mid steps along the way to Nov 6.

Statements that make you wonder.

That was, (Paul Ryan) he said, "to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old — and I know that we are ready. Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment: to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words. After four years of getting the runaround, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Gov. Mitt Romney."

The statement was made at the RNC yesterday. I was taken aback by this and other statements he said during his speech. I thought we all were Americans and that we all want the best for America.

The Valley

Oprah made a comment about the negative press that she received about her network. She said ( I'm paraphrasing) "that you can't always be on the mountain top. You have to go into the valley sometimes to bring you closer who you are meant to be.". What does that mean to me. I have been diagnosed with MS. Who the fuck am I meant to be!!!!!!

Independent thought

Today I was reading a message board that were talking about the political issues of the day.  The thing that I found out today while reading the message board is that people are so easily lead astray.  Why are  people so mailable?  I am dumbfounded.  People really believe without protest what they here in the media. People will say verbatim what they hear in the media and make it gospel.  It is reprehensible!!!

yeah

The truth

When did we stop caring about? Fill in the blank.

New Poster is finally out.  It has been a long time coming, we have had a lot of hiccups this past year and have a few more to over come.

plastic poetry

when I say can’t, you say stop

when I say hip, you say hop

cant stop

hip hop

last night a DJ saved my life

last night my wife said its time to update to an MP3 player

I have hundreds of cassette tapes I still like listening too

I knew one day I would have to throw away those memories

those plastic cases of poetry

plastic poetry that held joy and pain

sunshine and rain

I used to listen to Rob base and DJ Eazy Rock every day

play another slow jam, that was my slow jam

I would run home every day after school to listen to plastic poetry

poetry was music back in the day

like I’m bad by LL Cool J

or, or, when I’m alone in my room, sometimes I stare at the wall and in the back of my

mind I would hear my conscience call, tellin’ me I need a girl who is as sweet as a

dove and for the first time in my life I see I need love

or like music back in the day

like my posse’s on Broadway

Kid-N-Play

she wore a raspberry beret

Jam Master Jay and Run DMC with walk this way

let the music play and you won’t get away

NWA, it’s all about pullin’ that GTA

RFTW, Ready for the World with digital display

look at all these rumors surrounding me everyday

Marvin Gaye, the way he took the stage

and the way he played and played and made history

the Commodores sang, Marvin, Marvin

he was a friend of mine

his heart in every time

man, the way they danced and sang

Kool and the Gang

Mary Jane Girls

ring my bell

Bell Biv Devoe

mr. telephone man

Boyz-2-Men

you remember when

UTFO made Roxanne, Roxanne

and Roger and Zapp, I wanna be your man

The Gap Band

Marky Mark

Biz Markee

Fab 5 Freddy

Beastie Boys

Chuck D and Public Enemy

EPMD and PM Dawn

Wolf man Jack

Dr. Dre and Ed Lover with Yo MTV Raps

The Huggy Boy Show

3 buffalo girls go round the outside, round the outside

Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew

Too Short

Luther and the 2 Live Crew

from Electric Bugaloo

to Electric Avenue

to Beat Street, king of the beat, rockin’ this beat up and down the street

no parkin’ baby, no parkin’ on the dance floor

sometimes I rhyme slow, sometimes I rhyme quick

Rick James

Slick Rick

DJ Quick

Herbie Hancock with Rockit

Parliament

Arrested Development

jam on it, because when I was a little baby boy, my momma gave a brand new toy, 2

turntables with a mic and I learned to rock like

MC Lyte

Salt-N-Peppa

Dee-lite

and Rapper’s Delight

Michael Jackson was Thrillin’

and Ice-T was cop killin’

please Hammer don’t hurt em

and then, and then

The Fat Boys broke up

word up, W.O.R.D. up

and the beat goes on

and the beat goes on

when I say can’t, you say stop

when I say hip, you say hop

thank you for sharing those memories with me

and thank you for sharing plastic poetry with me

can’t stop, hip hop        

It started out as any other day, grabbed my lunch pale and CD’s and threw them on the front seat of the company truck.  Gotta three hour drive n front of me.  I gotta CD las night, Several Other Sounds by Cap Gun Quartet + 4, from a poet, Mr. Michael Wurster, featuring him an Ms. Romella Kitchens.  Headin north on 28, I put n the CD, turn it up an roll down the windows.  Each note reminded me of why I like music, the way it uses me, each song like a sound track to a movie I wanted to write.  I played that CD over an again the entire drive, my mind dropping fast, dripping poems.  My day ended, different than most, changed, a pen and paper in a hotel room, the ink as close to the page as poetry is to my heart, a John Deere tractor an a cap gun in the Congo. 

I emailed Ms. Romella Kitchens the next day to let her know her voice is art, it is especially kind and caring.  She invited me to contribute to The White Gardenia Press.  What an incredible honor and an incredible Press.  I went to check out the press an she had already posted a bit about our emails and the invitation to contribute to the press.  This is what real hip hop artists must feel like, the ones who don’t get the radio play, the ones who love it for lovin it sake, I am humble an appreciative, Ms. Romella Kitchens and The White Gardenia Press, Thank you.

“The Press is to showcase those who reach out to others through their words.”  Ms. Romella Kitchens embodies this.

Please take your time an visit The White Gardenia Press.

http://romellakitch.wordpress.com/

I read the comments on a person's writing work about a month ago. I accept constructive criticism and do appreciate any feedback though when a person is being overly critical I may not see what that person is really trying to convey. A person was being very critical almost on the side of being very mean towards the person and work that I read. Another person posted a comment I thought was a great piece of advice. The advice works in real life as well as leaving comments for people because their is a fine line between helping and hurting, between regretting what you have said and what you didn't say. There are 3 questions that I am know asking myself:

1.) Is it truthful?
2.) Is it helpful?
3.) Is it kind?

I also try to differentiate between it being the truth and truthful, or full of truth, not just my truth as well as helpful, or full of help. I understand some truths and some help hurt though they are meant out of kindness. These are just my thoughts for the day.

"I miss you so much," she remembers the softness of his voice as she grabs a pot of coffee. Faith is a waitress at a midnight diner on the corner of Main and Lexington. She is Demolition Debbie on Saturday. Most of the locals picture her in a bathing suit and a checkered flag, most of the truckers remember her as a cute smile. All the busboys call her Mom. Syd is tattoos, white t-shirt, blue jeans, jean jacket and a short order cook. Demolition Debbie calls him Demolition Daddy on Saturdays. They both love their son Kyle. Kyle was a bus boy at the midnight diner at the corner of Main and Lex. Kyle loved bottles in brown paper bags and hand rolled cigarettes. Faith and Syd love each other on the weekends and try to make a living most days. Kyle died about 1982 or so, huffing gold paint out of a Kentucky Fried Chicken bag. On Sundays after church, they visit his marker, Syd says, "I miss you so much."