Up the drain

For some reason, this week has been CRAZY at the facility. There is so much to worry about and so much to take care of! I refuse to let it completely defeat me. I adore my job but the organization here can be a little sketchy here at times.

Just to give you some idea, here is a true story that happened to me yesterday. After I practically ran out of school about 4:30pm yesterday, I got into my car and went to Publix because I was out of yogurt and Slim Fast. After meandering around the aisles and imagining how yummie waffles would be, I bought my Slim Fast, yogurt, ok and some sherbet too, and left. I took my rainbow reusable bags out to my car with my Slim Fast 12 pack and I drove away.

I was flipping through a playlist I had made and I decided I wanted to hear “2 of America’s Most Wanted” by Tupac and Snoop Dogg. As I turned it up loudly, I rolled the windows down and came to a stop surrounded by many other cars as we all approached the light at 51st St W and Cortez Rd. Just then, a stereotypical looking snowbird couple in a silver minivan pulled up next to me and the female rolled down her window. “Excuse me, ma’am” she said with a concerned look. “You have a SlimFast container on top of your car.”
“Thank you so much, ma’am. It’s been a long day.” I sighed too tired to even be embarrassed about my clueless error. I put my car in park and stepped out of my car in the intersection to notice all the people had been staring at me. “It’s been a long day.” I said to the woman who pulled up next to me following the silver van.
“I hear that.” She said sounding deflated.

It’s so weird that our society seems to need a collective mental health day. Everyone is has been burning the candle at both ends for so long that everyone seems so zoned out. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I wasn’t exhausted. I would just sleep more, but I have this irrational fear that I’ll never get to have fun if I sleep too much. It’s kind of weird.

I want to see some iPod or iTunes lists, people! I want to see what kind of random mess other people listen to!

Rie-peat

I’ve been thinking a lot about music lately. So I decided to post this, in all it’s odd, random glory…

The 23 most played songs on my iPod since between April 15 and today.

23) Little L – Jamiroquai
22) Once Again – Cypress Hill
21) As – Stevie Wonder
20) Da Rockwilder – Method Man & Redman
19) Get Em High – Kanye West ft. Talib Kweli & Common
18) Paul Revere – Beastie Boys
17) Good Day – Nappy Roots
16) The Watcher – Dr. Dre
15) You Give Me Something – Jamiroquai
14) Still Here – Girl Talk
13) Single Ladies – Beyonce
12) The World Is Yours – Nas
11) Get Loose – Lil Mama ft. Chris Brown & T-Pain
10) How Do You Want It – Tupac
9) Runaway – Jamiroquai
8) Forgot About Dre – Dr. Dre & Eminem
7) A Milli – Lil Wayne
6) N.Y. State of Mind – Nas
5) Blue Magic – Jay-Z
4) Fuego – Kumbia Kings
3) Black Republicans – Nas ft. Jay-Z
2) Got Yourself A Gun – Nas
1) Ella Me Levanto – Daddy Yankee

Please respond with your list… I am very curious to see other peoples’ lists!

Memory Lane

Today, like other days this week, was mostly a complete blur.  My head feels like the size of at watermelon and I feel like I am in slow motion.

I rearranged my classroom today, or rather what small amount of furniture I have, listening to Nas (big shocker.)  I really like Illmatic and Stillmatic a whole lot.  I still lack desks, chairs, a computer, a telephone, a whiteboard, a TV, a DVD player, and a camera.  All classes have to be recorded on video for security due to the nature of our program.  They have until Monday to get a camera put in…

In response to my friend Wes’ comment on my last entry, I think you’re right.  Nas’ new stuff isn’t good, it’s amazing.  I mean seriously.  What new *mainstream* rapper is saying anything intelligent, meaningful, or significant these days?  Shit, what mainstream rapper is saying anything other than a slight variation of “I want to fuck this bitch” or “I have a cubic fuckton of money, mang.”  If you know of anyone, I’d love to hear them. Seriously.

I could not agree more with the point Nas makes in the song “Hip Hop is Dead.”  As far as I am concerned, Nas helped reinvent the original point of hip-hop: a cathartic, raw, rhythmic way to express real feelings; not the new “snapping” of synthesized, meaningless, passionless shlack.  Like anyone still listens to Dem Franchise Boys.  Like anyone will give a crap about Soulja Boy in 2 years.  Rappers like the members of NWA, Tupac Shakur, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, Outkast, and Kanye West are *REAL* rappers and that is why they have and will continue to endure as rap icons.  They create funky rhythmic beats and lyrics WORTH buying and hearing over and over.  These men have creative talent and usually something to say aside from “She got a donk” or “Imma superman dat hoe.” 
This of course is not to say that none of the aforementioned rappers have never had a song or a lyric dedicated to the more materialist things, but that they have illustrated in many other songs that they have skills past repetative synthesized drudgery.  As Kanye says in “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” a song he made with Ludacris, “I always said if I rapped, I’d say something significant, but now I’m rappin’ about money, hoes, and rims again.”

The point, however, still remains that the best, most meaningful rap that has become “classic” are by and large passionate songs that tell of a personal struggle. Songs like Tupac’s “Changes,” Jay-Z’s “December 4th,” Outkast’s “West Savannah,” Kanye West’s “Home,” Eminem’s “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” and so forth are all very personal songs that have more to say than “crank that robocop.”

I am curious to hear other opinions on this matter.

Why *does* J call himself Hova?

Made You Look

They say I’m all about murder
murder and kill kill
But what about Grindhouse and Kill Bill?
What about Cheney and Halliburton?
The back door deals on oil fields?
How is Nas the most violent person?

- Nasir “Nas” Jones

Nasir "Nas" Jones, rapper, activist, bad ass

I really enjoy listening passionate people talk, which could perhaps explain why I have recently had an increased interest in Nas. I admire his conviction and the meaningful content of his lyrics, his recent work especially. His powerful, passionate rhymes really speak to me. I think a lot of people have a hard time hearing what he has to say because he talks about the violence and poverty that has become too common in American neighborhoods.

On July 24, he was on the Colbert Report where he talked about his ongoing feud with notorious conservative Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. Nas asserts that TV personalities on Fox, especially Bill O’Reilly, are racist and that racist comments and the promotion of stereotypes has to stop. Nas collected over 600,000 signatures on a petition to urge Fox to change.

Check out this video

Because he’d always wanted to.

I can’t say there is anything all that new to report.  My school is still in danger of closing and we still have no idea what is going on.  I still have not given up hope.  I hope for the girls’ sake that something good happens very soon.  They NEED this.

Recently, I watched a movie called “Danny Deckchair.”  It’s an Australian movie from 2003 where actor Rhys Ifans plays a happy-go-lucky cement truck driver who loves camping and has all sorts of silly ideas; including but not limited to tying a bunch of balloons to a deckchair and flying wherever the wind takes him.The most intriguing thing about Danny is that he is not the “run-of-the-mill” romantic comedy movie flirty hunk.  Danny has his own charm and he is fiercely himself.  He has unique interests and beliefs that, throughout the course of the film, prove to be the most important thing to him.  Danny dares to be himself and break the mold of the boring male love interest.His actions in the film inspire other people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. 

There is one line that I feel humorously encapsulates the film’s purpose.  A newscaster reporting about Danny’s trip says, “Danny’s journey has inspired many people.  Today a local man climbed to the top of a telephone pole with a chair and sat there all day.  When asked why he would do such a thing, he replied because it was something he’d always wanted to do.”

My point in writing all this is to ask you this: What is it that you have always wanted to do?  Are you doing it?  What is stopping you?

I say go get it. 

I leave you with a quotation from the infamous Todd “Too $hort” Shaw

Short Dog's In The House

“You should be gettin it, everything you wanted
Everything you dreamed of, never have to front
you should be gettin it, gettin money
I’m talking about you black, don’t laugh it aint funny
You should get a good lawyer, like Johnny Cochran
Swear to tell the truth, hell no I didn’t pop him
Get your kids in school, so they can get an education
Get a degree, and take a vacation”

 

 

Today

“You know today, I just woke up and I said, you know, instead of waitin’ on a good day, waitin’ around, through ups and downs, waitin on something to happen, I just say, ‘I’m gonna have a good day …”

- Nappy Roots from the song “Good Day”

I am definitely have a good day today because I signed into the <a href=”http://www.fldoe.org/”>Florida Department of Education</a> website to discover that they finally got to my Professional Certificate application and according to that, I have my Professional Certificate now!  Hopefully this means the paper one will be coming in the mail soon!

We haven’t really had many responses at all to our news efforts, but I’m not giving up on the school yet!  Keep hoping!

If you or anyone you know has space they have trouble renting in Bradenton, FL and they would be willing to make a deal with our school, please call (941) 567-1022!

“If you don’t have a dream, how’re you going to make a dream come true?”

-Dizee Rascal