You Should be Reading the Black Panther

Seriously. You should be. For those that don’t know Black Panther is a comic book published by Marvel Comics. It’s about an African King named T’Challa that rules a fictional country called Wakanda. Traditionally the king of this country takes the title of Black Panther and wears the ceremonial costume of the panther. Which looks cooler than it sounds. But ultimately this makes him a super hero as the costume is made with a special metal unique to Wakanda. This metal is called Vibranium. To those that are up on there Marvel Comics history will know that this metal is 2nd only to Marvels other fictional metal Adamantium. Not to mention that the Black Panther is a skilled combatant, tactician, and all the other stuff that makes him a great ruler. I’ll let you search Wikipedia for a more detailed explanation of this stuff.

But my point is the lasted volume of Black Panther books being published is pretty cool. It’s written by Reginald Hudlin. Movie buffs will recognize him as the director of Boomerang (yeah, where has he been?) starring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry way before she won the Oscar. Not only that but he has breathed new life into this character. Truth be told I always thought the Black Panther was a cool character just not necessarily cool enough to warrant his own book. But, damn, if this book hasn’t been one of the most interesting, action packed, and funniest books I read on a monthly basis (mostly, it probably actually comes out ever 4 to 6 weeks, roughly, publishers are much more flexibly these days about what constitutes a monthly series). Eleven issues in and it’s just as interesting (and probably more action packed) than it was when it first started. Even the tie-in to the ‘House of M’ story line was good considering... (only avid comic book readers even know what that is). Never the less you got to give props to a brother that can come up with an effective and unique way to take down Apocalypse (again avid comic book readers...) even if it didn’t involve him getting his hands dirty, per se.

The latest issue involves T’Challa and Luke Cage (aka Power Man) fighting off a group of ninjas. There is also a brief a appearance by The Falcon, Shang Chi and Han (formerly Fu Manchu). Not only is it action packed it’s pretty damn funny too. The following are a few of the lines that I thought were funny (though probably funnier in context):

Luke: Do you know how many good times I had on that couch? I had the Black Cat on that couch!
_____________________________________________________

Panther: ...to offer me your daughter is quite an honor.
Luke: And not the fugly daughter either. She is fine.
_____________________________________________________

Luke: This woman is insanely beautiful... and I bet Han wasn’t lying about her abilities to please her man. Could it hurt to go out on a date with her?

So next time you are at a book store be on the look out for Black Panther. Pick up an issue and you might be pleasantly surprised. I mean in this day and age what comic is going to give you this much ethnic diversity in one issue? Let alone one featuring an African king...

All Grown Up

or
Still Waiting for Adulthood

Most of my life I’ve felt like a kid. Something I’ve noticed since I was a teenager is that from age to age there really is not much of a difference. You really are the same person for the most part. And pretty much from 17 on it’s been mostly an anticipation of what it would be like to be an adult. Why? Because I’m still me. I still feel like a high school kid wondering when I’m going to grow up. At 21 I was a little more mature than I was at 17 but I’ve been drinking since I was 14. So, now I can legally get drink, great. 27 was probably a little more mature than 21 and I had been on my own for a while. As in not needing my family for anything. Still I relied on my friends from time to time but still not quiet grown up yet. Now at 32 I’m probably a little more mature than 27. But I’m just as laid back and easy going as I have ever been. And I haven’t had to rely on my friends for anything other than their friendship for years now. At this point in my life I live in a studio apartment. I am on my 2nd car that I’ve gotten from a dealer (my 4th car in my whole life) and I can barely afford to buy a place of any real value in Southern California. I’d like to think that if real estate was more accessible to me I might feel more grown. I’m hoping to find out in 2006.

In the meanwhile, I do things on occasion that make me feel a little more grown up. Like when I got an accountant. A guy I used to work with recommended him. As I was looking for someone to assist me with something that might become a tax issue. This tax season will be my 4th, or maybe 5th with him. And when I see him and get my tax returns I feel like I’m a little bit closer to adulthood. The same way when I’ve gotten cars from dealerships. Not to mention the next time I do that I will be going in with good credit. For the first time ever. Matter of fact, I plan on using carsdirect.com for my next auto purchase. Because car salesmen suck and I want to deal with them as little as possible. So car buying and even car insurance buying makes me feel grown up. Though these feelings of grownupness[sic] are rare I’m grateful as they remind me that I’m still a kid at heart. And, thankfully, only have to deal with grown up stuff on occasion out of necessity. Yeah, I pay bills twice a month, but how often do you go car shopping or do taxes? I mean it’s great being able to buy video games and comic books at my leisure (mostly). I’m being grown and a kid all at the same time.

Today, is a grown up day as well. For the first time ever, a housekeeper is cleaning my bathroom and kitchen. Even as I type this. It’s an interesting feeling having someone clean your place. She actually works at my office and she cleaned my co-workers place. She did a great job for her so I figured maybe she could help me out. And truth be told I needed help. In a major way. I mean I have cleaned my bathroom, but my tub was in dire straits. Forget the fact that I suck at cleaning it. But combine that with the fact that no one but me has used it for the past year and well... you kinda see my dilemma. For the record I don’t count the couple weeks my boy CAR slept on the air mattress at my place. If only because I have seen his tube in worse shape than mine. So, yeah, I hired a housekeeper for my studio apartment. Because I’m grown enough to realize I needed some help and took action to get it. I’m just glad I found her. I’ve been doing some research on this for a while and she is cheaper than having a franchise service. Though, considering the state my bathroom was in, she will be getting a nice tip...

Conspiracies Abound II: Insurance Premiums

News flash, if you live in predominantly black or hispanic neighborhoods in LA you could be paying up to 85% more for your car insurance. Seriously I just saw it on ABC 7 news. But that ain’t no real news. My insurance agent told me that years ago. I could effectively cut my insurance in half by moving to Glendale. No shit. Forget the fact that the one accident in my 16 year driving career was in 1997 and was a “not my fault” fender bender. Forget the fact I haven’t had any traffic violations in over 4 years. No, fuck that. My neighborhood isn’t as nice as Burbank so my rates are higher. Fool you don’t live in Glendale so, fuck you, pay more.

See this is a real conspiracy. But nobody cares because all the people it effects don’t have a real voice. Insurance companies get away with this shit on a daily basis and what can we do about it. Move to a better neighborhood. Yeah that will happen. The offset cost of lowering my insurance isn’t exactly going to make up for the increase in rent I would have to pay. This is still California. Maybe I should consider moving back to the east coast. Or at least the eastern time zone. But who knows what other conspiracies maybe lurking about. I mean I just saw this shit on the news and you will be hard pressed to find this shit on the abc7.com site. If it’s there they ain’t making it easy to find. But come on, man, the daring dog rescue made the front fuckin’ page. God forbid they show the story about higher insurance prices in minority communities. And people think conspiracies theories are crazy. Give me a break...

Conspiracies Abound

I believe in conspiracies. To a certain extent. I believe that they exist but I couldn’t tell you of any that I know of. Certainly not anything that could be considered factually true or certain. But I’m sure they are out there. The media can’t possibly be privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes. Even if they were why would they tell us. I mean, really it’s 2005. That being said, apparently some anonymous former PR guy has compiled a timeline of the conspiracy to ruin Dave Chappelle’s career. Either that or some bored fan boy has too much time on his hands. Either way it’s an interesting read. Even if parts of it read like derivative science fiction. Not that any of you read the links I post but I thought it was interesting... bitches.

http://www.chappelletheory.com/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like an Accident Waiting to Happen

I almost hit a Christmas Tree this morning. Through no fault of my own, I might add. It wasn’t like it was still in the ground. It was on the ground though. The 101 freeway to be exact. Somewhere just north of Universal City in the 2nd to the left lane. The truck in front of me swerved to the right and damn if I didn’t think, “Holy Shit, that’s a fuckin’ Christmas Tree!” I quickly looked to my left and swerved to avoid it. Thankfully there was no one on my left so I escaped unscathed. But damn. That was a big ass tree. It had to be at least 6 feet plus. And it was thick and bushy laid out on it’s side across the 2nd lane. And part of it in that first one. Hopefully, no one got into any accidents because of it. It’s hard to imagine someone would lose something that big and be completely oblivious. Looks like someone’s Xmas isn’t going too well. Maybe multiple someone’s if somebody hit that damn tree.

Essential for Writers... Possibly

That mad comic genius Warren Ellis has me reading an interview of the great Patton Oswald that is far too long for mere mortals to digest... For those that are adventurous, and as Sir Warren suggests, serious about any sort of writing. I present to you aspeacialthing.com’s interview with the incomparable Patton Oswald. Yeah, I know I’m a weird dude. If only because you will only ever hear me using the word, dude, in print. That’s right, you will never hear me use that word in a serious manner as a spoken statement, ever. Seriously... dude.

Evil Is As Evil Does

or
I’m Just A Real Bastard

And not just by definition. As Brooklyn can attest to when left unchecked my temper can cause me to lash out unexpectedly. It can be particularly shocking to people. By which I mean me. Though it is a truly rare thing to behold it has been known to happen on occasion.

Today, I momentarily flipped on a co-worker today. And it was mostly uncalled for. I won’t bore you with the details but basically it started with a call I got earlier. I tried to resolve it and sent it to who I thought could. After lunch I returned to my office on the phone. Sat at my desk, still on the phone and my co-worker proceeded to talk to me from across the room as though I wasn’t. Though, it was technically about the earlier issue, that is not how she came at me. Basically it was getting close to her time to leave and she wanted me to go up to the see the people in question. Mostly because other people were getting involved. Particularly because she was getting ready to leave. But instead of asking the guy sitting next to her. Who, to my knowledge, wasn’t on a call she coyly calls to me to tell me about this. While I’m already in the middle of a conversation. Even though I was pointing out I was on the phone.

And for a moment I lost it. Detroit rose up in me with an icy stare and flared nostrils. A snide remark about my cell phone and how it was in use and then my co-worker sitting next to her was volunteering to go look into this issue. At this point I collected myself and told my friend I would call her back (earlier in this same conversation she jokingly asked if my co-workers would vote me most likely to go postal because I’m so quiet, and of course I laughed and told her no, yeah right). I calmly walked over and sat beside my co-workers so she could tell us what the hell she was talking about. So she explained to us both what the deal was. This is when the phones started ringing and the guy left to go check out the issues.

That next call I think I was extra polite. As I was still in shock at how my demeanor had changed. I certainly didn’t want to have any misdirected anger at the caller. Especially since they were nice. Tell the truth I don’t know what happened. I had a relatively smooth day. With nothing crazy other than this incident. Maybe I just hate my job. What ever the case, the first chance I got I apologized as profusely as she would allow me to (which wasn’t much) for snapping at her. She didn’t deserve that. We get enough shit from this place with out giving it to each other. Thankfully, she was understanding. Almost to a fault. She’s an older woman. I can see her throwing hot grits on a brotha after convincing him everything is cool. Ok, I’m exaggerating. She is cool and she was cool about it. I’m still gonna keep my eye on her though. Maybe I’ll buy her lunch just to smooth things out. Hell, I still feel kind of bad about it.

Guilty Conscience

After this whole thing I told 2 of my co-workers about it. One being the guy that dealt with the issue. Expressing to them how bad I felt about what happened. The both laughed it off. They both seemed to think the coolness of our co-worker was such that she would ultimately be understanding. And that I pretty much shouldn’t worry about it. On another note the guy that handled the issue pretty much confirmed the cluster fuck of the situation. He gave them a quick fix but ultimately this is beyond us. Some shit just isn’t in our job description.

Adventures in Back Pain

"I am not a Prophet though I do have prophetic dreams.“ - Huey, The Boondocks

Ok, that’s probably not an exact quote. But considering the title of this entry you get the idea. Because this time last week I was having some real back problems. Through no apparent fault of my own. At least I’d like to think that. I was fine until last Sunday evening. Then my back started to ache. For the life of me I can’t figure out why. I didn’t pick up anything heavy or move in some awkward way. But it got progressively worse such that Monday morning I was ready for a new bed in the hopes that this might alleviate this issue. Well I was half right.

Oh and for the record I broke down and spent the money for a new bed. It’s great and I love it but I digress...

I lounged around most of the day last Monday hoping as I searched the web for an elusive deal on a new mattress that my pain would slowly subside. Considering I popped about 6 Motrin I was sorely disappointed. So by that afternoon I went back to the mattress store got the mattress I really liked and thankfully it was delivered that night. Laying on it was great as my back pain went away and unlike my old one it wasn’t a painful chore to roll over. So long story short by Tuesday my back was worse so I was out from work that day and the next. By Thursday I was still in pain but I could at least get my socks on to go to work. So as I suspected the decision was made for me and slowly but surely I have been recovering. Unfortunately I’m not at 100% but I figure 85-90% is better than the 37% I felt like last week. And, hey, now that I have a queen size I'm officially an adult, right?

Apart at the Seams

Not to keep harping on Seattle (which is a beautiful city by the way) but my friend had a great bed in the guest bedroom. I slept like a fuckin’ baby. And yeah I had to say ‘fuckin’ in order to emphasize how well I slept while I was there. I can’t remember when I was that comfortable or well rested. No achy back or waking up feeling like I need to go back to sleep. Not to say that my bed sucks. Though I realize now that it does. But it was adequate for the purpose of not sleeping on the floor. After this trip I now realize I am really missing out on a good nights sleep. I even went bed shopping over the weekend only to become jaded and cynical by the experience. Who knew a decent (as in good quality and comfortable) bed would be $800 plus. Forget the fact that a couple I really liked were about G.

So now I have a dilemma. Go deeper in debt for a better nights sleep or go the cheap route like I did when I was sleeping on the floor of my Apt. My current bed cost me about $200. Roughly. In part, I believe, because the guy felt bad for me. He seemed to relate to my situation. Hell, he even strapped the bed to the roof of his car and helped me move it in. The delivery guys were out making deliveries for the day. But now I’m better off (relatively) so it shouldn’t be that big a deal. But it is. I want to upgrade but damn. I found a $400 queen that was, again, adequate. Did I mention I currently have a full size. Moving up to a queen is a step unto itself. Let alone something in the $1000 range. Ultimately the decision may be made for me. I was sitting on the edge of my bed this morning and I noticed... it’s coming apart at the seams. And yes I noticed this through the bedspread. Not to mention I pulled it back to look and it was worse then I thought. Much worse. Between this and the occasional achy back (the one I forgot I had while I was away) I’m going to have to do something sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to sleep on it... no pun intended. Seriously.

The Revolution Will Be... Animated?

Apparently the revolution will be televised. And it's on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim no less. For those who don't know, that's when they show the more mature adult oriented programing from like 11pm to 5am Sunday through Thursday. And this past Sunday was the day they decided to have screw whitey day. Because between the Boondocks, Minoriteam, Squidbillies and to a lesser extent Robot Chicken it was all about how the white man was holding us back. Or in the case of Squidbillies just hatin' in general. It was an interesting evening of programming to say the least. Not to mention Boondocks used the N-word 18 times. I heard it was supposed to be 15 but I counted. Interesting indeed. I just wonder how long they can keep up this level of subversion before the real 'MAN' says, "WTF are y'all doin'?."

The Boondocks

Aaron McGruder can't escape controversy. The show hasn't even aired yet and people are already talking shit:
The Full Story

Windows Sucks...

As if you didn't already know. But I bring this up because iTunes no longer works for me on my Windows XP machine at work. Why? I don't know. And I do tech support for a living. Recently I upgraded to version 6 and I'm pretty sure it worked after the upgrade. All I even use it for is internet radio. But not I get some strange memory error. To be specific:

The instruction at "0x0000b7a4" referenced by memory at "0x0000b7a4". The memory could not be "read".

And that's it. Sure I have the option to terminate or debug. But no further info is available. So I'm frustrated and annoyed by this. A co-worker thought I should reinstall. I did. Same problem. I uninstalled rebooted. Searched for everything iTunes and deleted. Reinstalled again still no good. Next I will probably uninstall, deleted everything again, then delete everything in the registry. If that doesn't work I might look online. But shit, man, should I even have to go through all this?

Can't Win for Losing

or

The Universe Enjoys Laughing at Me

A couple months again I visited a friend in Seattle. In there guest room was a very nice lamp with a touch base to turn it on and off. Not only that it had a dimmer feature built in. You touch to turn on a dim light. Touch it again for a little brighter then again for the brightest. Fourth touch and it was off. I thought it was cool and found out you could get it from Target. Came back to Cali and went to 2 different Targets. Of course they didn't have it.

Target online apparently can be cooler than my local stores. Because of course they had it. And it was in stock. Cool. Order it and a about a week later I got it. Picked it up from the apartment manager before work and left it in the apartment. Get home ready to unpack it so I turn on my one other lamp in my apartment. Of course the bulb pops. As in goes out. As in dead as a doornail. I chuckle to myself. No big deal. I have bulbs. Hmm, wouldn't it be something if I only had one left. But of course I have at least 2 left right? No, of course I don't. I have all of one light bulb left in the pantry. So I put it in the one lamp and unpack the new one. Only to be bummed out by the fact that my other bulb went out the same day I get a new lamp. The next day I bought some new bulbs. Though the coincidence of the whole situation was hilarious. It almost seems to be a metaphor for my life...

To crease or not to crease...

BACKGROUND
I go to a very good dry cleaners in Burbank. I know they are good because they made my 7 year white oxford shirt from the Gap like new again. Whereas another cleaners made the ring around the collar worse. Like really really bad. Shirt was clean the collar wasn't. Even after making them do it again. So I found a new spot. Randomly selected on my way to work, nice sized, clean looking place. Damn if they didn't make my white shirt like new again. Even better they sent me a coupon for my birthday. Then another on GP. So yeah I like my cleaners.

EVENT
Lately, they were pissing me off though. See I have a lot of flat front khaki's. Cause I don't like pleats on just anything. I purposely buy the flat fronts because I wear casual boots alot. I can kinda get away with it at work. So no big deal. But do you think my cleaners can get it through their heads that flat front don't need creases. They did for a while but the last couple times they couldn't not give me creases. Such a small thing but annoying none the less. Considering I get my clothes back with a big bold "NO CREASE" written on the tag. But they still have creases.

RESOLUTION
I gave them 3 strikes and they came through for me on the 3rd. I was really ready to give them up. Over some damn creases. I wonder if I should reconsider the whole 3 strikes thing. It seemed kinda silly at this point to give up a great cleaners. But then I think what if I had gotten those damn creases again...

Andy Milonakis is a Brotha

I’ve gained some respect for this kid. Seriously. He has a goofy ass show on MTV. The Andy Milonakis Show if you ain’t heard. Contrary to popular belief he was not the “Man Show Boy.” That kid was just that. A kid. Andy Milonakis is a grown ass man. And if you can believe IMDB (which I am having a hard time doing) he is only 3 years younger than me. Making him a 29 year old that looks and acts (at least on his show) like a 15 year old. Mostly its just him acting goofy. Doing the kind of silly shit that you would expect a kid to do when they play at home alone. Except he has a film crew and a production budget. Some of it was funny and some of it not so much. I’ve never seen an entire episode and then I’ve only probably seen material from about 3 episodes. Couldn’t get through all of it. Heard him on Love Lines once. Came off as a relatively cool cat. Albeit a bit spacey in his thought process. You could tell that he has been influenced by hip hop as Snoop Dogg was a guest on his show and he will occasionally bust a rhyme or 2. Not necessarily anything particularly good but he seems relatively fearless. Ok, whateva.

So, today checking out iTunes just to see what’s new. Haven’t checked the celebrity playlists in awhile so I open the link and damn if this mofo ain’t the first person on the list. Ok, what the hell does this kid listen too? I click on the link expecting Snoop, 50 Cent & the Dip Set. But then suddenly I have a whole new respect for Andy Milonakis. If you use iTunes click on the link below and you might too:

Andy Milonakis' Playlist

IMDB might be right. I mean seriously how many people under 20 even know who Big L is? Let alone have an appreciation for his music.

Life holds no more surprises for me.

No Comment

Starting over with the comments. After last months fiasco I removed all the bot posts and word verification advice. I now know about word verification. I now have it turned on. Please feel free to comment at your leisure.

Holy crap, I'm out of Shape

Ok, Rain was bugging me earlier today about blogging. And since this just happened I figure it's a decent enough topic to talk about. So, yeah I'm out of shape. I know this not because of how I look in the mirror (though that is also rather telling) but because I just felt my back. My lower back. Those of you who have been unlucky enough to experience back pain can probably relate. But let's be clear I didn't experience back pain I just felt my lower back. It's hard to describe if you've never felt it. But rest assured that I know my lower back is there and in decent working order.

Earlier today one of the desktop techs at my job came by to inform who is staying late (that would be me) that some equipment needed to be moved. Ok, fine. I'm here after hours I'll move it. No big deal. He takes me up stairs shows me the room and the equipment. Shows me where it needs to go. Even brings me a dolly. A cheap as dolly mind you but a dolly none the less. So far so good.

Five minutes after the appointed time I go up there. People are still working. I come back 20 minutes later and I'm told I can start moving stuff. Ok, big stuff. HP laser printer 4000 goes on the dolly. Pack up a laptop and some incidentals and I'm out. Several floors and some hallways later. I'm setting this stuff up in another room.

"Hmmm," I wonder as I bend over to start unloading. "I feel my lower back."

Not in a particularly bad way. But I figured it wasn't good. Let's just say I made it a point to be very careful after that. Grabbing with my back up. Lifting with my knees. That sort of thing. By the second trip (which was also the last) I noticed while bending over the desk hooking all this stuff that I needed to sit down. There wasn't any real reason for me to stand anyway. The area where all this stuff went was small and everything was within reach. So, no big deal.

I'm just kinda taken aback. Cause I'm fine now. Don't feel anything weird. But it is somewhat troubling to feel that after so little effort. I need to get a regiment going like DatFuule. I'd hate to have that stabbing back pain from a couple months ago come back. Especially from picking up a fuckin' printer.

Wow, that was quick

Mr Motorola has backpedaled from his, "screw the nano" statement.
That didn't take very long at all.

4 new posts in one day...

5 if you count this one. Take a moment if you haven't been around in a while to scroll down a bit.

On another note the post before this was commented on by 2 comment bots pretty much immediately. Published, reloaded my page and bam 2 comments. Forget the fact that this happened twice because it posted out of order initially. So, after reposting 2 more bots with 2 different comments posted. Go figure.

So, um, speaking of Music...

So, my former boss's boss's boss's boss's boss's boss's boss Edgar Bronfman (EB), thinks that Apple owes the record labels (probably mostly his) a piece of the iPod pie. No, seriously. He thinks Apple should share the profits of the iPod with record labels. Why is that? you might ask. Well, Steve Jobs is adamant about not charging more than $0.99 per song in the iTunes music store. Thus allowing consumers to pick and choose what songs they want as opposed to buying entire albums to get that song. That is unfair because newer songs should cost more. The sub dollar cost should be reserved for older music (never mind charging less for old music). So the rationale is this policy of cheap music for everyone is somehow cutting into the labels profits because you can buy that one song you like off the new Young Jeezy record. You know, as opposed to feeling like you wasted your money buying the whole album. The artifically low cap of $0.99 is designed to boost the sale of the iPod. Thus Apple owes record labels a portion of the iPod profits. WTF?!?!? Nevermind the fact that Apple made legal downloading of music, not only supereasy, but somewhat cool. So lets artificially hike the price to encourage more illegal downloading as consumers begin to feel cheated by record labels again. More proof that record execs are completely nucking futs.

Not sure what's worse, what I just wrote or these idiots:
Zander sez "Screw the nano"
Cingular music service for 2006
SprintNextel to launch music service later this Year

iTunes Oddities

Recently, Apple updated the iTunes program. Which is cool since it now includes an option to create folders to further organize your music. When I first noticed this I was like, "Holy crap when did this happen I coulda been organized my music." Thankfully, this was a new feature added to v5.0 and nothing that had been there all along in past versions. So I didn't feel to foolish about not taking advantage of this option sooner. Considering it wasn't there before.

In other iTunes interest they have updated the interface slightly. Going for a more streamlined appearance and removing the sidebars. Which isn't as weird as it sounds. It's just kinda strange that Apple doesn't have some type of unified look to it's applications. Mail looks different from Safari, which looks different from iTunes, which looks different from Garageband, which looks really different from everything else. Considering it's knack for design and form fact you would think this would extend to its OS and applications.

And finally my one true gripe about iTunes. The Music Store. Though it is cool if you are into music (and paying for it legally, which I don't mind, once other avenues have been exhausted *clears throat*). At least into music in your particular country of residence. While it will allow you to browse all the other music stores for every other country that iTunes is in, it will only allow you to purchase from your country. Unless you have a credit card with an out of the Union address all you can do is window shop. Or window listen as the case maybe. Which sucks if you are really into music. I'd purchase from the Japan store, the UK, Canada and any other play I ran across interesting music. But alas that it is not to be. Apparently, in addition to suck ass record labels, other countries have completely different laws about music and copyrights and such. Combine that with record label BS and you are confined to your country of residence when it comes to buying music. This is what I have learned after posting to a message board about a possible work around. Too bad, so sad. There ain't none. Glad I found that French website with the Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack.

Welcome to Jamrock

Viacom sucks. For any number of reasons. But most recently for something I've noticed on VH1 Soul. See unlike typical music stations. VH1 Soul plays nothing but videos 24/7. Which is generally a good thing. The problem I have is when they censor certain videos for no particular reason on this channel. Whereas the same video goes unchanged on BET. Not that I want BET to censor it too but it just seems odd that 2 channels owned by the same company would be so drastic in there playlist policies. For example I first noticed this with Jay-Z's song "Girls, Girls, Girls." There is apart in that song where he asks a non de-script indian woman what tribe she was with "red dot or feather." An honest enough question if not alittle brash (or maybe crass is more appropriate). But this part of the song gets blank out. So he literally says, "Asked her what tribe she wit? ____________?" Though this video is a little old it still plays in the rotation on VH1 Soul. I seem to see it at least once a week these days. Needless to say this elicited a WTF moment that got confirmed the next time the video was played. I had recalled seeing the video unedited on BET. Hell, I probably should pull out some old VHSs to verify. But considering the next example I probably don't have to.

So flash forward a few months and Damion "Jr Gong" Marley releases, Welcome to Jamrock. Where part of the chorus goes, "out in the streets they call it murder." Considering that the topic of the song is about the sufferation (Jamaican slang if my understanding is correct) of the Jamaican people and the tribulations of growing up poor in such a depressed/opressed environment I would think that such a lyric would be acceptable. Considering it is not glorifying murder just expressing some of the problems faced by the inhabitants of the island you would think it would be okay to have such a lyric go unedited. And it does on BET. On VH1 Soul it plays as, "out in the streets they call it __________." I thought I was losing it when I heard the edited version. Because I felt like I had just heard it played out completely, with no edits. In fact I had, just on another channel. Consistently VH1 Soul edits out that particularly offending (apparently it must be right? otherwise why cut it out). Too me it seems silly. But, hell, what do I know I live in LA LA Land.

I'm Disgusted

In the wake of the Katrina tragedy my co-worker (the south to canada one) had some strong opinions about the relief efforts. As I'm sure most people had. However, he did raise an interesting point. He was completely disgusted that Bush would ask his "...poor ass for some money" to help the people effected by the hurricane. See considering all the billions of dollars that we sent to Iraq we should just as easily be able to either A) be as generous to our own citizens or B) reallocate some of that money to our citizens. Either way he felt like the president shouldn't be asking us the little people when he could be lobbying for corporations, "the have more's" and the federal government to donate. Particularly since the relief efforts started so terribly (keep in mind when all this started Bush stated that $10 billion would go to rebuild the city whereas Iraq was getting like almost $200 billion). That and the fact a subsidiary of Halliburton has already been given the contract to rebuild the Big Easy. So, I must admit I kinda agreed. Considering also that everybody and there momma is asking for donations. From reputable companies to scam artists. I saw Roll Bounce this weekend and 10% of the proceeds from that are being donated too (I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the one black movie out right now donating a portion of its box office to the victims of Katrina). Still, weeks ago, right after that conversation I made a donation through the iTunes music store. But I still didn't feel any better about the situation...

Long weekend coming up...

wil try to post over the weekend. I got a lot to say.

More Gas Stuff...

Not to get on the blogging bandwagon of Gas prices, but when I saw this I had to share. Enjoy...

Fry's Sucks...

yeah I know that is an obvious statement to most of the people on the west coast. Fry's is an electronics chain out here on the west side. It is monolithic in preportions with constant sales on electronic items that never seem to be in the store when you go there. Atleast that was the case for Rainmayun and DatFuule when we all lived in Northern Cali. Not to mention the ever present line at the customer service window. I mean really no one has lines like these. No one. So I got it into my head that Fry's was not the spot for major electronic purchases. Who cares if it's a Sears, Best Buy and Radio Shack all crammed into the same gigantic store. Especially if you can never get the stuff that's on sale.

For all my talk I do shop at Fry's. But nothing major. They have great deals on movies, a decent video game selection (particularly the greatest hits section), and generic DVD-Rs. That's basically all I get from there. I bought some Sony headphones once that still work and have never given me problems. But I've only had them a few months. Time will tell.

Which brings me to the point of this post: Monday I went to Fry's intent on buying a movie or 2. A couple weeks ago I picked up Menace II Society & Love Jones for like $20 and some change. This week I was intent on buying Anchorman. Everybody tells me it was hilarious and Will Ferrell is pretty funny. So I browse the comedy section and damn if it wasn't there. Keep in mind they have a large selection. I mean really really huge. They have a wall about the length of a basketball court with nothing but movies. Not to mention the several aisles of anime, TV shows and adult oriented material. But Anchorman was no where to be found. That was odd enough but combine that with the fact that the other movies I tried to find were no where to be found. The Transporter (which I had seen there before), The Legend of Drunken Master (aka Drunken Master2) and Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. Keep in mind I wasn't going to buy them all. Just one. Maybe 2 if the price was right. But they were no where to be found. I must have spent a good 20 minutes along the wall retracing my steps. To no avail. Ultimately I settled for a video game: Metal Gear Solid 3. Currently making the rounds in Fuule's PS2. He, like everyone else I know that is playing it, is enjoying it. As cool as the game is I was still disappointed that they didn't have any, not one, of the movies I was looking for. But, hey, I could have gotten a copy of Action Jackson for $6. Somehow I didn't think it was worth it. Maybe I should sign up for Netflix.

Here Be Dragons...

That mad comic writing genius Warren Ellis has come across something interesting. Apparently a photographer flying over Tibet captured some rather interesting pictures. Not sure I can make out much of anything. But something appears to be scaley in the mist.

Here Be The Full Article

Industry rule # 4080

We've always suspected that record labels paid off radio stations. Now we have proof:
Payola
Ok, so labels can pay radio stations to force feed us crappy music, effectively shutting out independants, but god forbid a 12 year old shares her music collection:
Settlement
I swear...

And people wonder why I've been getting into anime soundtracks.

You go south to get to Canada

Google maps is the shit. Unless you need to print out the directions to and from a particular location. In that case stick with mapquest cause google ain't there yet. Even there new application Google Earth is pretty sweet. It's like Google Maps for the planet.

A friend of mine was messing around with it here in the office the other day. Looking up his old stomping grounds in Chi-town. So naturally I started looking up my old haunts in Motown. While I was looking at the satellite images of downtown he ask what the body of water was on the edge of downtown.

"The Detroit River."

Then he was curious at what was the land mass on the other side of the river.

"Canada."

He gave me a look as if I had just discovered the world was round. Initially he couldn't believe how it was possible. So I had to pull back on the view so he could see how it all came together. Another co-worker was watching this all play out. He thought it was cool but was not nearly as astounded as co-worker # 1. He thought it was simply amazing. The one place in the US you can go south to get to Canada. Then I had to explain about the Provinces. This is where I learned a thing or 2. I didn't realize they had so many. And then there are the territories. Don't get me started.

So I showed him the Ambassador bridge and the map with the Windsor Tunnel. It was Shock and Awe. I forget my initial point but I was fascinated by his surprise. As if his view of the world had just been shattered. Going south to get to Canada did not compute. He is an older guy from the Midwest so I figured he knew. Especially being from Chicago. But, hey, I've only been through Chicago once for about an hour on a road trip to Atlanta. Yeah I know. Don't ask...

I don't like to think...

these are the words that I heard leave a woman's mouth yesterday. This is a woman who I have seen maybe 3 times in the last year in a half. Keep in mind the 2nd time she asked my Aunt who I was. This time she apparently seemed to recognize me as someone she has atleast seen before. I know this because while watching movies she directed random phrases toward me. Not that I recall any of them. But I digress...

Contrary to popular belief I do have some peoples here in SoCal. Older family friend type peoples but they are like family none the less. I spent the 4th with them enjoying movies, BBQ, and the way every one was fawning over my new baby cousin. While attempting to watch a DVD, me, and one of the guys, enlisted the help of the man of the house. Neither of us were familiar with his systems setup. So rather than fuck around with his shit we decided to get him to do it. So he began setting up for the DVD.

The woman I mentioned before said, "I don't like to think."

I kinda played it off. Mostly because I was wondering did I just her form that sentence. The other guy was more interested in determining her thought process.

"Huh," he stated looking very quizzically at the woman.

"I don't like to think. That setup is too complicated. I like things to be simple. I don't really like to have to think about stuff."

The other guy kinda nodded and said yeah.

That's as best I can recall. Some of it may not be exact but you get the idea. Even in context it still sounds kinda silly. To put it into more context, there setup is basically a big TV, an Aiwa shelf system and a DVD player. Oh and a cable box. True enough they had like 5 remotes. Atleast one missing a battery. Not that complicated but we didn't want to sit there fumbling around for a while either. Especially when the home owners could do it in all of 3 button clicks.

To be honest that chick has always kinda struck me as having that deer in the headlights look to her. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

RIP Luther

Luther Vandross died yesterday. Say what you want to about the man but he could damn sure sing. He will be missed.

Home Team Fan

I'm not so much a sports fan as I am a fan of the home team(s). Being born and raised in Detroit I was rooting for the Pistons. Hatin' on the Spurs by default. Now that they've lost I'm a little down but it's not the end of the world. Maybe they can come back next year.

Damn You...

Robert Horry and your 3 pointer. Just felt like getting that off my chest.

Earthquakes and Aftershocks

The quake today occurred while I was in a meeting at work. It was only 4.9, lasted only several seconds, and no one (as far I know) was hurt. So it was kinda funny. We were on the 18th floor and it sounded like someone dropped something very heavy or was bounding down the hall. Atleast until we realized it was shaking the whole building. One of the guys in the meeting got excited. He hasn't been in Cali a full year yet and this was his first earthquake. So he was bouncing off all the walls afterwards. Feeling as though he has been initiated into California living. He thought we all should be excited. Until I pointed out it's only because he had never seen the devastation that an earthquake can cause that he could find some joy in this. He conceded. Earthquakes are cool until someone gets hurt. But then he wasn't as bad as the chick that felt she should go home after the quake. Huh?

Not on the bandwagon

I'm not going to jump on the Michael Jackson verdict. I'm just not. Mostly cause I could care less. And Rainmayun put it so concisely that it seems pointless for me to repeat.

Huh, what?

So I've been trying to be good and stay away from the fast food. So, this weekend I indulged a little and went to McDonald's. Twice no less. Now keep in mind I hardly ever go there. It's probably been a couple months. But they have these new sandwiches that are really good. They have these chicken club sandwiches that are great. Though apparently people have trouble understanding me through the drive thru speaker. Keep in mind that I took a voiceover class this passed weekend. And one of the things my teacher complimented me on was my clarity and enunciation when doing these funny voices in class. Yet somehow the people at McDonald's seem unable to understand me when I ask for a "#7 with cheese and no tomato." Even though I am speaking loud and clear into the mike. I'm not yelling or talking funny. But on 2 seperate occasions at 2 seperate Mickey D's 2 different order takes where like "Huh, what?" The first time it was an older hispanic woman whose 1st languange may not have been english. Atleast I'm guessing by the thickness of her accent. But after a couple of trys we got it together and everything was cool. 2nd time annoyed me to no end because the chick on the other end of the mike sounded like Shenana. Here reaction to my order was as if I started cursing at her in Russian. Now keep in mind I am only slightly exagerrating but at the same time her reaction to my #7 with cheese no tomato was as if I was somehow not speaking english. I don't know if she was new or not new to the register but after a few moments she asked me to hold on. Then another woman took over. The person that took over was an hispanic woman that I had to repeat my order too. But atleast she got it. I pulled around paid her my money then a woman, that I can only assume was the chick that initially tried to take my order, gave me my food. I couldn't help but wonder why this order took 2 people. Maybe Mickey D's is slippin'. Or maybe this is the universe telling me to stay away from fast food.

Bad Ideas in Cinema

I like movies I really do. Most of my friends know that they can count on my for a movie review when something good is supposed to be out. Like I said supposed to be. I don't go to the movies nearly as much as I used to. Because there usually isn't anything good out. That being said I wish I could say that this movie was not coming out: Homie Spumoni. I mean seriously. WTF!?!?

The Ghost Writer

I'm a professional writer. No, seriously. I know it's hard to tell based on the frequency of my postings. But it's true. I work in tech support. On a help desk to be specific. So I pretty much spend my day writing. We have to, or rather, we are supposed to document the problems our users call about and what we did to resolve them. So if we can't resolve them we can at least give the 2nd level techs a heads up. Which I do. Very well I might add. But this is what I do all day. I sit in front of the computer answering the phone and type. So technically I'm a writer. A professional. After 3 previous jobs very similar to my current one I fell like I can honesty say that I write for a living. I mean I have to be clear concise and detailed in order for people to understand what is going on in a request I create. Not only that but it keeps the 2nd level techs off my back too. They don't come calling or stopping by my desk to question what happened, or what was going on in a particular request. I send it to them and they can pretty much handle it. Hell, I've actually toned down my writing style. Three jobs ago, when I worked for that company in South San Fran, my notes were legend. I was so good at it I could damn near transcribe the conversation, troubleshoot the problem, and fix it. Depending on how serious the problem was or how chatty the caller I could usually end up with a mini-novella. The only time 2nd level had problems was when they didn't pay attention to what I wrote. It didn't take long for them to realize that everything they had questions about was right there. So yeah I write professionally. Though my job isn't nearly as cool as working for a magazine, or a TV show or some other type of entertainment company (though I did work for a record label once, but that's another story) I can honestly say that I write for a living. So bare with me when I get lazy with the posts. Five days a week this is what I do all day. Now, if I can some how figure out a way to make it fun...

Adventures in Car Shopping

Car Salesmen suck. No offense to any that might be reading this. But it's true. You suck. A couple weeks ago I was at the car dealer. Not to buy a car but to have my scheduled maintenance done. Needless to say while waiting in the lounge a car salesman walks by. At first he, like most of the people there, were drawn to the Yorkie in a bag this chick had. Why you would bring your 5 month old dog to the mechanic is beyond me. But hey too each is own. She seemed really excited about having a dog. So of course Mr Salesman asked the girl what year her car was while gawking at the mutt. It was an '05 so naturally it was too new for her to want another. So he moved on to me. My car is an '01 but I'm not looking to buy. So he leaves and comes walking by again. This time I stop him. I want to see a Highlander and he is more than happy to show me one. He shows me several. I test drive one. It's a nice ride. But I have no intentions of buying one. Especially not that day. I just wanted to see it. Which I told him. But he decides to play the 'what if game.' If you have ever bought a car then you have probably played it too. What if I can give it to you for this much? What if I can do this for you? What if I pay for your maintenance? And so on and so forth.

Needless to say I was there way longer than I needed to be. Considering my car was ready 30 minutes sooner than expected. So it was just waiting for me while we haggled and haggled. Not to mention he brought out the sales manager on me. Who, the more I said no, the more he seemed to drop the price. But this is all hypothetical of course. Because he wasn't sure if any of it would fly because his boss could still say 'no.' So when we started all this BS it was $585/month with $1000 down half of which could be paid after 2 weeks. By the time I was walking out it was $400/month no money down they would pay for my maintenance and my next car payment would go toward the Highlander which I could drive off the lot today. Uh Huh. If you could do that, motherfucker, you would have done it in the first place. Oh, my mistake, this is still all hypothetical because his boss still my say 'no.' So why go through all this and then try to act like I'm a dumbass for not taking such a good deal. As if you are some how doing me a favor by getting me deeper in debt and increasing my car insurance rates. As if you really know a legit car insurance company with an unintelligible name that is really one of the largest insurance companies in the nation that would not only get me a rate cheaper than my current payment for a new and more expensive car they could cut my current payment at least by half or more. Uh Huh. I really did my homework last year when searching for car insurance. Eastwood still has the lowest rate. Not unintelligible insurance inc. Well unless you count that one place that said they could offer full coverage on my car for like $40 down and $30 a month. Seriously. So like car insurance as in car sales (and life for that matter) if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

So after being there an hour later than I needed to be and an hour an half longer than I had to be I left in my '01. Which is doing just fine by the way. Absolutely no problems. This is after a year with out an oil change. Yeah I know I will do better. Funny thing is the service tech processing the maintenance reservations had a customer disappear on him when I got there. He had been searching the lounge and calling her but she was ghost. Since I told him I was going to be staying in the lounge he questioned whether I would disappear on him too. I assured him I wouldn't. Naturally he was all hands in the air and "what happened man?" when I reappeared. I shook my head and explained I got stuck with a salesman. He too shook his head and expressed his complete understanding. Hell, he was damn near apologetic. Next time I buy a car I'm using carsdirect.com.

Yeah I know it's been a while. I'll try to do better.

The End of Days

Seriously. Though I'm usually the first one to put a stop to all those people that think the end is nigh. Because people have been predicting the end of the world since the beginning time. And if science has taught me anything we still have about a good 5 billion years before the sun explodes. But lately I've noticed signs of the pending Apocalypse. And I have proof. Actual physical evidence that time draws near for the end of life as we know it on this planet. Strange Love. Yes, the VH1 reality show that follows the flourishing romance of Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielson. And no I don't watch the show. I watch a lot of VH1 Soul (all videos all the time) and saw the commercials. Paid it no mind. Just though it was strange. Then I catch a glimpse of the show one weekend afternoon of channel surfer. And watching Flav and Brigitte snuggled up on the bed in nothing but bath robes has scarred my retinas. There are things you see that you can't unsee. Surreal indeed.