The "special primary" to determine the 2 [out of 15] candidates for the position of "interim" interim mayor in the City of Detroit (essentially, the mayor who will take over for the current interim mayor - who's only been mayor since the end of '08 - and who will hold the post from the time of the "special general election" (May 5!!!) until the general election in November/end of term in December) went down today. Results aren't in yet. Even still, I think I'm gonna be sick. I swear this process comes straight from the horse's ass.
Pray for my city.
---Update---
And with that, Ken Cockrel, Jr. and Dave Bing (yeah, that Dave Bing) have won the primary and will face off in May. Who was my preference? Of the candidates, these two might be the best choices...and I'm not the only one to think so. The lesser of fifteen evils have prevailed.
Keep praying.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Da Goodness ...
So Harlem-based-but-Cleveland-born MC/blogaholic/grinder Charles Hamilton decided to drop not one, not two, but three mixtapes in the span of 6 days. That's more tracks than some artists put out in a calendar year. Granted, when you're fighting for respect and recognition, it's important to get out there. But CtheH looks like he just does it for the love, and I'm feelin' that. His creative energy is something else.
Now, Charles has this whole Sonic the Hedgehog thing going on that I find kinda creative and intriguing. I mean, hell, I've been trying to figure out what obscure-yet-cool alter-ego I could attribute to myself for years now and I just can't seem to figure out one that sticks. Anyway, I was skimming through his main blog and ran across this ... "other" other side: Shadow. Now, in the Sonic universe, Shadow is the antithesis of Sonic in all aspects of his life. In Charles Hamilton's universe, Shadow the Hamilton is a place for him to display his poetry ... his brooding side.
Who do you think fell in love with that concept?
Back when I used to blog on the regular on another site, I developed a second blog just for that purpose. It was darker, in some senses bleaker, but completely separate from my day-to-day happenings. When it worked, I loved it. Granted I wasn't able to come up with a cool as hell alias back then, but still.
[Of course, in writing about it, I took 2 seconds to look back at that blog. I haven't written in it since January of 2007, when I was going through a very tough time with my ex-girlfriend. Pain is art, I wrote. It certainly is. I couldn't duplicate these lines if I tried. I suppose that's the benefit and purpose of having a muse: it makes you write what you couldn't consciously think of otherwise.]
In any event, listening to the third of C's mixtapes - Every Charles Hamilton Ex-Girlfriend's Worst Nightmare - got me to thinking about what if I were to write something for/about each of the women who have been in my life. Now there's some inspiration for that ass. I read the track-by-track breakdown he provided on his blog and really got to thinking about making something like that happen. I mean, from the hearts that I broke to the girls who broke mine; from the long and meaningful to the short and trivial; from the seemingly impossible to the seemingly unending, and even those that never even began. It's a very curious concept...and I just might give it a chance, if I really feel like revisiting those times in my past.
Just a thought. I just really want to put some words together. And part of me doesn't even care if they make sense anymore...
she wants me to write
and i want her to feel it:
my revolution
- 2/15/06
Now, Charles has this whole Sonic the Hedgehog thing going on that I find kinda creative and intriguing. I mean, hell, I've been trying to figure out what obscure-yet-cool alter-ego I could attribute to myself for years now and I just can't seem to figure out one that sticks. Anyway, I was skimming through his main blog and ran across this ... "other" other side: Shadow. Now, in the Sonic universe, Shadow is the antithesis of Sonic in all aspects of his life. In Charles Hamilton's universe, Shadow the Hamilton is a place for him to display his poetry ... his brooding side.
Who do you think fell in love with that concept?
Back when I used to blog on the regular on another site, I developed a second blog just for that purpose. It was darker, in some senses bleaker, but completely separate from my day-to-day happenings. When it worked, I loved it. Granted I wasn't able to come up with a cool as hell alias back then, but still.
[Of course, in writing about it, I took 2 seconds to look back at that blog. I haven't written in it since January of 2007, when I was going through a very tough time with my ex-girlfriend. Pain is art, I wrote. It certainly is. I couldn't duplicate these lines if I tried. I suppose that's the benefit and purpose of having a muse: it makes you write what you couldn't consciously think of otherwise.]
In any event, listening to the third of C's mixtapes - Every Charles Hamilton Ex-Girlfriend's Worst Nightmare - got me to thinking about what if I were to write something for/about each of the women who have been in my life. Now there's some inspiration for that ass. I read the track-by-track breakdown he provided on his blog and really got to thinking about making something like that happen. I mean, from the hearts that I broke to the girls who broke mine; from the long and meaningful to the short and trivial; from the seemingly impossible to the seemingly unending, and even those that never even began. It's a very curious concept...and I just might give it a chance, if I really feel like revisiting those times in my past.
Just a thought. I just really want to put some words together. And part of me doesn't even care if they make sense anymore...
she wants me to write
and i want her to feel it:
my revolution
- 2/15/06
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hold Tight ...
I'm coming back. Don't forget about me. Clearly, twitter has taken some of my creative/quick-trigger attention. But I still live here. I will continue to live here. I'm coming back.
So just hold tight.
So just hold tight.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Set Adrift on Memory Bliss ...
Clearly I'm still not quite there. Just a few steps short. Book's not finished. Writing's not consistent. Happiness not solidified. Mind not right.
But if at first you don't succeed...
So I'm still here, still trying. Still pushing and poking and prodding so that I can further understand where I am and, more importantly, where I want to be. I've been thrown off course a bit. Effectively derailed. But I'm bouncing back. I need to get that pep back in my step; figure out what I had right a few weeks ago and get back to it. It's hard when you're dog tired, and when you're facing the monotony of a meaningless grind. Yes, meaningless. The present is past. My eyes are on the future.
And how do you face a present-past with any interest when the future is now?
But I will find my zone. I'm bound to. Even though the days tend to blend together .. particularly during the week .. I'm going to find my pace, spot, and space. A key to that is putting each 24 hour period behind me. Starting fresh, anew. Solving the problems ahead of me instead of carrying the baggage from those prior. I'm starting to do that. People have been forgotten. Memories erased. Fears tossed aside. Issues dropped. And in some ways, I feel more confident and comfortable because of it.
But something always takes me back.
The new lesson, though, is to control what I remember. Oscar Wilde once said, "A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them." It is my goal to take this to heart, and to apply them to my memories. I've spent a lot of time reminiscing in the last few days, but not all for nothing. In fact, parts of it have been extremely enjoyable. Someone provided me with this link, and I almost hit the floor. No one will ever, ever debate the fact that music is one of our most crucial links to our collective past, as well as to our individual histories. Music makes us remember. We know exactly who, what, where, and even why we were doing what we were doing when we first - or last - heard that song. We remember "our song" when we think about past relationships, good or bad. It's why we can have "period pieces," and films where the soundtrack plays just as important a role as the action on screen (see, e.g., Dead Presidents; American Gangster). Music has always paced my life. So when followed the link and I started listening to the tracks from the time when I first, officially fell in love with hip-hop, the memories began to flow.
And I loved it.
Sure, I've gone through some shit. Sure, I haven't had the best relationships and interactions, and surely the memories aren't always the best. But none of that mattered. It was all about the music. It took me places I haven't been, seen, or even thought of in 10, 12, 15 years. Every step of the journey was paved with oohs, ahhs, and "Oh my God"s. It took me back to dates, events, individuals .. not the ones that I shut out forever, but the ones that simply faded to the background. Not the ones that were forcible forgotten, but the ones that merely fell victim to my poor physical memory. That's the feeling I want to have with all of my thoughts: slay the demons, and live a life full of things to be remembered.
Use. Enjoy. Dominate.
"At the mercy of": wholly in the power of : with no way to protect oneself against. That's no way to live. No way for me to live. No way I want to live. I'm tired of losing the fight against my own mind. I'm tired of being at the whim and will of my own mental state. Losing my creativity, failing to understand my happiness. To hell with all of that. Every day is a step toward reinvention and getting to be who I want. The future is now, and I've got the keys. I'm finally driving.
Now... which way do I go?
But if at first you don't succeed...
So I'm still here, still trying. Still pushing and poking and prodding so that I can further understand where I am and, more importantly, where I want to be. I've been thrown off course a bit. Effectively derailed. But I'm bouncing back. I need to get that pep back in my step; figure out what I had right a few weeks ago and get back to it. It's hard when you're dog tired, and when you're facing the monotony of a meaningless grind. Yes, meaningless. The present is past. My eyes are on the future.
And how do you face a present-past with any interest when the future is now?
But I will find my zone. I'm bound to. Even though the days tend to blend together .. particularly during the week .. I'm going to find my pace, spot, and space. A key to that is putting each 24 hour period behind me. Starting fresh, anew. Solving the problems ahead of me instead of carrying the baggage from those prior. I'm starting to do that. People have been forgotten. Memories erased. Fears tossed aside. Issues dropped. And in some ways, I feel more confident and comfortable because of it.
But something always takes me back.
The new lesson, though, is to control what I remember. Oscar Wilde once said, "A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them." It is my goal to take this to heart, and to apply them to my memories. I've spent a lot of time reminiscing in the last few days, but not all for nothing. In fact, parts of it have been extremely enjoyable. Someone provided me with this link, and I almost hit the floor. No one will ever, ever debate the fact that music is one of our most crucial links to our collective past, as well as to our individual histories. Music makes us remember. We know exactly who, what, where, and even why we were doing what we were doing when we first - or last - heard that song. We remember "our song" when we think about past relationships, good or bad. It's why we can have "period pieces," and films where the soundtrack plays just as important a role as the action on screen (see, e.g., Dead Presidents; American Gangster). Music has always paced my life. So when followed the link and I started listening to the tracks from the time when I first, officially fell in love with hip-hop, the memories began to flow.
And I loved it.
Sure, I've gone through some shit. Sure, I haven't had the best relationships and interactions, and surely the memories aren't always the best. But none of that mattered. It was all about the music. It took me places I haven't been, seen, or even thought of in 10, 12, 15 years. Every step of the journey was paved with oohs, ahhs, and "Oh my God"s. It took me back to dates, events, individuals .. not the ones that I shut out forever, but the ones that simply faded to the background. Not the ones that were forcible forgotten, but the ones that merely fell victim to my poor physical memory. That's the feeling I want to have with all of my thoughts: slay the demons, and live a life full of things to be remembered.
Use. Enjoy. Dominate.
"At the mercy of": wholly in the power of : with no way to protect oneself against. That's no way to live. No way for me to live. No way I want to live. I'm tired of losing the fight against my own mind. I'm tired of being at the whim and will of my own mental state. Losing my creativity, failing to understand my happiness. To hell with all of that. Every day is a step toward reinvention and getting to be who I want. The future is now, and I've got the keys. I'm finally driving.
Now... which way do I go?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
