The East Coast West Coast Rap Feud...

Is back and in a big way. check it out www.teapartay.com

watch the east coast video first followed by the west coast rebuttal. word playa.

Work, My Elbow and other musings...

So having two jobs and a full time class schedule is going to kill me. It is essentially a 46 hour work week and three classes. I am basically going to have zero time to myself as I move along here...

On the elbow front, apparently I am some kind of circus freak. I have an extra ligament in my elbow that had a nere running through it. Which is why a month after I fell I still get sharp pains from time to time. It will allegedly go away on its own so I wont worry to much about that...

Saw a lot of movies over the last two weeks and here are my recommendations. Some people will like Cloverfield (those who dont get motion sickness), some people will like There Will Be Blood (those who dont mind 3 hour character driven films). I can recommend though, without a shadow of a doubt JUNO and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. No Country is simply amazing. It had me anxious and nervous for 3/4 of the movie and then the last quarter was this strange artsy type of thing. really wierd but very good.

Lastly, why do democrats like to lose. I mean this honestly. Mark my words if they choose Hilary Clinton to go up against John McCain it is going to be a 50/50 type election and trust me John McCain is waaaaay more attractive to independent voters than Hilary Clinton. This will be a disaster for the Democratic Party if they don't select Barak Obama as their nominee.

Dr. King

I know everyone focuses on the I Have a Dream speech, and rightfully so. But it so erry and yet inspiring to listen to Dr. King's las speech (April 3rd, 1968). When you take into account that he was murdered the next day it is so unbelievable to hear the prophetic and yet inspiring words.

Just Came Back...

from JUNO and I loved it. I thought it was very funny and heartfelt and well done. A really good movie. I am so glad I went to see it. Even if it was by myself. The movie has an awesome soundtrack too. I cant wait to get my hands on it. 

JUNO actually left me in a good mood. In a weird way it made me feel like I am OK. That its OK to not be normal - and there is no reason for anyone to pretend otherwise. Because if I have learned anything about life its that none of us are normal, but we sure as hell spend a lot of time and energy into pretending that we are.

Cloverfield

I went to go see Cloverfield on the Paramount lot yesterday. (big thanks to Anya and Matt for the invite)

The movie was really good as far as I am concerned. However, I will warn people who have motion sickness and like nicely wrapped up movies with closure - this movie is probably not for you. The movie does a great job of keeping you nervous the entire movie.  Anyway, i know everyone wants to know what the monster is. well, i used my camera phone to take a picture. Here "it" is.

I Dont Want To Let Go..

So the biggest thing on my mind in the past day and a half is my grandmother. It is hard to ignore that over the last couple of months she has started to show signs of dementia. When we talk over the phone she seems to know who I am. But then when she goes to pass the phone onto my grandfather she can't tell him who I am. "It's the little boy," she will say.
"Whats his name? Whats his name?"
It is so hard to hear that. It hurts so much to think that she may not know I am. The good news is that she still recognizes everyone. She still talks to us normally. I dont think she has any trouble with dates - orat least not that I know of. My grandfather tests her from time to time to see how sharp she is. I see the pain in his face when he tells me about her forgetting things.
I think everyone knows how I am about relationships. I don't have very many that I really and truly care about. But those that I do care about I work on and try to protect and embrace with all that I am. Thats the scary thing about this. Its not in my control. I don't pretend to know how hard it will be to deal with my grandmother if she loses her memory. I don't know how I will be able to support people like my dad, who's pain will only be intensified because he has felt like he has let her down so many times before. I want my grandmother. I want her to remember me. I want her to love me and know that I love her. And though I am sure that in her heart all of those things will be constant and true, it scares me to think that they may not be true much longer in the physical world of her mind.

iPod Broken ... and an injured arm

So I got a new job. and the thinking was that I could use this money to save or pay off credit card debt or maybe even school loans. But now I have to worry about might right arm. Which still isnt in good shape after two weeks. It still wont straighten completely and lock. And it hurts to do certain things like turn door knobs and lift things in a curl motion. So hopefully this wont cost me a lot of money.
And now, just as bad. My iPod is busted. I pulled it out of my bag after class tonight and the screen is broken. I now have to figure out if I can get it fixed and if it will even be worth it or if I should just buy a new one. grrrrrr, so much for saving up.

R.I.P to the Crooked Necked Giraffe

So I just went to the LA Times website and saw the bad news... the crooked neck giraffe. I saw the letters S.B. on the front page and got interested. When I read the headline it made me sad. The crooked-necked giraffe was a big part of Santa Barbara and was one of the many happy memories I had of the place. R.I.P crooked-necked giraffe.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-giraffe12jan12,0,5437153.story?coll=la-home-center

(photo - Arti and I with the crooked necked giraffe in the background)

Thinking In The Dark...

So I was just lying on my couch in the dark thinking. About a lot of things actually - most of which I am sure I will end up writing down eventually. But this came into my mind as I was thinking: I have decided what I am going to do - as a career anyway - for the rest of my life. How crazy is that? Am I in any kind of position to be making such a decision? Is anybody my age really READY to make that decision. Seriously? What if there is something out there that I haven't even heard of that I would be really good at and enjoy doing more then what I do now? What am I supposed to do? Drop everything I am doing now? No way - i have committed too much into what I am currently pursuing.

I guess my point is this: how in the world do we expect people age 18-25 (some of whom have never left home or have barely spent time on their own) to choose what it is that they want to do, day in and day out, for the next 40 - 50 years of their life?!

These are young adults, they have barely experienced anything in life. They struggle about whether or not they want to put in for a late pizza call, they worry about whether or not they really think those shoes match their outfit, or who to sleep with. How in the hell do we expect these people to make life long commitments and investments? But we do and thats insane. People my age are forced in the span of about 2-3 years to weigh all potential options in terms of job, geography, salary, compatibility with raising a family... and then make a decision. But thats not the crazy part, you see a decision can be easily changed but when you commit to something then its hard to turn your back on your decision. We are asked to commit to our decision. We spends thousands of hours learning and training in preparation of our career. We spend tens of thousands (and for some people hundreds of thousands of dollars) on their career choice. Our investment is so great that to change careers would be a huge loss in terms of time, energy and money.

What if tomorrow I realized that I would be happier becoming a tattoo artist, a professional poker player, or some guy who works at Amoeba Records? Would I really have the guts to drop everything. That means leave school (but still pay the 20,000 dollars of debt I owe), and start all over. Would I dare to just cut my losses and try to start over? Who knows - I guess that is a question we will all be faced with at some point. Because there is no way we are going to live another 45-50 years without wondering if there is something else we would rather be doing.

p.s. I am going to regret writing this tomorrow morning considering I have to start my new job tomorrow :)

hilarious...

This Just In...

It's raining and it figures to keep on raining for the next two days. crazy huh?
By the way can somebody please tell me why they are letting P.Diddy do another Making The Band? Why do I need another season of people being forced together into a band that will be unsuccessful. Seriously? What has P. Diddy ever done to make as much money as he has? He claims that he "invented the remix". Isn't that like saying you are the master of the "do-over". Isnt that like admitting that the first time you did the song it was crappy and you need a second try for it to be successful. I have never seen a man make so much from so little talent.

Barack Obama and getting sick

Holy crap this dude is inspiring. He is an amazing when it comes to making speeches. I cant help but to think I am watching and listening to a master orator and leader when this guy talks.

I think I am getting sick. I drove around L.A. today and hung out with people and run errands. As soon as I got home I started to feel ill (and not in the good hip-hop way). Anyway, hopefully it will pass soon because i have training sessions to work on and new job to be trained for.

hope everyone is kicking ass and that the new year is still treating them well. talk to you all later.

p.s. I went to the MSNBC website to get more info on the caucus and this is what I saw...

unbelievable Britney Spears does it again!

Did You Know...

That Barnum's Animal Crackers developed their Circus theme design in 1902. That same year the famous string on the box was attached. 'Why' you ask. The idea was that children could hang the box of animal cracker's on Christmas trees. The box with string design has stuck ever since. And now you know why animal crackers have a string attached. And knowing is the half the battle!

I love Cauc-asues

I love it. With college football over I can turn my attention to the presidential race. Tomorrow and next Tuesday are going to be great. The Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary will help to determine who we will get to vote for as president and the races are freakin' tight!!! I am rooting for the underdogs (both of whom I like as well - John Edwards and John McCain).

I know other people may not care but to me this is more fun then the Super Bowl.

 

NEW YEAR - NEW SKETCHBOOK

Happy New Year! 

I think this past year was the first year I was actually able to make it to a New Years Part. Thanks to Matt and co. for hosting a kick ass party. I hope I get some of the pics from last night.

The new year means something else for me. A new sketchbook. I love documenting my life. I guess that is what I take so many pictures and started the blog. I like chronicling my life and being able to look back. So part of that means my sketchbooks. I am able to look back at my drawings and remember what inspired them, where I drew them and how I felt. So the first item that I have purchased for 2008 is a new sketchbook. My last one lasted three plus years. Hopefully I will have more time to draw and this one will fill up a little quicker.

Also, the best sports story of this past week are the Washington Redskins. The team suffered through the tragic murder of one of their best players - defensive back Sean Taylor. Facing that traumatic event they went on to lose to the Buffalo Bills (The Bills had also suffered their own pain when one of their players - Kevin Everett - was paralyzed making a tackle in their first game of the season). It looked like any hope of making the playoffs where over for the Redskins. But someway somehow they rallied around the memory of their fallen teammate and won their last 3 games. They won their last game to clinch a playoff spot. They won by 21 points. Sean Taylor's number - 21. Go 'Skins.