Happy Halloween!

Marius on Sax

He's only been playing for a month and he's absorbing it like a sponge. He's really good at reading music and his neck muscles are slowly adapting to the weight of the saxophone. I am so extremely proud of him...

Ye-Yo

Kanye West - (24th May 2004), originally uploaded by andrewkendall.

it's hard as hell to find a full-on photo of him smiling without any sunglasses on. even tho this is fake and posed, it's lovely.

But before i talk about Ye Ye, i had a neat dinner tonite. Ants on a Log. (don't even know why i want to write about this but fukk it, i'm writing) so yeah, Ants on a Log. Celery with peanut butter and raisins on top. Visualize it. I feel satiated, i've got my fiber and protein. yeah.

back to KanYe ...i hate that mid-capitalization crap, but i like him. alot. don't kill me anyone but right now, he's my favorite rapper. not just cuz of his rhymes (although that's like 68.3% of why), but cuz of who he is. i like his tantrums. i like his bragging. i like his beatmaking. i like his swagger. i like the way he dresses. i like that he ain't trying to be like everybody else in all the above-mentioned ways. he's claimed his own brand of masculinity that alot of rap dudes hate. he's emotional and not afraid to show it. to me, men like that are MORE manly than the ones who think being hard is all that matters....or those that think that any emotions they show make them weak.

on Graduation: excellent.

GOOD MORNING....as far as intros go, it's long but it starts the album off nicely. the drums sound like they are far away. like he's in another room. oooh! speaking of this, my favorite Bjork moment ever on record/cd is during There's More to Life Than This. she recorded the song in this milk factory and at some point, you HEAR her leave the room where the track is playing, slam the door and keep singing with the music track faintly in the background. just the fucking coolest shit i've ever heard. amazing. almost scary. like she came closer to you. (right now, if K-Ye was reading this, he'd be throwing a tantrum cuz i segued away from talking about him)

CHAMPION...this is my driving down the street with the windows down on a sunny day shouting out loud jaaamm!!! the beat bounces and you can't help but follow along. folks complain that the chorus is corny, but i like it (which could cement certain theories that KW makes music for the ladies) i love the stories he tells in it. about his dad making sure his family was fed and making sure he had new clothes for school. my favorite line: "Many feel like living is way harder than dying...for me, giving up is way harder than tryin'". fuckin' awesome. i think about that line alot.

STRONGER...love the lyrics but the Daft Punk sounds takes a bit getting used to. it's ok but honestly, i skip it alot. winning line: "you know how long i been on ya? Since Prince was on Appolonia."

I WONDER...i skip this one right away. ok the sample and the music are dope but his cadence annoys the hell outta me.

GOOD LIFE...another banger. It took me a minute to realize he sampled PYT. triple word score for that, Kan Kan.

CAN'T TELL ME NOTHIN...he's very introspective in this one...admits to being a loose cannon at times....he knows that having money don't necessarily make you a better person or make you choose the right path. shit, it often makes shit worse. the beat is ok. it feels a little boring to me

BARRY BONDS...my favorite cut on the album. a serious head-knocking beat. i be making faces like i smelled something nasty cuz the beat is that sick. i love when he says DUUUUUUDE! his rhymes are quite good on this. my favorite: "they say i'm going crazy and we seen this before, but i'm doing pretty good as far as geniuses go." but but but then at some point, Lil Wayne comes on *next track*

DRUNK AND HOT GIRLS....the beat is dope. it actually reminds me of one of the cuts on Stankonia. I wanted so badly to hear 3000 jump on this joint and really tell us wassup. But all we got is YeBaby and Mos being cute and funny. I did laugh on the first listen but i skip it now.

FLASHING LIGHTS....beautiful track. it drops in 3 phases. i could just listen to the first 40 seconds in perpetuity. the lyrics are ok.

EVERYTHING I AM...Primo. yes! i want this instrumental. that doesn't mean that i don't love Yeezy's lyrics cuz i do. (oh my god the scratching..oh my oh my) my favorite line: "people talk so much shit about me at barbershops, they forget to get they haircut". i laugh at that every time i hear it cuz it makes me think of J at the barbershop for some reason. I could just see him getting into some deep convo about Kanye then he be like "ok bye" at the end...lol no haircut.

THE GLORY...aNOTHer banger. amazing sample. makes you wanna go to church and catch the holy ghost (ok not really but yeah). altho i don't understand quite how Dwayne Wayne became Dwayne Wade...Ye-yo don't have to make sense all the time, i guess...tee hee

HOMECOMING...ok i don't like this one very much. i think its cuz its too much like the I Used to Love H.E.R. format, which i'm sure was purposeful but it's poorly done. *next track*

BIG BROTHER...love love love love this. a perfect way to close the album. similar to what 3000 did at the end of (can't think of the album right now..J don't kill me) but he told the story about him and Erykah and other stuff...Mr West got real personal about his relationship with Jay-Z. so introspective and emotional. i could feel how much he admires him and wants his approval. my respect level for Ye rose by leaps and bounds. Favorite line: "if you admire somebody, you should go head tell em, people never get the flowers while they can still smell em". Wow.

and for the record, if i may do some Kanye-type self congratulation, I typed each track name from memory. i didn't look them up. that's how many times i've listened to this shit.

Not Your Average Girl.

I'm a sports fan. More specifically, I'm a football fan. Even more specifically, I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan. But I can watch and enjoy almost any sport except for ice hockey and boxing.

In the last 4 years, i've sort of become a baseball fan. More specifically a NY Mets fan. Having two New York teams to pick from, I've sided with the Mets for two main reasons:

1. They're the underdogs. It's all about the pinstripes here. The Yankees are the top dog franchise in NY. They've got Derek Jeter and one of the most outspoken owners ever. They've been immortalized on Seinfeld, the quintessential NY tv show. Has a TV show ever embraced the Mets? I don't know. but whatever; I do. I have a soft spot for underdogs.

2. Their stadium is cheaper. I can afford field seats at Shea Stadium ($35 at certain low-tier games). i might even catch a foul ball or two. At Yankee Stadium, the same seat would be $95.

But right now, the Yankees are in the playoffs. I'm routing for them. But not because i really care if they win...i actually wish they would not. They've won enough. but i want them to win because their poor manager's job is at stake. George Steinbrenner has cruelly taunted poor Joe Torre in the media by telling anyone who'll listen (and has a microphone handy) that if the Yankees don't make it past this first round in the playoffs, Joe Torre will lose his job. Now ever time they show poor Joe Torre's face during the game, i just wanna hug him.

So i'll route for the Yankees. For now. So that poor man can keep his job.

Momma

DSC01758.JPG, originally uploaded by damali101.

She's 57 now. I took this photo on her birthday a few weeks ago. In my opinion (and hers) it's the prettiest photo of her i've ever seen.

When i look at it, i notice mostly her eyes...that they look sort of Asian, almost. They are a completely different shape than mine are. more almond-ish.

She's 57 now. Young by some standards, old by others. She's relatively healthy but i can't help but worry what it's gonna be like when she's not. My sister lives far away so it would be down to me to take care of her. And as stubborn as she is, momma's gonna be the worst patient ever. She's not really going to want help or she will complain..i know her.

But no matter. I will do it. For her but also for me. and for my sons. because one day they will have to do the same for me so i want to show them how to be nice to an old momma.