Once Upon a time There was only you And it was all about only you. For who could skew that illusion Or that dim, dank, selfish and insecure view...
read moreThere is a switch in power of historical proportions before us with the Barack Obama administration. They are younger, more diverse, more tech savvy, and geographically distinct from those they replace.
Check out this interactive profile of the new players in Washington. Educate yo’self.
A provocative statement that borders on racist? Yes. A catalyst for an honest discussions on interracial dating? Yes. A quirky, funny, hidden gem of a movie that instantly became one of my faves. Absolutely!
I’m Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks) is an independent, high-quality, low-budget film about a black, “underacchieving” nerd who decides that in order to have better success at dating, he will stop white dating girls, whom he tends toward for reasons that I will not spoil here. He ends up falling for a “Half-rican Canadian” who is just as unusual as he and soon realizes that his failures at dating have more to do with him than with the women he chooses. The sequence that chronicles his online dating encounters are worth the price of admission alone.
I’m not a movie reviewer (like these guys) but I really loved this movie so I had to tell you about it. Go rent or buy the DVD (yes, it’s worth buying) and let me know what you think.
Brown is the color Of my baby girl’s eyes Like dust is the expression Of a tired earth’s sighs...
read moreI thought I'd take a break from novel writing to jot down nine random bits of wisdom to pass along to my amazingly intelligent readers who may very well scoff at the lack of wisdom that these nuggets actually contain.
read more2008 has been a year of revolution for me. I don't think I have experienced as much clarity of life as I have this year. This December 31, 2008, I am reflective in a myriad of ways.
read more"Yesterday, I got hit by a bus." That statement has such an impact (no pun intended) to the listener because they immediately think of death and carnage and higher insurance rates.
read morePromises promises
She won’t do you harm,
His word is his bond,
Mom won’t buy the farm
Sequences sequences
What happens next?
Will Infatuation’s daughter
Soon be my ex?
Out again off again
The stove was left on,
The back door is open,
And the cat’s got her tongue
Etcetera etcetera…
Gray mountains to climb
Six ounces and venting
And soon I’ll be fine.
kenn.
My first NaNoWriMo comes to a close today. I feel like I should have some kind of an article to commemorate the experience – the long hours of staring at the same sentence, the sleepless nights, the writer’s block. Come to think of it – I do. I have a great start to an exciting novel. Notice I said start.
I didn’t make the 50k word count (my official count as of this writing is 18,658) but it was never about that for me. It was about getting a headstart on a novel that I was planning on writing next year. I got further than I planned and I’ve learned a lot along the way. I also like to think that I encouraged one particular individual (who may have had no idea of my brilliant plan all along – GO QLOU!!) to move forward on a novel.
My actual goal has always been to finish writing my novel by December 31, 2008. That will happen – God willing. To make the experience more interesting (and so I don’t slack off), I’m not shaving until I finish writing it. Why? Because I’ve alway been a little special like that.
The optimistic side of me wanted to sing the words “walking in the rain” to the tune of “Singing in the Rain” as I walked home this evening. All I could utter (in the spirit of Charlie Brown) was, “Rats!”
A long, seeming unproductive and frustrating workday coupled with rain and Atlanta traffic in the rain should have been enough. Actually it was enough. Enough for me to consider the haven that home would be once I got there to exhale and shower and enjoy a warm meal. It should have been enough. My pissed off car didn’t think so.
This evening as I waited in a long line of cars at a light for 30+ minutes because some fool (or fools) didn’t want to heed driving more careful in the rain, my beloved car decided to garner for attention.
Steam in the front.
“Maybe that’s from the rain?”
More steam in the front.
“Maybe the exhaust from the car in front of me?”
Loud POP! Temperature gauge goes red. Smoke or steam or…
“Rats!”
Several more miles to go before home but I safely park my car in a lot and walk the rest of the way home. In the rain.
Now I’m home and I’m going to exhale, shower, enjoy that meal, and then ride my bike back to my car in a couple of hours to see if all can be restored… or at least hauled home. Rats!
Seven eight nine, this that and the third
The dog ate my homework, eight subjects and no verb
The cart is pulling the horse and other musings so absurd
Am I being too abstract or just layering the fact that I’m perturbed?
Why do today what you can put off tomorrow?
Why feel better now, when in sorrow you can wallow?
If Jesus walks on water again then maybe you will follow
If Nietzsche lives next door to you, my faith I’ll let you borrow
I can’t count on my fingers, I’ve got more sense than that
I can’t count on my money, it all goes to buy more fat
What was that I said about being too abstract?
Seven eight nine and other punchlines, does this verse make me look fat?
My flag is at half mast
I ripped my garment for thee
My ashen face is downcast
And several doves have been released
Sixty seconds to respect
Much less seconds to be born
And a lifetime to reflect
On life for which to mourn
The bells, they toll for thee
And the rain allays the ground
The earth invites you back
From whence you first were found
My flag is still at half mast
It’s due my time to grieve
While not preventing living.
A moment of silence for thee.
Here again I’m emancipated from the reaches and auspices of death
As the fragrance and significance of you fills my lungs,
And I’m lucid
Now.
I can’t recall what it was like before I inhaled this colorless element of you.
Was I gasping, near collapsing, falling to earth while grasping
For hope
Then?
How could they have taken you for granted you when there could be no stand-in?
Yes, so many thrived on the presence and mere essence of you
Yet you were invisible and all the while
There.
I sigh to expel all that is not you just before deeply inhaling again
For I and my capillaries and all were weary while you tarried
Some time ago
But now
You’re
Here.
Today is Veteran’s Day and I want to thank all of those who have bravely served our country through military service. You are true heroes. Thank you for the sacrifice.
