Aye, yo Thor...Here are some more tragedies to add to the list (some I already mentioned of course).

Ghost Dog
Othello
Reservoir Dogs
Usual Supsects
Things to Do in Denver When Your Dead
Scarface
Angel Heart
Devils Advocate (?)
Hamlet
The Immortals (B movie featuring Eric Roberts, Cris Rock and Tia Carrera's fine ass)
What Dreams May Come
War of the Roses (?)
Carrie
Carrie 2
X- Tron
Flatliners (Not really, but they all did die...they just brought themselves back to life).
PS- Could Interview with a Vampire qualify because they are all dead? If so, that could open it up for a lot of zombie movies.
Peace.

Welcome to another brand new Leethepoet.com exclusive tangent series (insert dramatic dun dun dun dunnn sound here):
(In your best echoish sci- fi booming voice...)You May Be Ghetto If...
Ladies...You May Be Ghetto If...: You wear blue denim pedal pushers and black open back 2- inch heels to work.
(Applause and Laughter)
Thank you thank you thank you...please join us next week for another exciting and original installment of...
You May Be Ghetto If...

Correction: I did dent my door in yesterday. The lighting must have been too dim for me to properly discern whether or not it had been. Damn, damn, damn all over again.
On another note, I taped another episode of The Cipher's Corner last night. I taped my first episode as the feature like last February. Still haven't seen it, though. Ah well...Last night was cool. Heckled this cat named Derek (the cat who runs the show) about not getting a tape yet. Ran into a former classmate from Howard, Paul. He happened to be working at the station. Small world. Saw Granma Dave, Chris August, Tanya (Ja Hipster) Mathews, and Native Son. Kom was holdin' down the interview process dolo as Dehejia wasn't there. Krayola was being interviewed when got there uncharacteristically late (sour tummy strikes again!). I chopped it up with Kom while I waited before and after taping. I like talking to that dude, intelligent conversationalist. Watched this terribly bootleg cable joint on TV, man. It was in the waiting room so I didn't change it...they had this chick as "Beauty of the Week" bathing in a bath tub. I'm talking...soap in the soap dish small ass bathtub with soap scum in the grout of the tiling...bath tub! Bootleg male strippers, wack models, dance routines with no choreography, and chicken head hosts that sound more ghetto than the musical guests. Shorty was cute tho'! After Tanya clowned me and (Kom)Plex for watching it, we bounced our separate ways. Gotta go...Still in this software class.
Paz, amor, y alma mi hermanos y hermanas

What the hell went wrong with my journal yesterday afternoon, here's what happened (warning: Geeky language and technical data to ensue):
Okay, I was doing some minor updating to my portfolio on my site, adding some shit probably nobody will look at. For some reason, the damn software application I was using for my updating (Dreamweaver) was acting strange. So, I'd make a change, save...and essentially post (the more technical term would be FTP- File Transfer Protocol) the file over to the server.
Sidebar Tangent: Why do I feel like Dr. Evil explaining his "laser"?
Anyways, no matter what I did, the joint wouldn't post, or FTP properly. So basically I did a FTP function where I physical drag my file from my local window, to the server window and included all my dependent files.
Translation: A dependent file is something like a graphic or sound file. You don't need to update a graphic or sound file once it's on your server unless you've done something to it...which I hadn't...or so I thought.
What happened was I must have made some goofy change to an "include" file a long time ago and never FTP'd the joint across. The include file is my set of links across the top and bottom of my pages. The purpose of an "include" file is to minimize work. I know that I need to have the same set of links on all my pages, so I make an include and insert that wherever it's needed. This way, the file sits on the server and doesn't slow down download speed. The cool thing is, if I change something in that include file, it'll be propagated throughout the site wherever I had that include. So instead of manually changing the links on every page...I used an include once and make changes to that. Get it? Okay, I must have done something goofy a long time ago to the include and saved it, so when I sent my dependent files across with the file I manually updated...it changed the link to my journal. What you guys were lookin at was basically an old jacked up archive of my journal. So, problem is fixed...carry on.
PS- I'll try to not do anything tech- geek like that again for at least a month, okay?
PPS- Bru, good lookin' on the heads up...didn't even know at the time that my journal was lookin crazy. I found out right before I left work, basically. Aight...One!

Would you believe I scratched the paint off half of my back right door on my truck in the damn parking garage?! I'm so damn livid (with myself) I ain't even angry. In fact, I was glad I didn't dent my shit in. Sleepiness makes you do retarded things. Dude...I sat and watched myself cut the damn thing too close to the pillar, so I guess I must have been in too much of a stupor to respond. Oh well...C'est la vie. Gotta go...in another software class.
Paz

Seeing as tho I had to repurchase some of my favs (CD's) that were previously stolen, I noticed that Aquemini has all the lyrics in the liner. Wow. That's dope. Remember that used to be more prevelant? Oh, seeing as tho' I didn't get a chance to blog about my experience @ Urban Energy on Saturday, I'll sum it by saying it was off the hook. Jarius, I'm going to polish up on my tekken skills and see you in a few. I was nice in '99, fam...I'm a shadow of my former self. Kanniki and 13, sorry me and Bru (yeah, I said it with incorrect grammar...it's my journal punk!) had to spank that ass so thoroughly, but it was fun while it lasted. If you ever want to resume the game, it was 351- 52. DJ Tao, Sonya (did I spell that right, babe), Del, and Lynn...I'ma see ya'll in that scrabble and punish ya'll...in a loving fashion of course. Unfortunately, I had to whup up on some folk in spades and couldn't do the scrabble joint. 13, awesome feature dude. You need to commit that hip hop piece to memory, tho', that shit is ill!
Sidebar Tangent: Don't you love it when folks are so bold as to presume to tell you what you need to do with your shit? Classic.
Metaphor, I'm not a football video gamer really, but I'd love to play you just for all the trash I know you gon' talk when you beat me. Matter fact, I haven't played a football game since about '00. Wow.
Oh, last night I was at Mango's kickin' it with the Java Head crew. Maaaaan, lissen here! Andre da lanky ass lush is allowed no more liqour! Mangos was fun, tho...despite the joint being like a damn smokey den @ one point. Steve rocked it off the guitar business, Raquel and her wonderful ass were both enjoyable to look at. Charli, sorry for my blatant masculine weakness, but them puppies are big baby...you can't wave red kryptonite in front of Superman and expect him to behave. Hope I didn't shatter any ideas you had about me being one of the good ones...Steve...you better holler at me man, I'm tryin' to get my learn on for real with this acoustic business!
Eye Will Holler

Last Tuesday’s Teaser was a two- parter that came from
”She Didn’t”
Perhaps that’s why she’d let men soil her soul
Ka cannibals would devour her whole for flesh diving
Not once striving for soul bathing
Translation- Ka is an Ancient Egyptian word for the spirit...I would go into the further meaning of this in relation to the poem, but I've logged into this damn journal like ten times today, I don't feel like getting the supplimentary info to back it. You guys are smart anyways, you can figure it out from there.

She gave up her Godliness on many occasions for a heaven that couldn’t last
Not knowing that heaven is a state of mind
And you don’t have to wait until you’re dead and gone
Cause as long as you have God in your heart
Then it’s not too Komplex to believe you can have heaven in your view, too
Translation- There's a poet/emcee based in the Baltimore/DC poetry scene by the name of Komplex or Kom as of late, who did this dope piece called Heaven in View. Remarkable piece that helps one to keep everything in perspective. Dope piece by a dope writer. This line just piggybacks much of the message of his poem, yet makes a completely singular statement on its own.

Okay, I don't have anything for Tuesday's Teaser due to excessive journal updating, so I'll hit ya'll with a never heard, never seen, never read joint.
This was written when I was in a very strange place.
Background: I had a dream where I wanted to quit teaching, and a coworker that I wasn't even that cool with me was smiling telling me to stick it out. She was in this bluish type of light. The dream seemed awkward because I couldn't remember it, as usual. For some reason, I often forget my dreams once I wake up. Anyways, I went into work feeling wierd. When I got there (to work), the teachers were told to gather in the gym (which was nothing but a big room). Whatever the news was, Mr. Goodson was one of the first individuals to receive it, and it seemed very very bad. Come to find out, that coworker who was offering me strength only a couple of hours before in my dream had just passed away from a bad car accident from the night before.
The Wild Part (as if the whole thing ain't wild): Dude, the wild thing is, once I remembered the dream, it bugged me out that I didn't even know I felt that way about my job. Subconscious is a powewrful thing. Now, I had that dream around 4:30am, and she passed away within 2 hours of that dream.
Now that I've rediscovered this piece, it's kind of teleported me back to that space. I think I knew at that moment Techworld was going to fall...she was that school to a lot of those kids. So...I wrote this poem for somebody I was just starting to become cool with...someone who came to visit me in my dream just to tell me to hold on.
...
...
Wow. Thanks again, Maisha. R.I.P.

Smiling at Inner Reflection
(Dedicated to Ms. Maisha O. Brown)

Today I figured I’d write for you
So I reached in the sky and grasped the color blue
Blue symbolizes the emotions inside, so it’s the hue of ink I choose
Today…I lost a co-worker, no, an incredible being
And last night I had a terrible dream
That I was gone form Techworld and you were in it
But you offered me strength when mine was diminished
This whole thing seems senseless, and I’m shaken by it all
I sensed something wrong, but never knew you would be called
I know you’re better off now
And somehow…
Today I figured I cry for you
Not because it seemed the right thing to do, but because that’s what I genuinely felt
But I had to be a pillar of fortitude in a valley of felt…
We can’t mourn you in the presence of the kids for the sake of the kids, like I didn’t cry at my grandmother’s funeral…
You were, and still are these kids and they you
But how am I to feel and what am I to do?
The last time we talked…we hugged and you smiled…a genuine smile
The last time I walked by your physical form, I saw you smiling
You were happy…
Are you smiling right now?
I know you are, because I saw you in my dream last night and you were…smiling
But why me…what was it that made you stop by me…the Almighty?
You were giving me strength when I didn’t want to be strong, but we didn’t know each other that well or that long…
Today I figure I’ll talk with God, and stop denying my spiritual lineage
These dreams scare me, my visions scare me, what I see…scares me
Because I can’t control it
Dreams tell me I’m a descendent of Gaza
Visions tell me I should head for Ashom
I see spirits from time to time and feel their presence just as much
I am scared to acknowledge these things for fear of what they may tell me, but how can I look beyond them?

Spirits of the young seek to dwell beyond the beyond in hopes of finding you there
Once again taking life for granted, we were unprepared and caught unaware
Scared and uncertain, they can’t see
Your energy is centered here, and within…
The living wish to bring back what can’t be brought back to possibly do away with regret
But this you must not forget, life is as inconsistent as death
Every breath we take is a death sentence with the promise of the eternal resting place (an unbreakable circle)
I know you are there from the smile on your face

Today I figured I figured I’d write for you, for me, the kids, us we me he she they
I figure I’ll pray
And what’s meant to be
Will come to pass
I simply ask…that you smile
For we…

You ain't never scared
Eager to prove your manhood
Then why pop the trunk?

Yep...that's the line on the inside of T.I.'s CD liner. The CD by the way pretty much enforces that line. Dude is comical to say the least. He says some real shit, but makes light of it at the same time. I like the CD, but there are some cuts I'd lose if I was the A&R. Hey, he does have some joints on there, tho'. The joint with Beenie Man was a good choice for a lead single. Still Ain't Forgave Myself would be a good follow up, but that's kind of anti radio. It's a dope track about comin up hood. What makes this a bit different is the fact he admits he didn't have to come up like that. Choose You is pretty tight because it talks about feelin a woman for real, but being unprepared for the responsibilities of a relationship. I can definately dig that. The funniest song to me was I Can't Be Your Man, which talks about scandalous and materialistic women. The joint was real dog. The adlibs where he was clownin' in the song were as funny as the verses..."Damn shorty, you in the living room more than the furniture...flip a mattress...pay a water bill!...$30, the cable bill ain't nothin but $30, pay that!". I'll try to get a formal review of that joint soon. The name of the LP is I'm Serious, but ole boy needs to be a commentary anchor on the Cris Rock show (once Cris comes to his senses and goes back to doin' his show).

T.I.
The second verse from “I Can’t Be Your Man”

Don’t it seem like shit be cool for a month and half
All of a sudden you’re frontin’
And showin’ your ass
Complainin’ bout what you got
Shorty look what you had
Before me it was pull out couches and billitin(?) Bags
Now she mad cause she ain’t got a tv in the jag
I tell ya what, that ain’t good enough
Get back on the bus
Give me up the princess cuts and prada stuff
I take you out to eat and you order a bottle of what?
Ungrateful
Wonderin why I’m not faithful
Ballin’s all good but this shit is just wasteful
Want me to pay your bills
Help ya get a bigger crib
Shorty I don’t mind helping but show some initiative
Ain’t brouth nothin’ to the table but hard times and heartache
Do something
Get on ya grind for God’s sake
A reminder
Rewind this message from yo highness
For those that sholey (surely) take my kindness for blindness

I love ya'll to those who supported me...thank ya'll. Kiss my ass to those who didn't~ T.I. in his Outro

Okay, there's a lot for me to type, so I may do so in increments to cut down on a super large entry. Either that, or I'll be too lazy to capture this holiday weekend in a satisfactory manner. Okay, ready? Let's begin:
Black Gurl-
Lynn and fellow illpoet LaQuis Harkins were in a play they co- wrote called Black Gurl. Dope original play conceived by Seshat Walker, directed by Seshat Walker, written and performed by five dynamic sisters. Basically, it's a bridal shower that turns into the reflection of growing up as a black gurl, and shows how hey develop into the women they are now. 60 minutes of laughter and tears for those who can't fight 'em back. I had the pleasure of viewing the premiere engagement, and was drafted/ I volunteered to be a stagehand the second and final engagement. It was fun to see the love and the excitement of these woman and girls interacting. Truly heartwarming. Wish I could say there was more of that going around. I'll let ya'll know when the joint makes it's return, as it was sold out all three nights.

The False Victim-
After the Saturday show of Black Gurl, I ran into this joker lookin' all pitiful askin' me for money. Mind you, I'm standing with a bunch of folks talking, and he asks me. So, although I read this dude, I humor him. He asks for money to get food. So I tell him to follow me in this little shop that sells chips and what not. Too many cats be on that I'm hungry bit, but just use the shit for drugs and liquor (why do people say alcohol and drugs like alcohol isn't a drug?).
BegginassBenny- Nah, I don't want that. I can't eat that. Give me a dollar.
Me- A dollar? What are you going to get with a dollar?
BegginassBenny- Some soup. I need some soup. It's the only thing I can hold down.
Me- Where are you going to get soup for a dollar?
BegginassBenny- It's two dollars, but by the time I get there I'll have it.
And even tho' I know this dude is full of shit I give him a dollar. Insert fake heartfelt dap.
Me- Aight, take care of yourself, man. (Translation- please don't get bent on that shit you somamabitch)
BegginassBenny- Man I'm aight, I got pneumonia, I know what I'm doin'...
Yup, no more pitiful victimized look or voice. Be real, muhfucka, you on it and you want to get fucked up. Don't lie to me BegginassBenny, you know I know. Oh, I catch BegginassBenny running (yes...running) to catch up with a friend when he sees me, and he gives me this sheepish look. That's why real homeless people have it hard; triflin' shiest ass folks like BegginassBenny make it hard for them.

Circuit City's Super CD Sale-
So Circuit City has this 2 day sale where all their CD's are $9.99 or less, and I want to hit it up of course. Now, the sale is Sunday and Monday, but since I was on volunteer duty, I couldn't catch it on Sunday when the pickin's were good. So, on Monday, I head out to Wheaton to Circuit City, because they have the hot shit as far as selection. I walk in the spot...mind bubbling with the thoughts of CD's to buy.
Before I even get to the CD section, I see DVD's: 1 for $6.99 or 2 for $12.99. So I grab Original Sin, Ronin, Robocop, & Hoodlum before I continue my journey to discount CD's. Oooh, they have Jay- Z's first joint, that was stolen from my ride last October (again!). Let me grab that. Hey, I can replace all my stolen CD's...Oops, they have Ice Cube's Predator, been frontin' on that for a minute. Damn, they don't have that Tela CD I wanted...but hey, they have Twista's Adrenaline Rush, yes, another recovered CD! Damnit, they don't have Aquemini, shit! They have the last OutKast LP, but not the one I need to replace. Fuck! Oh well, I can still cop Donnie's CD, ole boy is nice. Truly sounds like Stevie and Donnie Hathaway...for real! (I know ya'll heard comparison's before, but I thought Stevie dropped some new shit on the low, but it was Donnie) Oh shit, there's a copy of Aquemini in the R&B section, yup, I'll take that! God loves me! I mean, I know he does otherwise, but it's the little things, you know? }:o) Hmmm...still don't see that Tela CD, but I guess I'll cop this T.I. CD. I saw this dude a while back and thought he was mad arrogant, but he had skills. I like that. A less lyrical Canibus. Allright, time to get in line. Hmmm, might as well sift through this cart of product while I wait in line. Damn, that's a huge set of CD's...what is it? "The Classical Masters", Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Mozart, etc. Damn, ten discs...must be expensive. What, "On- ly Nine- teen Do- llars?!" Yep, I'll take this, too! Yes, all this is mine. Hey, I haven't seen you in a couple years. No, since like 2001. Wait…I don’t have my wallet! I forgot my wallet! Oh, I can get my checkbook out my bag…shit, I don’t have my check book either!!! Fuck!! Other expletives ensue and I’m evil for the next ten minutes before I lighten up and turn back from green- angry- hulk- smash- Lee. Piss of Lynn in the process for projecting said green- hulk- smash- anger on other drivers… Go back to get wallet just to drive back to cop all the stuff I picked.
The Irony: For losing my temper, I was next in line when I get the new guy who doesn’t know how to ring up any of the special sale items. And of course, they were all special sale items! He must have restarted like three times, dude.

Today at the Grill-
Asian lady looks at little child all of two years old as potential candy thief with hawk eye. Wow. Thought that was kinda wild. Shorty went from smilin’ at me to laser burn in the back of little girl’s head in case she was thinking about grabbin any candy off the rack. Hey, maybe if it there for her to grab, said laser burn vision wouldn’t have to be used on toddler’s needlessly. Just a thought.

On another note...I have this cat at my job named Joe who is probably twice my age, and runs 8 miles before coming to work! Can I get my shit together. Damn, I'd be struggling in the first mile with this dude. Mattafact, this cat just ran a 20 mile marathon in less than 3 1/2 hours!! Oh, I need to get myself together on some Prefontaine shit, ya'll. Oh! If you never saw the movie "Pre", you should check it out. It's about this track star named Steve Prefontaine that was on some other shit. There were two movie on him, "Prefontaine" was the other, but I liked "Pre" more. Besides, Donal Sutherland pulled off the role of the coach better. Hey, yo may even learn about the start of the Nike shoe company if you watch the movie (for those who were at Java Head last night).
One.

Java Head was rather dope last night. Cats were on the corner under 5- 0 surveillance after the spoit shut down around 12:30...for real! The wo's left after they saw it was just poetry, but damn... Feels good to intellectually build with folks with complete lack of regard for time, even when I don't consider myself a "intellectual". Sure, I think I'm a pretty smart guy, but I don't know...I'm often very simple and unassuming with my shit. I'm not really enetering an intellectual fray unless I can contribute, I'll just soak it up and formulate my own opinions in my skull. Some folks...don't do that. Of course, revolution was one f the catch phrases of the night. With talks of revolution, the feasibility of said revolution must also be discussed, and it was. Folks gotta realize tho', revolution doesn't always have to be about takin' guns into the street. In fact, it ain't too smart to do so against an entity that could literally send a missile to your address from halfway across the world if they chose to. They were capable of shit like that in the 70's, ya'll. Why can';t revolution be a change in the manner you do things? Resource pooling within communities, shit like that. I hope folks ain't on no animal farm type shit tryin' to overthrow the last czar and what- not. Those days are gone. I'm not suggesting stand down, but we have to know what to stand up for. You should be willing to risk everything for a revolution. Are you willing to risk the lives of your loved ones, your home, everything you've worked for...your life? It's easy to say you'll die for a cause, but would you risk the lives of your children just for a chance to live "better". That's what 1917 Russia was about, that's what Nat Turner was about, what John Brown was about. You that bout it?
Not saying there are no poor Jewish people, but Jewish folks have come up since the early 1900's. Peep, ghettos were what Jewish people lived in during the early 1900's. Then you had the depression and the holocaust, yet a lot of the funding for the Harlem Renaissance was from Jewish pockets...Hollywood blossomed from the funds of Jewish investors. Granted, blacks in america have been under attack much longer, but the Jewish folks created a revolution in a financial sense. I'm just saying, we gotta be willing to back each other, and when somebody backs you...don't spend it on dumb shit. Put the money to work. We got all these young cats flashin bling bling like that chain or car didn't instantly depreciate the moment it left the store or lot.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox...hit my message/bored if you agree/ disagree/ just want to say hi, etc.

All I can say is…”Wow”. Can I be an 18 year old by the name of LeBron James? Can I be so heavily sought after by corporate america that I’m offered a $90+ million Nike shoe contract over a month before I’m even drafted? Can I get an exclusive trading card deal with Upper Deck and get a $1 million signing bonus $1 million just to sign my name?! Damn!! Homie ain’t even been drafted yet! He hasn’t been field tested in the NBA yet. But, he’s going to have a hell of a bargaining chip when folks try to sign him to that multi- year contract on some, “Nike paid me $90 million, what you got?” type shit. Shit, Juwan Howard got a $110 million contract for playing two good seasons, one of which was by the sheer grace that Cris Webber got double teamed a lot and Juwan was open. I never liked that dude, He’s a soft ass punk, glad Washington shipped his ass out.
But anyways, back to LeBron. C’mon, say it with me…”Daaaaamn!” I know ya’ll feel me.
The Irony: Ain’t nobody putting up that type of dough for nothing. His shoes probably gonna start at $185- $200. While fluctuations in the nations economy and the strength of the dollar goes up and down, Nike will adjust shoe prices to bleed the pockets of the parents of kids with low self esteem dry. His contract say’s $90 million, which is ridiculous, but with taxes and the factor of time…he’ll see about $40 million…if that. Julian, am I close on that one. Laws of depreciation are not my forte.
Still, two endorsements and a guaranteed contract for a starting position on an NBA team is rather lovely.

To the fellow poet who left me the private message on my message/bored today (you know who you are, sis), could you please email me your contact info. Thanks for the compliment, and yes, I concur with your assessment of repeatin' shit...

Tanka #4

Before she hangs up
She tells me that she loves me
I mumble “okay”
She laughs at my discomfort
Knowing inside I love her

Okay, I heard some funny shit...or saw some funny shit on tv last night, rather. Why do they have a nationwide toll free hotline that is supposed to help you prepare for terrorist acts. A "How To..." hotline, if you will? You're supposed to be able to call the joint any time, 24/7. But wait, can't terrorists call that number, too?! Do they have a screening of some sort to decide who gets potentially life saving information? Perhaps ethnic background will come in to play... Found that commercial to be rather hilarious.
Oh, Smallville's season finale was rather dope. I've really taken a liking to that show. Unfortunately, I missed like the first season and a half due to skepticism. How many superhero tv shows have they had that were utter garbage? Mantis- the black scientific genius in a whel chair turned super power hero via a mechanical super suit. Birds of Prey- WB show of the daughter of Catwoman and Batman, co- starring Shemar Moore...need I say Moore, err, More? How many have been decent or engaging, but flopped due to lack of viewers? Lois & Clark. The Flash- massive special effects budget was the ultimate demise of this Friday night show. But, Smallville is actually good...despite being on the WB. And I am not a fan of Superman. He's a cornball super hero. I mean, why let someone punch you around if you can freze them with super breath, burn them with heat vision, you're faster than a speeding bullet? Faster than a speeding bullet, and people are hitting you. Oh, and he's hell strong! I can't see it, dog. I will admit that I loved the Superman movies as a kid, although 3 and 4 were pretty bad (especially 4). The quest for peace...give me a break. Superman II still rocks, tho'. I can sit and watch that joint still.
Conversely, the series finale to Buffy was mediocre. Comical, but some scenes truly lacked any depth. I know...it's Buffy, but bare with me people. I am of course keeping that in perspective. They killed Spike, one of the coolest cats on the whole damn show, and both the black people seemed to be holding on to life by a thread.

Oh, Charli Brown, I looked up the Persephone joint for you...I thought she was a muse for some reason. I'll have to check in to that one. But anyways, here's what I found to be consistent when I looked her up:
Persephone (pur-SEF-uh-nee)

Beautiful daughter of Zeus and Demeter; sometimes considered an Olympian. While gathering flowers in a field one day, Persephone was abducted to the Underworld by Hades, who arose in his chariot from a fissure in the ground. Demeter, goddess of the harvest, was heartbroken, and while she wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, the crops withered and it became perpetual winter. At length Hades was persuaded to surrender Persephone for one half of every year, the spring and summer seasons when flowers bloom and the earth bears fruit once more. The half year that Persephone spends in the Underworld as Hades' queen coincides with the barren season. The heroes Peirithous and Theseus attempted to abduct Persephone and bring her back to the land of the living.

Why do you talk to Zod like this when you know he will kill you for it? ~Zod from Superman II
PS- Hey, did ya'll peep out Zod in Episode I of Star Wars in the counselate meeting when Amidala plead no- confidence? Yep, that was him. Oh, and a bunch of E.T.'s were in that same scene. The joke was that E.T, saw a Yoda doll in E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and said "Hoooooome" as if to signify he actually recognized Yoda (from home).
PPS- The dude that played Willow was also in Episode ! of Star Wars during the pod race sequence...
Peace,
Lee (the Poet) aka Movie Guru in Training/ Greek Mythology Maniac

Many of you are now familiar with my less than infamous adventures at the grill downstairs from my job, so here's the latest installment (warning: it's hella brief). Figured I'd add that disclaimer before I get folks amped like I did in my spiderman keychain story back on April 2nd.
I think the folks downstairs are into hazing folks, man. Peep, I'm still the same Lee from a couple of month's ago, yet I now get the 4 star treatment at this 3 star grill. I mean, all I did was remain cordial. I don't believe in badmouthing folks in service positions (waiters, cooks, janitor's), not only are they undervalued and underpaid, they make our life easier when they actually perform properly; not to mention they can make your life hell, and you may never even know. Even if you did, they probably have it so you can't do shit about it. That, and motherfuckers are human, you piss folks off enough, a lot of 'em will do foul shit. Some will do so for no reason at all...so you don't want to "inspire" them. Heaven forbid you piss off the cook who habitually spits in the food...what could s/he cook up special just for you that you'll never taste but suffer from later???
Anyways, back to my hazing theory...(sheesh what a disjointed tangent). As if you don't know I do those from time to time (tangents, that is). Oops, doing it again. Okay, seriously this time...
Now, I canm walk into the same grill and get an egg and cheese croissant five minutes after or come in at 3:00 and still get a hot sandwhich, yet, they will turn other folks away. Point in case, I just got my usual, and as I got my sandwhich off the grill this young lady ,b>attempted to order a hamburger, ain't even ask for no cheese. That shit is 50¢ extra. Why they tell her the grill was off. How the hell I get a hot sandwhich then, magic? I wanted to say something, but felt as if I would be breaking some unsaid oath. I have been through their valley of death, I am initiated...I can't let the wayward souls know of the other side. They must earn it as I have. 'Sides, they might start actin' funny towards me again. Hey, I'm already "in" so hopefully she will be welcomed to the other side where they actually get a smile when they come in the door instead of the suspicious scowl I used to receive. Who knows...

“I find it…Ironic” a la Drew Anderson aka Basil E. Brokeballer
“I find it…Ironic” that we find ourselves about to shift up to a code orange terrorist alert, and I still though we were still in code orange. In fact, the only time I find out what code we’re in, is when we’re going to code orange. I just found out we were in code yellow right now. Like any of that shit matters.
“I find it…Ironic” that we now have terrorist alerts when we never collectively knew terror until a terrorist was in office.
These terror codes are fear tactics to prevent folks from askin where the hell all the money is going. Sure, reparations for black folks seems quite unlikely…despite the fact Jewish and Japanese folks received them for WW II crimes. But when you can appropriate over $60 billion in a month and a half (after 9/11 for “defense expenditures”) and nobody raises an eye after spoiling hundreds of billions in the nations (first and only) surplus in about eight months…kinda makes you wonder.
Oh, G Dubya has already filed the legal paperwork to start his re-election campaign.

Alright, now for Tuesday Titillating Thought Teaser…
Last Tuesday was:
Would it be alright...
Secreting secrets that were previously edited out of the Kama Sutra for being too nasty
Making music so beautiful that even Satan would call it blasphemy

Meaning:
Satan indeed was the personification of Music prior to his ego tripping, in fact the master of it. It is said by many that he still uses his mastery to corrupt the hearts, souls, and minds of folks today through music…a gift that comes from God, but still very much susceptible to Satan. So in this piece, you have two individuals whose love making translates into making music. Imagine: Satan himself sees a love so timeless it’s devoid of innocence and guilt, knowledge or ignorance. Something so natural that the masterful way it’s done is second nature. Something so beautifully vulgar, even he would call it blasphemy for his inability to either create it, or his jealousy for not thinking to create it first.

Shondriette and Drew were the closest; in fact, if you combined their answers, they are pretty much dead on. Let’s give them a big round of cyber applause for their participation in last weeks Tuesday Teaser. (Insert applause here).

This Tuesday’s Teaser is a two- parter that comes from
”She Didn’t”
Perhaps that’s why she’d let men soil her soul
Ka cannibals would devour her whole for flesh diving
Not once striving for soul bathing

She gave up her Godliness on many occasions for a heaven that couldn’t last
Not knowing that heaven is a state of mind
And you don’t have to wait until you’re dead and gone
Cause as long as you have God in your heart
Then it’s not too Komplex to believe you can have heaven in your view, too

Not too complex, but see if ya’ll get the significance of the wording…The second one will probably be obvious to many who are "on the poetry scene" down here in the Baltimore- DC Metro area.

Saw the Matrix last night with Lynn, Aneesah (the wonderful), and Joi(ful) at Hoyts Potomac Yard. It was interesting…I didn’t walk away with the wow feeling that I had in the first one, but the concepts introduced were still pretty dope. The special effects were of course ridiculous. But things that really made me proud of the first Matrix were expounded upon even more this time around. The fact that black people play a prominent role, and are leaders makes me happy. Watching the Jetsons and the Flintstones, there was but one black person in the entire cartoon…powerful subliminal message there. They (the Waichowski brothers: writer’s/directors/executive producers) further pushed the image of diversity by adding more Asians, and putting some latinos in the mix as well. Watching Lord of the Rings, there ain't been a black person yet. I look for shit like that.
Some things I noticed:
The guy that played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II was in the Matrix.
Nona Gaye (Marvin Gaye’s daughter…she was in Ali as one of his wives) is fine in whatever role she plays.
Actually, for those who haven’t seen it…I won’t give it away.
It was cool tho’…anticipatin’ the third joint, along with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Hey, Indiana Jones is finally coming out on DVD this November!!!! Yay!!

Have a lot to say…but can’t quite hold my thoughts together long enough to write ‘em out. Tired yet very alert…
PS- They are finally omin out with the Freddy VS Jason movie this August!!! It's about time! I've been waitin' for that joint for like ten years when they did Jason Goes to Hell in '93! I'm going for Freddy in this one.
EyeWillHolla

Yo, I'm sittin in this class...and this dude don't know what he's doin'!. I'd be mad if I paid $800.00 for this, man. Power got cut yesterday, and G Dubya's long lost cousin. I say this because he looks a lot like George W. Bush if you look long enough. He even has the same befuddled look. He seems like a nice guy, but he don't know half the shit he's talkin' about. We know it, and I'm sure he knows we know...but he won't admit it...which makes it painfully funny. Must go...being rude.

This Tuesday's Snippet: Okay, don't be mad but I have no poetry on me right now, except on zip disk, and of course they don't have zip drives here at this training facility, right? So, here's a brief two liner, interpret the second line por favor...the message/bored are open for your american idol votes for the next 24 hours!

Excerpt from:
Would it be alright...
Secreting secrets that were previously edited out of the Kama Sutra for being too nasty
Making music so beautiful that even Satan would call it blasphemy

Okay okay okay, I know that was mad short, but the line itself is pretty dope...besides, there are more syllables here than in haikus, so you're still getting more bang for your proverbial buck.
Tally ho, then...I'm off~ Random English Guy

Because of this software class...I may have to do Tuesday's snippet tomorrow, aight? I'll see what's up, tho.
One!

struggling to stay awake in this class...pray for me ya'll; I'm soooo (yawn) sleepy!

Remember When:you could go to 7/11 and get WWF Superstars ice cream bars?
Remember When: they had a WWF superstars cartoon?
Remember When:Right On, Word Up, and Black Beat were our Source, Vibe, and XXL magazine's?

On Saturday, I went to Tony & Joes with my sister, nephew, niece, brother- in-law, stepfather, mother, Lynn, and my brother- in- law's mother...Mrs. Williams. Has a good dinner, and wound up leaving later than expected to head out for my feature. My feature on Saturday was awesome. For those in attendence, I had a great time, and I think they did, too. In fact, hit up my message/bored to let me know what you thought of the feature and material. I have to holler later, I'm in a software training course that's about to start...
EyeWillHolla!

Okay, because some of you may notice that my archives are recorded past April 2, 2003, I've made it so that the last 30 days worth of posts wind up on this page until the problem is corrected. I'm trying to get the problem fixed, but it's not on my end. I'll be back to the magic number of 7 as soon as blogger.com gets their shit together.
Thanks for your patience,

H. J. Lee Bennett, III aka Lee (the Poet)

All I can say is wow...I had fun last night @ Java Head. Mad illpoets rolled through: Dana, Sir, Takia, Brandi, and of course Drew (seeing as tho' he hosts the damn thing every Thursday faithfully). I opened up the set for a change due to my earlier than normal arrival...and for the record Drew, I didn't start coming late until the set started crackin' off around 9:00, shit, may as well get a little bit of Smackdown here and there...or something like that :o) Jumped the set off with two new pieces, I think folks were feelin' it, but if not, wouldn't be the first time. Oh, the dude Drew has been raving about for the past two weeks, Wel, was indeed off the hook. Shit, between me and Drew, we need to do a talent search for the real def poets and get paid for it. I could make a line up that would embarass Russell Simmons...Patrick Washington is on our side tho'! Aw, man, the love in Java Head is like no other...reminiscent of when the Mangos crowd was always the same core of cats rollin' thru from week to week. Still love Mangos, but I LOVE Java Head, y'dig? We had fun crackin jokes, and even did an impromptu theme which hasn't been done in a while: "Fuck Love". Oh, it was fun, but Dana did the official set it off joints for the night that started it all. The wild part is that despite the theme, it was still nothin' but love. A bunch of poetic folks exhaling their bitterness...ah, it was fun. Looking forward to my feature @ Urban Energy this Saturday, perhaps some Java Heads will come thru to support. Never know...

Pardon the interruption, but the post for yesterday's blog was an unavoidable tangent pertaining to scapegoating... Unfortunately, folks like to profess certain virtues that they never hold true to, but when the light shines on them, they need someone to blame. Just seen hip hop blamed for so many things, shit, I've seen green monkeys blamed for HIV...what a way to get known. Imagine your a green monkey, and nobody knows who the hell you are. You don't have any shots on the national geographic shows like the hippo, or the lion...nobody finds you remotely entertaining like the baboon, or flying squirrel. Then one day people start dropping dead left and right, and everybody points at you. The wild part is, that you supposedly have a disease that people catch from you if they skin you. Now, you're an outcast in the jungle...nobody wants to be your friend. Before, they just din't know you and figured you to be a recluse, but now you have killer cooties. No one will play with you, and all because somebody wants to mix some cow lukeinia and sheep visna together for population control. Is there a true enough apology that we could give the green monkey?! How would we feel if they did that to us, huh?! Point blank: If you ain't about the positive progression of hip hop, leave it alone!
Okay...I'm cool now.
EyeWillHolla

Now I've mentioned this to a couple folk, but I figured I'd put it out there for errybo' cuz. This R. Kelly guy is an idiot. Why would you have several allegations against yourself as a pedophile and child pornographer and change your name to "The Pied Piper"? Do you guys know what the Pied Pyper was famous for? Playing music while romping through the forest with a crowd of little kids entranced by his music. He hypnotizes the entire child population of a village when the town refuses to pay them for getting rid of the towns overbaring rodent problem. He runs into a mountain side with all but one of the children (who happened to be lame) and vanished forever. Interesting, yes no? Here's an excerpt, cause y'know your boy Lee is gon' find something to back up what he's says. right?:
"183 ``And folks who put me in a passion
184 ``May find me pipe after another fashion.''

XI.

185 ``How?'' cried the Mayor, ``d'ye think I brook
186 ``Being worse treated than a Cook?
187 ``Insulted by a lazy ribald
188 ``With idle pipe and vesture piebald?
189 ``You threaten us, fellow? Do your worst,
190 ``Blow your pipe there till you burst!''

XII.

191 Once more he stept into the street,
192 And to his lips again
193 Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane;
194 And ere he blew three notes (such sweet
195 Soft notes as yet musician's cunning
196 Never gave the enraptured air)
197 There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling
198 Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,
199 Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,
200 Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering,
201 And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scattering,
202 Out came the children running.
203 All the little boys and girls,
204 With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
205 And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,
206 Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
207 The wonderful music with shouting and laughter."
Hmmmm, and now he's doing remixes with B2K's effiminate asses...
Oh, for more on the story of The Pied Piper, you can click here (just in case you're interested).

It started off innocent, cool even. The first curse word to ever grace the big screen was "damn" in Gone With The Wind. You know the line: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." So cool and unaffected. It wasn't done in a profane way, but in an apathetic way...devoid of love and empathy. The silver screen was never the same after that. Soon the entire vocabulary changed from proper southern flare to "I want you to get on your knees and squeal like a pig" ~ Deliverance. The big screen was no longer satisfied with the waning power of suggestion, they wanted to show it and let you hear it. Norman Bates would no longer be cut during his gruesome off screen antics, he would be shown in all his demented glory. Butchering, rape, profanity, all the things that was beginning to plague our society more overtly would be shown in all its glory on the big screen. Soon a standards committee would have to be created to tell people what is fir to be seen by whom...but in all honesty, I'm twenty five years old and I'm not ready to see a man's rape depicted in an elaborate manner. Quite frankly, one could go the Shawshank Redemption route and let me pontificate whether or not Andy Dufraine was raped or whether or not he fought them off. I could do without the raw imagery of Deliverance, Pulp Fiction, and American Me rape scenes.
Am I saying that in Gone With The Wind was the beginning of the end (hey, that rhymed)? In a way, yes. Because it started with somebody who had balls enough to push the envelope…The word ‘damn’ isn’t extreme, so why can’t we say it? A lot worse can be said, right? Oh, the word bitch isn’t that bad, it’s commonly used in urban settings all across the country…after all, who are we marketing to? We have to make the people in the ghetto feel like they’re in the ghetto.
*Okay, before I get into a soapbox speech about lack of quality roles for black actors, please let me continue my current line of thought.
The big screen is one thing, initially one had to go to the movies to see the violence and sex and hear the bad language (stay with me, I’m going to make a really good point soon). Before your HBO’s and Movie Channels, and Pay Per Views. And for a while, depending upon how “bad” it was, the movie might not show until 10:00 or 12:00 at night (mainly on cable). Fast forward to the 80’s. You have a new reality being birthed on TV in the likes of Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues, which in their own way give birth to NYPD Blue and The Fast Lane. Father no longer knows best. Family shows like the Huxtables, and even the sadly syrupy Full House are replaced by back stabbing broads in the Joe Millionaire reality show and ER, the latter of which actually is a good show. But, even ER has pushed the envelope with a little word here, and a “shit” there. Now, the only word left is “fuck”, while every other profane word has been said. “Nuts, bitch, Pussy, faggot, hoes, Shit, Damn, cock, bite me, eat me, piss off,” etc. Ain’t it ironic that UPN will air Menace II Society at 5:00 on a Sunday afternoon with all the “nigger” and “bitch” words uncensored, but they’ll still bleep out the words “God Damnit”. Now, we have compound curse words on national television. Just last night on UPN’s television show Platinum, the fake wannabe Pac/Eminem/Fifty Cent was qouted as saying, “How many shots you hear? Go find those other bullets, I have to know how many times I was shot. Yeah, ya’ll better run you pussy ass bitches!”
Wow. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I watch all types of movies all the time, ever since I was young. But, I had parents who let me know in one way or another, “…long as you don’t try that shit”. Moms was extra conservative/overprotective and pops was like whatever. However I knew the boundaries, even at age five. I knew that those movies were just that…movies. I never tried to skateboard while holding on to the back of a pickup truck like this one unfortunate white boy did in my school after seeing Back II The Future. I never laid down in the middle of the road to test my nerves after seeing The Program like some of these other fools were. I knew that it wasn’t real, and if it was, you were an ass for doing it. The generation today is more detached from reality than any generation in the history of man. The line is constantly being blurred as many believe they are Neo in this translucent matrix. Why shouldn’t they be detached? We have video games that are more than anatomically correct that are intimate and can even disembowel each other. Every felon is a wannabe rapper and every rapper is a felon or a wannabe felon. These kids don’t have to have parents who buy cable to see the bullshit anymore. There's no need to figure out the remote code for playboy, or make out the sex acts through the scrambled sex channels. HBO is over 30 specials deep on the Real Sex series, Showtime has a Real World reality show about a family in the porn industry where they show everything, and Sharon Stone's leg crossing in Basic Instinct is child's play to the stuff they have in movies now. That little blackbox isn’t necessary if you want to see someone get their ass beat or killed. You can see it on Springer or on the evening news. Today, we get in gory accidents trying to see something gory in the accident across the highway divide.
In the Marvel Comics universe, there is a being called The Watcher who catalogues every event that transpires, yet never gets involved. No matter how important the event, and even though he often has the power to change things, all he does is watch. We have become a society of watchers. Used to be you'd beat that little boys ass for showin out at the supermarket, and then tell his mama. Now all you do is talk bad about him and his mama, never ever telling her that her child was showing out at the supermarket. Who's the problem, him, or you? There is no guidance. And no active role in setting boundaries is the same thing as condoning the dumb shit your children listen to and watch. I find it ironic that when my parents generation were telling us that hip hop was negative, we were socially and politically conscious as hell. We had BDP and Public Enemy, shit, even NWA had a Fuck the Police sentiment which reigns in any predominantly “minority” urban backdrop. Now, it actually is what they were calling it 15 years ago, and no one seems to notice/care. Folks like Rakim and KRS- 1 are legends to my generation, but “old” to the generation right after me…that’s if they knw who they are in the first place.
No guidance. No rapor with an older generation. Oh, believe me, I was the child of the radio like these kids today, but I also knew what was going on on my dad’s radio station. I was familiarized with Earth, Wind & Fire, I heard Sade, and could sing to the Commodores. Now all these adults do is talk shit about the youth like they don’t live with them or next door to them. How many records have you listened to with your child, and how many of their CD’s have you played just to be interested in what they hear? Do ya’ll understand that Hip Hop isn’t just an industry to them, to them it’s their way of life? The way they talk, dress, walk, think, breathe, dance, pray, repent, live and die? Do you understand that hip hop is the track they live and die to? The track they bleed to and through? And you tellin’ them hip hop won’t last, it ain’t shit, it’s a fad, a dying genre? Do you understand that that’s what you’re saying to them? How ‘bout, if you never listened to hip hop, or rock & roll, or goth, or punk…then you never listened to your child?
It’s not about pushing the envelope anymore…the envelope has been sealed and shipped off long ago. The letter inside said “fuck you and you morals!” and you accepted it. So you want to blame hip hop, or tv, or movies…nah, blame yourselves. I understand it’s hard to put the blame where it belongs if it belongs with you, but, it’s time to fess up.
The age old question: Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life?
The answer: Life imitates the life that’s projected in art.
It’s always the goal to be on the screen, than watching it…at any cost. Even if it’s the evening news and your name is Chandra Levy. So are you listening now, mufucka, or does the occasional profanity in my speech mar the message? Are you going to open your eyes, pay attention, and read between the lines? Everything that’s gone wrong in your white suburban black urban and vice versa existence is not my fault. AIDS didn’t get here on it’s own, but by the same government you martyred the Dixie Chicks for. Any political agenda is a bad one because it’s still an agenda. War does not generate more money, shady side deals and killing innocent people does. If the entire duration of the bible took place in Africa, then why is Charlton Heston playing Moses? How many white women have you seen with the name Basheeba? Are you going to ignore the truth again because it isn’t what you wanted to hear or packaged in a way that you find acceptable? Are you going to accept responsibility and not buy into it anymore? Or are you going to tell me, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn"?

Aw, man...I need a moment to gather myself. I was on the elevator a little while ago, and why did Mama Fratelli get on...? You know, the old lady from Goonies and Throw Mama from the Train... Ole girl looked just like her, I wanted to be like...
"You don't have a cousin Patty!"
Oh yeah...
Remember When: Scientists first discovered Radon?
Remember When: Mario Brothers was a popular game, cartoon, dance, and a sub par movie?
Remember When: Pee Wee was associated with a playhouse, Big Adventure, dance/rap song...not just sports?

Last Tuesday's joint was pretty niftily broken down by Big Bru on my message/bored. For those who didn't see, I took the liberty of copying and pasting hi response to last Tuesday's Snippet...
"Chick was lookin for a good man that had nothing to hide with no emotional scars but kept finding dudes with split personalities that had big dreams with just a dollar to their names. And the whole time she didn't realize she couldn't get a good man cause she was up to no good." ~ Bru
Okay, for the most part he had it. In the poem, I made it clear that she was a good person, but had poor guidance and life examples when it came to finding a good man for herself. This was not a woman bashing poem, but a poem that shed light on some of the confusion women go through in the quest to find a good man, even a successful woman like the subject of this poem. Anyways, on to the breakdown, hope you guys read comics a bit...
The Selena reference was correlated to the movie, Selena, and to Selena Kyle aka Catwoman, who was a love interest of Batman/ Bruce Wayne's. The masks and psychological bags were referring to Bruce Wayne's demented way of handling the ghosts of his past, the emotional baggage, having a completely diferent identity to handle/resolve problems, etc. Also, Bruce has deep pockets, much like Harvey Dent did (he was a prominent lawyer), but not as well paying as Bruce's billionaire status. She was looking for a big baller without the head problems to take care of her, or at least a player that would chip in with a few bills...but kept winding up with duplicitous dudes...hence the Two Face metaphor. Two Face suffers from schizophrenia, and was formerly known as Harvey Dent. Ah, read a comic book or two in the DC universe if you're still a little thrown.
"I've got more issues than geeks with comic books"~ The Dri Fish
Aight, see if you can do one better in decoding this one...I'll see if I can dig in the vault for next weeks joint, aight?

This Tuesday's Snippet...
Excerpt from
Culture Clash
Be it RAM or ROM the cosmic space knight
I burn new paths
Cats are destined to crash in the aftermath of my forethought’s like the foes of Tron
Super digital subliminal
You wouldn’t believe the information on my hard drive
Ultra compressed data I zip lines
Eye Omega (Iomega)
For all these emcees in their beta version
I’m horseshoe equator around sigma
With 360 emcees in a circular formation,
I’m the lyrical enigma at the spherical center
The third iris at the peak of the delta
Sensing helter-skelter at every angle
Spangled banners attempting to make 50 stars the least common denominator
Cross fader of confusion on the continental scale
Hence
Justice is blind

Awwww, man…this weekend…
Saw X- Men 2, which was leaps and bounds better than the first one, although it was still rather inaccurate. Nightcrawler had hooves, Storm had brown eyes, the poor segue towards the phoenix saga…I guess anything was an improvement. I liked this one simply for the fact it didn’t utterly disappoint me like the last one did. Later that evening, went to Suitland and rocked for about ten minutes, and rolled out to the Film Festival joint in DC. I was there for about five minutes before the joint ended and Dehejia and I did our thing for that. My voice gave out because I rocked at Suitland without a mic, so I only had enough in my voice to rock to pieces. Wanted to see the Poemcees show, but didn’t have it in me that night for various reasons.
Saturday consisted of me spending a bit of time at my father’s crib before going to Lynn’s cousins graduation party, which had a 70’s theme. Dad was nice enough to let me borrow the dashiki that was straight from Africa, so at least I had the real deal. The party was cool; saw De La Hoya embarrass Cambus or whatever his name was. He knocked ole boys mouth piece out of his mouth five times! I called it from the early rounds that his corner was going to have to stop it, which they did…in the 7th round. I’m good. Rolled back to Lynn’s crib and watched Cooley High, which she had never seen before. Oh, Cooley High was a door prize she got, cool, huh?
Sunday was me going to see my 1st Stepmother to see how she was doing. She was doing better than I anticipated. We rapped for a bit while Lynn and my brother kicked it. I saw Def Jam Vendetta, which I was unimpressed by. Bugged out when DMX was like, “Stop acting like a bitch, dog!” Word! Went past my mom’s crib and rapped with my stepfather about some things, and got a chance to talk to my nephew, who was there with my sister, niece, and brother in law. A good weekend where I saw and spoke to family…
Okay, that’s the overview synopsis…but I don’t feel like typing right now. Sorry ya’ll, lazines has afflicted me for the time being. I’ll rap with ya’ll in a bit tho’.

Congrats to Bru for decoding my words on the message/bored! I'll get something a little more complex next time...well, depending upon what I have with me on Tuesday. You know a brother be on the copy and paste tip, right?
I'll holla!

First of all, the directions I got online for the best route there were mad extra. If I had known the joint was pretty much off of East West Highway, I could have pretty much winged it. But anyways…I get there, and when I do, my breathing is a little suspect. I’ve had a couple of scares regarding my breathing in the last few years and I’m not even asthmatic. Once I walked through the high school to find that the joint was basically right at the other entrance, I walked outside to get my breathing right. The air inside wasn’t going to help me out, so I opted for some fresh air. Besides…I needed to call Takia to tell her how damn easy it was to get to the school.
Now, allow me to backtrack a sentence or two for a sentence or two. This school…was off the rockers!. Dog, they had that joint lookin’ like an indoor college campus. Man, they got a damn Boys and Girls club and an adult learning center attached to the school. They had elevators in that joint, cuz. The joint was dope, for real.
Aight, back to my story…So as I go outside to call Takia, none other than Kanniki J comes out to say what’s up. Okay, Kanniki and 13 are mad cool, and 13 had agreed to make it out to the school. So when I got there, I asked had anyone else arrived. I was told no. So I was slightly surprised to see Kanniki, but then again, why should I have been? That’s like folks being surprised to see me roll with Lynn. So, the three of us rapped a bit outside, cause you know Lynn was with me, right?
Eventually, we went back inside and went downstairs to the café…yes, the café. I was a judge, along with Kanniki, 13, and Darius who arrived a bit late.. Being as though it was a high school slam, I wanted to not be to heavy on the score, so I made up my mind that I wouldn’t give anything beneath an 8.0 when I score them. Somebody should have told Darius that tho. Slim was on some American Idol, Simon Cowell shit. He was givin' folks 5.0's and 6.5's. Which, in honesty, was real and provided a balance. Some folks didn't come as hard as they should have, but I didn't want dissuade none of these youngyin's from writin or performing just to be "real" I give him props, tho'. Although I don't think there were any 5.0 performances, there were some that just needed to give more for the scores they were given. I judged them on content, clarity, delivery, confidence, pace, etc. Then, I weighed that against their second round performance, which made my second round scoring a bit tighter. Some folks stepped it up in the second round, but most kinda got a bit lax... All of them did their thing, but a few of them stood out, namely…ahem:
Clarrisa, Phillip, Katina, Jamar, Anthony, and this one shorty from Lancaster who to me had a dope voice. In actuality, there were to young ladies from Lancaster, PA, but I’m referring to the shorter one, can’t remember her name, right now.
I honestly thought Clarrisa had it, but Phillip pulled it out, besting her by a measly point. The top four were Phillip, Clarrisa, Jamar, and Katina. Ha, when they called Jamar for third place, he sat there for a moment like there was another Jamar in the competition.. Hey, ya all did ya thing. I have yet to win a slam. Go into a slam as solely an avenue to better your performance and your craft. Like I said tho’, they all had some fire. The cat Anthony clearly likes to rhyme, but did his rhymes like a poem because it was a poetry competition. That probably hurt him, because he had a lil somethin’ somethin goin’ on with the rhymes. Plus, it sounded like he had a bit of an accent when he was spittin, which was reminiscent of Slick Rick and what not. Next time, just spit it playboy.
Afterwards, we all did our thing…including Takia who was mad because I had the emcee call her out. What did you expect playa? You come all that way and riff on me because you got lost, and you just gon’ sit in the cut? Na playa, not even. I think Takia got their attention, I’ll just leave it at that. We all spat, and the students that stayed behind asked questions, which was mad cool. I thanked Katina for inviting me, and apologized for misspelling her name. The folks were nice enough to give us little books to write in, which I’ll be using for Haiku’s and Tanka’s.
Oh, they also have an art program. Son, if I could go back in time, I would make myself do the VPA program at Suitland, although Northwestern’s Jim Henson School of the Arts sounds more enticing. Dog, Jim Henson is an Alumnus of that school! These kids had some dope joints hanging in the hallway. I’m a big Jim Henson fan, didn’t know he was from Maryland. They had a timeline and showcase of his work…it was mad cool. The experience was mad…cool. Never did a high school slam, or judges a slam, period, so…I had a ball! 13 and Kanniki followed us back into DC where I showed them how to get to Soul Veg on Georgia Ave. I am not a vegetarian, so I ordered some greasy ass chicken fingers and fries, yum yum yummy (lol)!
*After the joint, I said I wasn’t going to make it to Kanniki and 13’s feature @ Bohemian due to being tired, but I rolled through anyway. So, I’m hella tired now. Can’t wait for Friday @ Suitland…my alma mater. Got to see the fly ass Ja Hipster, Tonya Mathews @ Java Head first, tho…tonite!
One!