Theme song for the people I've seen in Vegas

Never Tell Me The Odds! Happy 30th, Empire Strike Back

(First and foremost, happy birthday, mom. Love you so much and thank you for everything)

Seven years old, walking into a dark RKO Fordham theater, holding my father's hand as he tried to find us a seat. On the screen was a bloodied Luke Skywalker, hung upside down as he reached out for his lightsaber. We came in late and my brother decided to sit by himself or something. Didn't matter, I was focused on the screen. This was my first Star Wars film and my little heart was hooked from then.

People know I'm a Star Wars geek. I have some action figures (including two preview Mace Windu figures, one which is still in its package), played various video games based on the series, seen/own all the VHS/DVDs (well most), and though I don't follow it at times, will give Yoda's advice of doing and not trying. If I had a List, besides football, being able to tolerate Star Wars is up there. Not saying you have to be a fan(atic), but at least be willing to indulge my Star Wars geekdom (don't worry, you do not have to do cosplay, especially since I don't).

Empire Strikes Back was dark, somber, and a perfect set up for the third movie, Return of the Jedi. Eventually it would be the template for all second movies in trilogies to come afterwards (Two Towers, anyone?). Heroes took a massive blow in this one, one was frozen and another was missing a hand. It had a mixed of humor, seriousness, and "DID YOU SEE THAT?" moments. I was just as terrified of the AT-ATs when I first saw them marching on Hoth as the rebels did. One of the best chase scene in a film, in my option, was the asteroid field (John Williams' score of that scene is an all time favorite).

I could go on and on about Star Wars, but let me keep what little dignity I have left. Thank you, George Lucas, for sparking the imagination of millions which still lives on today.


May the force be with you...always.

Original Trailer:


If ESB was made in 1950, it would probably look like this:


Cliff Notes:


Luke vs Darth Vader:


Ending with my favorite Star Wars related mention in a movie:

PicStories

On: How I grew to not hate Phrenology as much as I did

Monday, May 3rd*

7:29 PM me: last thing: is it bad that the only song I remember off of Phrenology is "Water"?
7:31 PM fredara: nope!
7:33 PM me: cool haha
7:40 PM uh oh
so I'm listening to "Sacrifice" and thinking of giving the album another listen
:-(
7:41 PM fredara: oh?
me: yeah
you
know
age and shit
fredara: lol
7:42 PM me: I'm staring real hard at the CD
fredara: lol
me: fuck it
7:49 PM me: three songs in and I see what went wrong
7:50 PM 1) they left all that band feel out the door
2) that punk rock song was way too early
7:52 PM 3) too many effects
6 minutes
7:59 PM me: uh oh
I think...
fredara: ?
me: I might actually not hate it as much as before
8:00 PM fredara: lolol
5 minutes
8:05 PM me: oh no
i don't dislike "Seed 2.0" as much either
8:06 PM fredara: yeah, i'm cool with that
8:07 PM me: I'm beginning to think I had too much access to not really like the album
like the original Water, the original Seed
knowing that most of these songs were on Masterpiece Theater
8:08 PM and the d'angelo version of Break U Off

Tonight (Phrenology the background music)

1. "This isn't like Illadelph Halflife or Things Fall Apart!" Very true, it's not like either of those albums. It's something...different. Where were the "Vs."? Why wasn't Ursula Rucker doing the poem at the end as usual? For a fan during the Organix to Things Fall Apart, this was a major departure. To me, this is more akin to Buhloone Mindstate ie "I don't know if I could really get into this because it doesn't sound like a typical *insert artist* album"
2. "What the f*ck is that crazy sh!t after 'Water'?!?!" Actually I wasn't turned off by the "Fiend" part of "Water", but I could see how others could be. It's long, jarring, head scratching; yes all of that. However it's beautiful piece of work...that might have worked better as a last track (speaking of which, the hell was going on with the hidden track "Thirsty"?)
3. "Man, half of this is Black Thought's album! We waited this long for a half ass album?!?" This, I believe, was the major gripe about the album. To some of us, it just seemed that the Roots kinda put together a compilation album. You have some songs from Black Thought's shelved MCA album, Masterpiece Theater ("Water", "Rock You", "Thought At Work", and "Pussy Galore") and "Seed", which was originally on Cody Chesnutt's debut album The Headphone Masterpiece (minus Thought's verses). Three years and we get less than half a Roots album.
4. "Musiq Soulchild?!?! WHERE'S D'ANGELO?" Haha for the full (?) story of that, read the liner notes for Homegrown. Long story short, music business business (seriously ?uestlove tells a better story of the incident, though you could see the madness involved in the Phrenology's notes)
5. "'Seed 2.0' is vulgar!" Again, I didn't have a problem with this or the imagery, however I know some female fans were turned off with "I push my seed in her bush". Understandable.

So how is it that I came to not dislike the album as much as back in 2002? Simple, it's 2010, meaning growth and age happened. Musically, I can understand the album better as well as kinda see where the group was heading. Age led me to be more objective, especially since I'm not that rabid "Yall ain't heard of the Roots?!?" fan anymore. It's more subtle "Check out this track if you liked them on Jimmy Fallon's show."

It's interesting to revisit an album which divided a fan base like Phrenology did. Maybe it was a barometer of said fan (stan?) base like, imo, Around the World in a Day, where Prince distanced himself from Purple Rain. Kinda like "Will you still be with us after we do this" to which my answer was yes.

I do know one thing:
I'm still not listening to Tipping Point besides "Star", "Stay Cool", "Boom" and "Web" (sorry)
So yeah, Ahmir, my bad...

*chat used with permission

The War of Art

Books

I read them, but easily bored by them. Maybe I don't have the attention span or I get too busy to finish them, but at times, like writing, I just can't keep the focus or the drive. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I love reading, just at this point, with a piling plate, books aren't on that list.

My dear friend and "Skipper" to my "Ken", Autumn and I were talking about creative drives and what usually blocks them. "You ever read the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield?" to which I replied no. "You should, I think it will help you out."

Ugh...books...

After she mentioned it at least three times, decided to bite the bullet and order a copy. Man alive, that was one of the best recommendations I've gotten in a long while. I feel so empowered, it's incredible. We as creatives have so many obstacles and stumbling blocks it's kinda hard to not give up and become a mindless drones.

A few gems:
-Resistance is the fear from within
-a pro takes criticism, but doesn't let it affect their work
-Resistance is a distraction (tv, drugs, internet, sex, family, friends)
-(and when I start my new job) "We only have rights to our work, not the fruits of said work" (meaning what comes from the work produced is not as important as doing the work itself)

While I haven't finished the book yet (can't wait to get to the Muse chapter), I feel like how I did when I first took African Studies...illuminated (not to be confused with Illuminati).

So please...pick up this book, you won't regret it. Matter of fact...read some for yourself

History

While doing some much needed cleaning, I came across a Ticketmaster envelope. Thought nothing of it and was about to throw it away until I felt something inside. No lie, when I opened it up, I saw a bright light and heard a choral in the background. Inside were...ticket stubs, stubs I thought I lost but now found.

Here are some of my prized stubs (starting top clockwise):

1) Okayplayer Tour (Winter Mini-Tour with Def Jux and Pete Rock & CL Smooth)
This was a cool little tour and the Roots are my favorite group to see live. If you haven't seen them live, you're missing out, especially if you love live music. The Def Jux crew was okay, but nothing really to write home about. However I was amped to see Pete Rock & CL Smooth rock (no pun intended), being that I never saw them perform live. Also with the supposed riff, this was something that had to be seen. Was not disappointed, just seeing CL get live to some of their classic hits was enough for me.

Another thing I remembered was seeing it with Fredara, who later told me it was a date haha. If only I had known...(Rain check?) . It was also funny how she spent some of her time looking for some place to charge her phone during the Def Jux portion of the show.

2) Prince (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Show)
A reminder for those new, which is probably most of you, I am a die hard Prince fan. He's the reason why I lost interest in playing classical music, much to the chagrin of my Russian piano teacher. The reason...man, that's for another post. Let's just say he's a major influence of mine, no matter that he's releasing, in my opinion, sub-par material now.

Anyway this was my very first Prince show...ever. Remember a friend of mine kept looking at me. Asked her why and her reply was "I wanted to see if you were going to cry." Thanks...but I ain't crying over no man (well not one living, I did when Dilla died). I did, however, get excited when I saw the brown and black guitar (the one used during Computer Blues). Yes he did wear heels that lit up when he walked haha. Yes some of his fans are out there (a mother yelled at her daughter to not drop the flowers she brought for Prince). Yes I didn't get home until 3am and had to go to work the next day. Would I do it again? Cmon now...

3) Okayplayer Tour (2000)
I remember showing up late for this one haha, but the energy was awesome. I believe on the bill was The Roots, dead prez, Flo Brown, Jaguar Wright, and I think Jill Scott. The second leg in Nov is the one I remember the most, mainly because I was with my ex during the blissful times haha (also remember yelling at a white chick who stepped on her coat. "That's kinda sexy"---ex)

4) A Tribe Called Quest (Farewell Tour)
To say Tribe was a part of my life would be an understatement. Their albums were the soundtracks to whatever phase I was in my life from high school to mid/late twenties. So going to this heartbreaking show was a must.

Usually I would go with my brothers, but they couldn't make it so I went solo. Great show and I remember trying to get them to do Lyrics to Go haha. Fondest memory was seeing Slum Village (complete with Dilla) for the first time. Crowd wasn't really feeling them until they did "I Don't Know". Remember a group of dudes singing along after relating; guess they had a homie they didn't know why they messed with haha.

5) De La Soul (Tramps)
De La Soul also falls into the same category as Tribe as far as being an influence. They showed us that you can be different and still get love (kind of like the Nerd/Geek Era we're going through now). Another great show. If you hear Tribe, De La, or the Roots are coming to your town, buy tickets immediately!

This is also the show that was recorded as well as Posdnuos showing up late due to the birth of his son, I believe. This was also the show where afterwards I called my ex in England, which is a long story I rather not get into. I will say the question I asked her was...stupid.

6) What Is Jazz Festival (Roots, Vernon Reid, Erykah Badu)
Besides seeing them at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, this was my very first Roots concert (wow!). Interestingly enough I can't remember what songs they did or how the show was. I do remember being amazed at Vernon Reid's set, which was also my first time seeing him live. However the main draw was a young unknown singer who had New York on their ears when she released a song called "On and On". I believe this was her first show ever in NY. Headwrap, offering table, incense, yep. Remember the last song on the Love Below where Dre talks about the show he met Erykah at? This was it.

7) Black Lily (Last BL Show at Wetlands)
Almost every Sunday from 1999 to 2001, I used to go to Wetlands to see the lovely ladies of Black Lily perform. It was a showcase for Jazzfatnastees, Jaguar Wright, and 3-7000-9 with a female first open mic. Always a wonderful way to end the weekend to see the ladies get their shine. Also in attendance was Fishbone, who perfomed earlier the night. Wanted to say something to Angelo but fear over took me.

Usually after Black Lily, we would walk with our New Jersey friends to the PATH station at the World Trade. For some reason, maybe due to spent energy, we decided against that and took regular transit. The following Tuesday, the towers and the station were no more...


So yeah, those are why they are my prized possession. Have to find a way to preserve them better...

Crash

LPs : Flood :: MP3s : Crash

I'm still in mourning for my 500gig external hard drive that died in 2008 (or what I like to call it, The Crash of 2008). It was probably karma that took my precious mp3s away*, for what I have no clue. What I do know is that I lost some great tunes I've been collecting for over eight years, most which I can't find again**. Like what you ask? Let me run down a list of some I could remember:

• various Prince bootlegs like Charade and Livesexy
• various Dilla beat tapes including the original Ruff Draft and Jaylib unreleased instrumentals
• some VonPea and Donwill solo tracks before they became Tanya Morgan
• some Dilla samples that were nicely complied
• some songs my friend in Akron made before she became a pastor
• instrumental of Little Brother's "Nic's Groove" as well as various LB and Nicolay tracks that were on #thatsite
• A DJ Jamad mix I used to play almost weekly
• A Brown Sugar Era D'Angelo song maybe only three people have
• A Nujabes album (RIP)
• the Samurai Champloo albums
• some japanese jazz albums
• various samples I used/wanted to use

Just typing those make me tear up. It's especially hard when you hear random people mention songs, you go to your music folder (or drive), and you get this.

I know various DJs who look down on mp3s and while I agree there is a warmth not felt through digital formats, mp3 collectors have more in common with their vinyl counterparts than both sides would admit. Both look for that one perfect tune. Both have a secret stash. Both can tell you a story about a particular acquisition. Most importantly, both love music.

But the one main commonality is how painful the lost of a music collection is, which goes back to the first sentence of this blog. In my hearts of heart, I still think Beats, Rhymes, and Life suffered when Q-Tip's wax collection got destroyed in a flood (or was that a fire)***. I remember reading that RZA got flooded THREE TIMES. I'm pretty sure at one point most of my favorite producers got hit with this causality.

With the advent of digitizing music and Serato/Scratch, vinyl collectors at least have a back up plan, but what about the mp3 collectors such as myself? What hard copy do we have of files we have a history/memory with? Easy answer would be to back up your files, but even that is not fool proof. I guess in time someone *coughGooglecough* will come up with a way to archive mp3s, especially with digital downloads are becoming more and more common.

Until then, here is a 40oz to pour for the mp3s that are no longer here. We miss you.

1Luv2U,
Prov!?

To Have & To Hold - Taster Tape from Jony Lyle on Vimeo.

*If you believe in stuff like that
**Actually I could, but that would be way too time (and money) consuming
***Remember this was around the time Tip was in his "hood" phase, making tracks like "Gangsta Bitch" (RIP Apache), Tiger's "Who Planned This", and Mobb Deep's "Give Up The Goods". Straight bangers

Been a while, huh?

Hiya folks, Prov here. Been a minute, right? Wondering what has been going on. Wellll...

-my stay @ the old job was shorter than expected
-been on "vacation" since January. Haven't been looking for a new job, because...
-been using this time to clear my head. Some progress has been made.
-working more on the music, even got some "work". Should be interesting/fun
-need a green thumb? That's what I've been doing this summer, planting. Kinda good at it too
-dad's been in the hospital twice. Hated every minute of it now I have a dislike for hospitals
-been driving more. Driving is actually fun...when you don't deal with dickheads (pardon)
-and...ummm...hmmm...

Can't think of anything else, but MAN has this been boring. I think it's time to look for something, huh?

Ah well...
See ya when I see ya
1L2U,
Prov!?

MP3 Observations Of The Day

1. The instrumental of Common's UMC single
2. Kanye's new album takes at least three listens to get it. Lyrics is wack, but shit he did that in four months? Okay maybe that's not a good baramator but still. Heard the singles and didn't get it. I get it now.
3. Fuck alladat. NEW CLIPSE! http://www.complex.com/ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC/Clipse-Mixtape

That is all.
-Prov!?

JobBlog: If I really cared, I would say Fuck You

9/11/08
1:26pm

If you're going to get huff over the email, at least know what you're talking about. How are you going to explain to me something I already knew, something we've been doing for three years? You want to get your files together? Fukka here's the spreadsheet we're using with the fees and everything. And people ask why I'm in grand spirits. I don't have to deal with these fuckers anymore.

I also put in my query about this five-week A+ course which starts in October. If I had money (or rather if they actually showed the price of the classes), I would have started this Sunday. Thank god the next ones are on a Saturday...no College, but I still got the Pros!

Woooooooo!

JobBlog: The discussion

We had a meeting.
We spent 45 mins on the impending doom.
I'm tired of talking and hearing about it.
Maybe I'm not as shook as the others.
I did get some more ideas from the meeting.
Why da fuck they keep asking about free lunch? Fucking greedy ass muthafukkas.
Why are they concerned about how the company is going to do when we leave? They done made their decision, worry about yourself. When I got the boot from Atari, I ain't think about how they were going to do. I mean whenever I saw their quarterly report, I laughed at how much money they were losing. Same here. Maybe I'm a field nigger praying for master to die instead of saying "Boss, we's sick?"
And one of my friends, god bless her, sent me a job listing that she later took back because of how much they were paying.
Will work on the resume this weekend.

Advice to my peoples:
If a company is from Europe, think twice like Donald Byrd.

JobBlog: Can I at least finish my breakfast?

9:10am

Thankfully I was a minute late. I will either have to take an earlier bus or start taking the trains again because they're fucking up my extra 30 mins.

I took one bite of my sausage egg mcmuffin when my co-worker (the one getting married) started asking me about what would sound better than the title we have. He wanted to use sales support, to which I wanted to reply "If that's what we are, we would still have jobs". I didn't because honestly I'm tired of hearing/talking/thinking about it especially the fear in his voice. We agreed on Account Sales Support, which is still, in my opinion, inaccurate, but whatever. I'm tired and want to eat my $4.36 meal.

Confession: As my "I'm Out This Bitch" high is coming down, I'm slightly nervous due to the fact I realized that it's going to take longer to get the knowledge down for certification. I mean I could just go and cram, but how is that going to benefit me?

One of these days I'm going to shut my brain down and just go.

And I also solved the luncheon and bowling query; I'm calling out sick. Simple ain't it?

Horray! He just announced that he finished his resume and is sending it off.

Dude, can I finish my breakfast?

JobBlog: Welcome to Bollywood!

Thursday 9/04 10am
We had a meeting on the same floor as Human Resources (Bad sign #1). In the conference room are HR reps (Bad sign #2) and the Director of Operations (This can't be a good sign #3). Bomb drops: globally Customer Service is being restructured with E-helpdesk moving to St. Louis while Invoicing and Contract Management (my department) will be now handled in India. Shock filled the room, sighs and gasps are heard in the air. I smiled, trying hard not to jump out the seat and do a TD celebration. I chuckled because I had a feeling my job was in trouble. See, anytime I really hated a job, in due time I'm no longer there. So said. So done.

All of this will happen by the end of May so we have nine months to find other forms of employment. Two of my co-workers will be forced into retirement. My manager doesn't know because they didn't want to ruin his vacation. This should be fun

We later meet with reps to discuss the usual: severance package, COBRA, benefits, etc. Package is a joke: two weeks for each year you worked and you get a bonus if you stay after January. I will get six weeks in a lump sum, of course taxes will be taken out. I scheme.

One of my co-workers was extremely pissed off because he has been busting his ass on this job. Like dude would come to work on the weekends or when it was supposed to be his day off. Though I admired his hard work, I always wanted to tell him not to do that because, in my experience, your hard work don't mean shit. It's all about networking. He talked about hustling, which wouldn't surprise me because he's street. Like he's the real life G to Gent. I can see this being a turning point, you know like in the movies when the con comes out and tries to do good only to have it blow up in his face.

Funny thing, this was after my dude gave me breakfast (ie my week supply of herbals).

My co-worker lamented over this. His wedding is going to put on hold. He's on his own and this is bad timing. Blah blah blah. I do not want to appear mean, but sometimes I feel he says these things to show how he's the true definition of the American Dream and pulling yourself up by the straps. There's an ego there that I'm not feeling. He can't eat or think. I tell him to eat something because stressing isn't going change things and the company already showed how much they care. Also suggest he goes to the park to clear his mind.

No work gets done. Global email is sent. Phone calls and emails come through, some with sympathy, some with anger. I get a feeling we're going to be getting this for the next couple of days. I contemplate putting the out of office on. We take up the offer to leave after meeting with the HR rep. I mean...work isn't getting done after that bombshell so why stay?

I "ate" my breakfast and drink some beer when I got home, patiently waiting for the Giants/Skins NFL Kickoff Game. World Champion Jints wins. Today was a good day.

Friday 9/05 10:30am
We have a career seminar. I feel like I've heard of this before because the only thing I got away from it was there's money in IT. Some people feel a little bit better; the jedi mind trick worked.

11:45am
Manager of E-Helpdesk comes and gives us the don't worry speech. Fifteen minutes later, one of my co-workers responds with this link in the email: http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/05/news/economy/jobs_august/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories

2:00pm
I get an email from one of the account managers asking (well more like pestering) about the status of a contract. Not shocked, the AM never acknowledge the recent news. I feel...kinda pissed, but that quickly is replaced with "In nine months, I won't have to deal with yall. PRAISE JAH!". A smile came on my face.

Interestingly enough...
...I did more work today than I've done since...since...well shit since I came back from vacation two weeks ago

Saturday 9/06
Couple of thoughts:
-Are we still going to the Customer Service Appreciation Luncheon? I mean we were so appreciated they are relocation us to India.
-Same thing goes for the team-building activity planned for Oct
-Add the Holiday party to that list
-Do we keep working to have a good end-of-the-year review? What's the point? Our jobs are going to India. Raise? Ha! WE'RE GOING TO INDIA!
-I'm going to ask my manager if we still need to meet every two weeks. I mean what's the point? We're losing our jobs.

Amends "Don't Get Fired Before May" plan with "So I Can Get Some Laughs Because It's Going To Be An Interesting Nine Months"