reincarnation blues (poem inspired by Grails' song of same name)

reincarnation blues
[grails]
09.14.08

and I am suddenly pushed,
like a surprised child
finding herself
on a carnival ride
she wasn’t interested in
but willing
to enjoy

south asian flautist
leading the dance
of vibration, capitulating
copulating
the entire path
to reincarnation:
the searing heat
that rattles your marrow
splintering
bone from nerve
until:
you’re not sure you can
take it anymore
or if you love it
so much, you’d
dive right back in

wobbling, cosmically
between voices and memories
taking blind strikes
at slicing the confining wall
trying to sever its dominance
like a slit sheet
in the dark, caliginous
Georgia sun:

void of winds
of freedom
yet, abundant
moisture
of weight, oppression

pushing the soul
back against
that confining wall,
ignorant of the soul’s
power infinite

like waves
demanding a retention
of individuality
within the current…
lead
to the dance
of vibration, capitulation
copulation
the entire path
to reincarnation


NOTE: Thanks to Jason (White Chocolate) for being honest enough to convince me that the original opening stanza of this poem sucked and to remove it. Honesty, FTW!

Old Skewl Hip Hop Sunday...Again. Thanks to Peter!

Mad Props to Peter G for hookin me up wit' a digital copy of Diamon D & the Psychotic Neurotics' LP Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop!! This certainly brings back memories, but of what I don't know, cuz I was so fuckin high at the time!!! Seriously though, this is one of those hidden jewels from the earl-mid '90s that many a hip hop listener doesn't even know very well. In fact, you'd have to be Diggin' In The Crates (the name of the production crew consistin of Diamond D, AG, Dres of the Black Sheep and some others) to find this record; I put out a call here in an earlier post that I needed a copy of this album and my man Peter came through. I thought I had it on vinyl, but no, I'm not that special. Man I miss those days from '89 to '95. I love finding the ol' style crew photos, so many of which were tastefully done in black and white, and reminiscing about my days spent ballin' in family housing and rollin' all pseudo-thug stylee with Starter jackets on and drinkin' 40's we jacked from the Albertson's in the neighborhood. That Albertson's was closed, demolished and replaced by a yuppie boutiqe Metropolitan Market, which doesn't even sell 40's and probably would eject anyone in a Starter jacket on sight. Sounds like the demise of hip hop. Sniff sniff.

Xenophobia and Racism in Sports Journalism

It should first be known that I am a huge proponent of unilateral, across-the-board equal opportunity destroyer kinds of disdain for fellow human beings, but especially white people. Okay, all joking (?) aside, I get really tired of reading articles about sports, baseball in particular, where it has become acceptable fashion to refer to the country-of-origin whereabouts of certain players/participants, but not others. Does this sound familiar to anyone with 5 seconds worth of education? This is the antithetical representation of the ideology behind equal rights. Say it with me..."equal rights!" You see, the thing about subscribing to a true doctrine of equality would mean to treat everybody the same, in as much as that is possible, seeing that we are all so fucking different that it may be a philosophical and mental impossibility to truly do so. However, if you read the caption under "photo wire" in this recap of the Mariners and Angels professional baseball contest tonight, you'll notice that only Ichiro [Suzuki] is identified by his country of origin, which points directly to race in the modern mind. So, why the fuck is that? Simple, we are so entrenched in our racism and xenophobia that it has become commonplace to identify all that is not white as something other. Now, the question I'm not sure I can answer is, "What purpose does that serve?" Other than to fortify and validate the white, mainstream paradigm of power, I don't know. And let me tell you, I'm fucking sick of the white, mainstream paradigm of power.
Now, the reason I have posted this with a picture of Joe Morgan is to illustrate what now becomes even more complex of an issue. Joe Morgan grew up in the tail end of Jim Crow Amerikkka and broke into the big leagues on the coattails of Jackie Robinson in an era when black ballplayers (just as all black people) had to walk down the street with eyes in the back of their heads (not that this has changed all that much, it's just sublimated so you think things are better). What bums me out the most is that Joe himself has repeatedly pointed out negative aspects (in his mind) of Japanese players' influx into the Major Leagues. For example, Morgan continously attacked Ichiro's very elligibility to win the Rookie of the Year Award, because Ichiro had already played pro ball in Japan. I don't even wanna get started in on how fractured Morgan's logic is; I'll just let you stew on that one. What is unfortunate is that Morgan has seemingly learned nothing about the politics of his youth and the teachings of that era, most notably King, X and Jackie as well. Is this just another manifestation of how once somebody gets theirs they don't need to worry about anybody else???

Getting my fat ass back in shape, hopefully

On Monday, I took a ride that ended up totaling about 32 miles, but would look like a ball of tangled yarn with a kitten stuck in the middle if I mapped it out for you. Yesterday, Tuesday, I took another wonderful ride in the perfect, mild Seattle Summer sun. I rode from Maple Leaf down into the U-District and then plopped myself onto the Lake Washington Blvd Loop starting near MOHAI and weaving through the neighborhoods on the back side of Cap Hill. I ended up at Seward Park and did a loop around the Park's peninsula. I ended up cranking up the hill from the Park and dumping down into Rainier Valley. Picked up some coffee, some food and generally just had a grand afternoon in the sun. I didn't take the pic above, but it's a perfect representation of the view from Seward to Mt. Rainier. If I can keep this pace up, by the time Winter rolls in, I might be able to fit back into my shrunken American Apparel ISIS t-shirt!

Red Sox vs Rays on a Wednesday

Some douchebag goes for fan interference to make the 2nd Sox out of the 2nd inning. However, through three innings, Josh Beckett has thrown 73% of his pitches for strikes, including 100% of his curveballs. That nasty curve is looking extra sweet tonight and has been his out pitch on all 4 strikeouts so far. Jed Lowrie just reached on the first base hit of the night for the Sox, backing up my argument that he is awesome, even if some feel that it is just the same old disease of Sox fans going overboard on praising the new prospects comin up to the bigs. Ellsbury grounds into a double play, which is rare, but bummin me out. I have to say that after listening to Rick Sutcliffe call this game on ESPN for only a few innings, I'd love to kick him in the balls. Mostly, I feel this way, because he is hellbent on continuing to make disparaging comments about Manny Ramirez in comparison to something Jason Bay does. Manny has his shortcomings and I am all down with Jason Bay, but can ya shut the fuck up already? This is totally counterproductive and Sutcliffe's shitty attitude and white boy arrogance were probably a factor in his getting cancer. I can make this joke, because he is in remission, has health insurance and is a rich and famous cocksmoker.
5.17 pm: Ummmmmm, Beckett's curve is just plain filthy. Strikes out the side in the 3rd AND 4th for a K/9 ratio of 15.75. Doh! sez the opposing batter. Now, if only the offense coulod get it rolling to break the 1-1 tie.
5.29 pm: still keeping a steady 73% strike ratio of pitches, shiiiiitt.
5.39 pm: recovering from a near heart attack as Beckett gets Cliff Floyd to pop out to wiggle out of a two-out bases-loaded jam. whew! think I need to puke. Jed Lowrie leads off the bottom of the 5th and gets the ground-rule double!!! Ugh, so tired of watching replays of Tom Brady's knee getting shredded...have I ever said I look down my nose at football? specially when it's the fucking pennant races right now in baseball!!
6.09 pm: Beckett can only get the ND. fell apart a bit, right after I talked his performance up, coincidentally. Okajima has a nice 7th, though, which is encouraging, because the pen between the starters and Papelbon has been nail-bitingly unnerving at times this season.
6.12 pm: I wish I could be at Fenway this September and October.
6.38 pm: Justin Masterson lookin mighty fine comin outta the 'pen in the 8th; sweet strikeout of Navarro on 5 filthy pitches and then induces the inning-ending ground out. Still 1-1, though.
9.31 pm: Ugh, what a drawn-out torture scene. Sox lose in the 14th, 4-2. Carlos Pena strikes again, like some kinda vampire.

JT, better than Michael Jackson

I've recently realized that I may need to re-assess my entire philosophical/aesthetic life because of Justin Timberlake. Based on my 'Snob Principles', I want to dislike him, because he's a pop star and his music isn't what I deem artistically intellectual or stimulating (god, I sound awful). BUT, I can't help it, the guy is super charismatic and funny...think I'm gonna go live in a log cabin in an isolated Polish forest now. Bye.

Funniest Shit I've seen in a Loooong time

This was sent to me by some bros in NY...I'm still laughing