Streets of Snow and Ghosts

i walked this way many times before. never noticing anything besides the mundane residences and run down park, its basketball court covered in fault lines, and old chain link fence appearing as if it wants to lie down on the job. with the snow and ice draped over everything right now, it seems even less distinct. As we walked our dogs down this street together, myself on my way home, her to the store for smokes, i see what she sees. there is nothing mundane here. houses have stories, long standing memories regardless of the residents, monuments whose meaning was supplemented long after their creation, and one of many families who had left it before now. memories of scars like the faults on the basketball court. if you squint just right, you can still the wisps of smoke from virgin lunged camel investigations.
there is something to be said about a guide who can show you ghosts. only the best storytellers can still keep skeptics from snapping their contempt. but if you just listen to the stories, and then feel the past, you can understand your self relative to where you really are. not someplace that didn't exist before you. not someplace that is lacking in any way shape or form from where your ghosts dwell. just an acknowledgment of what we consider haunted, resides everywhere.

Hip Hop and Academia pt 2: Fetishizing "black authenticity" (special appearance by poetry slams!!)

so after reading a few articles today, i realized that some academics would say that i listen to hip hop, participate in poetry slams, and have a non-white girlfriend because i have a fetish for black masculinity. in fact, Susan Somers-Willet, a poet who i have seen perform before, claims in her article that black males win all the poetry slams because a predominantly white audience is fetishizing the 'authentic' black experience. really? your going to reduce not only any black male poets to this presentation of authenticity, but reduce the audience to an over-generalized homogeneous group masturbating at the thought of hearing about the black male struggle?

let's ignore the fact that the most successful slam poets, regardless of style, gender, race or what have you are TALENTED WRITERS, lets ignore their ability to convey a point to an audience and leave them with a euphoric feeling of teleportation to places other than the performance space. lets just say that it's all a fetish. at least i have an excuse for not winning poetry slams all the time. it's not because i lose to better writers and performers, its because my black experience isnt authentic enough for the audience.

Another author, Ward Keeler, who i actually like and agree with on many levels, does say some more or less boneheaded things about hip hop. The reason young males love hip hop (regardless of race) is impotence. or fear of impotence, or percieved impotence. wow. ok, now lets use the reflexive methodology that permeated the social sciences in the 70's and 80's by trying to address the implicit biases of the author...... by using the word 'impotence' 20 times in your article, what does that say about you? could this article be a way of justifying some form of your impotence? hmmmm. i wont go so far as to make that claim. Things are usually much more complex than a one to one cause to effect ratio (especially for a large cultural entity like hip hop).

now, i do believe that there are elements of validity in both the statements i just railed against. however, when you allow it to become the spotlight, or downright ignore other elements, you sound dogmatic, pedantic, and generally ingnorant. At least give some greater understanding of the other systems, views, and ideas that help generate the greater whole. Then i wont have to spend time writing shit like this so i dont explode.

criminals and artists

so my road trip for tour started at 5:15 pm from carbondale. A 3 hour train ride to Champane-Urbana, and caught my bus to indianapolis running with my bags flagging down the driver, as amtrak did not decide to inform the bus to wait for a few of us.

Saint Peace picks me up from the bus station at midnight, where we proceed to go to his friends house who is coming on tour with us. she is passed out drunk when we arrive. Peace and a friend spend the next hour trying to wake her up and get her to pack.

we leave indy at 230am, and make great time. i take over driving at 8am, and when we are just an hour and a half away from oneonta, i get pulled over.

the cop comes back to the car and has me get out, where he proceeds to cuff me and throw me in the back without telling me why. this cop, younger than me was not being an asshole, but just not being polite either. i panic immediately when i realize that he is listening to rush limbaugh in his squad car. apparently, i owed the dmv 20 dollars for a licsense fee, and therefore was suspended. i was brought to the next town to see an old alcoholic judge who told me he was going to read me rights, and then did not do so.

i was then brought back to the other town, and processed into the county jail. we're talking psyche evaluation, stripping naked and putting on a jumpsuit, the whole nine yards. I was given a bin with extra 'clothes', another 2xl jumpsuit and size 12 shoes (im a size 9 for the record). i was put into a cell where i just sat there, not really wanting to wander around and mingle with the general population.

while all this is going on, Joseph LMS was finally convinced that we were not pulling an april fools joke, and proceeded to raise my bail money. thank you to Jason sexton, my tatoo artist from the golden lotus, and Jason knowles, my old boss for putting up the cash. Joseph then catches a ride to the jail, almost 2 hours away with my old boss to get me out of lock up.

the food was worse than anything ive ever seen in my life. i spent too long trying to figure out what something was, im not positive, but i think they were green beans, just not really green, or bean looking.

i ended up walking into the show in oneonta 15 minutes before it ended to a standing ovation, as my plight was explained constantly through the nite.

i fucking love my friends and the good people around me. it shows me that i do leave an impact on people, as they are willing to go out of their way to help me, just as i would for many of you fine people.

INTANGIBLES TOUR BEGINS THIS WEEK

www.intangiblecollective.com

thats where you get your info.

I made a cup of jasmine tea this morning, hoping it would bring you back a little closer to me. the fragrance and warmth of the cup in my hands was a poor substitute, but it will have to do for now.

In the sprit of Omni's Blog

Just because you are able to have an opinion.....
doesnt mean you should.

that is all

a lil something for omni

As one of Oneonta's archrivals (our primary nemesis i believe may be appropriate) in the poetry slam scene, Omni likes to to talk alot of shit, example here- listen to omni rant....
He coached the New Paltz team (his alma mater, at least i think he graduated, and wasnt told to leave) to a victory in regionals over oneonta last week. This has of course been followed with much gloating and ridiculousness, including him 'going nuclear' on Oneonta, via some weird website (maybe thats the only way he can be certain to win every time...........)

we have always had a james bond/villain-esque relationship. mortal enemies, yet civil and resectful of each other. we can sit down for dinner together, comment on each others skill with flattery, and then try to throw the other one into a tank full of piranahhs. but in this instance, he appears to believe that he won regionals......... not four other fantastic poets who he 'coached', by most likely telling them how to rant like a homeless man with a carboard sign proclaiming the second coming of christ. and honestly, the last time i competed against omni, it looked something like the picture posted here.

Omni, i love you. i cover your poems more than anyone else in our collaborative, and not just beause they are whimsical rants that dont take much range to pull off.

and if anyone wants a good satirical commenting on todays society, i strongly recommend you read his blog.