December 30, 2009

I Started Playing Dragon's Age video game

This was an email I wrote Susan talking about me playing the video game Dragon's Age.  Warning this is a spoiler!



I started playing Dragon's Age tonight and it took me one hour and 58 minutes to get started, plus a hour and a half fighting Playstation Network(which sucks balls).  OMG this game is epic in depth.  I created a poor dwarf (which his height blows me).  The local crime boss has my sister and me under wraps.  I'm his flunky and he's pimping my sister.  he is forcing my sister to whore herself to give a nobleman a child.  Only the noble's children are able to fight in the war with evil which we are losing.  the underground people live in this a strict caste system. you are what your parent and grandfathers were.  we are poor and had no caste, so that's I am a criminal who works for the crime boss.  While walking the streets people are so nasty to me, and talk down to me.  My mom in the game is a drunk bitch and she is so mean and negative, I can't fuck with her but I guess that comes living as an outcast.  However my sister is so nice and dwarf pretty (think porn star Pinky lol).


I want to save her from being a noble whore.  There a lot of options available, I can be nice, a complete dick, or a lame yes man.  My sister confesses she met a nobleman but didn't want to tell the crime boss. in talking with my sister I find out there is only two ways to raise my family from being outcasts.  one, she has child with a nobleman and he adds our family to his or, two, I do the impossible and go above ground save the race and comeback a legend like only one other person in dwarf history.

Well the boss sends me on mission to see if a guy is stealing, I tried being nice and it didn't work then I threaten to kill him and plant evidence and he fessed up.  He had a side job sale some expensive rock up to above ground humans.  He tried to make a deal with me to not kill him for stealing from the boss, he give us a cut.  I half agree and this shocks the dude the boss sent with me to do the job, I tell him we can split the money, he becomes cool with it. Then I think about it and if the boss finds out that A. we kept the money he will kill us and B. if don't kill this guy he will kill us.  So I decide to kill the guy who was stealing, we take the stolen goods back to the boss.  But I only gave the boss half and pocketed the other half.  There is so many options in this game.

The next job is to rig this local fight put on for an above ground legendary battle called Grey Wardens.  They are looking for a new member and the winner of the fight tournament gets a shot.  Boss man placed a ton of money on this underdog fighter to win.  He task me and my boy to go drug the other fighter so dude can win.  We get there I met the human guy from the Grey Wardens and start acting like a 8 yr old meeting Kobe Bryant.  Dude was real nice to me and didn't treat me like the scum of the other like the dwarfs do.  I lose my wording and he walks away.

We find the bum we are suppose to help win and he is passed out drunk before the fight.  So to save everyone's ass I dress up in the dude's armor and cover my face to pretend I am him.  I have the option to have my boy go drug the guy I am fighting but I decline, say I want to prove myself to the Grey Wardens...even though I can never show my true self because as a no-caste I'm not suppose be in the building and much less fight in a noble event. So I fight and win. and then wins some more all in mask.  then right before the championship is awarded this drunk fool comes out talk about I got his armor in the middle of the arena.  Why didn't my boy hold him back I don't know.  The Dwarf king gets upset and asks me to remove my mask, I refuse at first then the guards come and I do to the horror to everyone but the Grey Warden.  I get jumped by guards and locked up.  The Bossman pulls some strings to get me transfered from the jail to locked up in his hideout just so he can kill me himself instead of the guards who want to kill me for breaking the caste system.  Bossman wants me and my boy dead because we can finger him for rigging the fight.

There is a dumb guard watching us, I trick him into coming close and pick pocket him for the key.  my criminal background pays off.  I break me and homie out and fight our way to the bossman in his hideout.  I kill the boss, who was hard for me because I just started the game and still learning how to play and was only level one.  Soon as we step outside, the king and guards are waiting for us to lock us up for escaping.  I tell them I kill the crime boss, but it still didn't matter to the king because I broke the caste system laws.  The Grey Warden is impressed with my skill and will and offers me a job and protection from the king.  It's my only option verse death.  If I leave the Grey Warden side the guards will jump me.  I am forced to leave home.  My sister is there after the Grey Warden found her.  I ask if she will be ok and she said she found a nobleman to take of her.  I ask if she is sure, I still don't like the baby machine idea.  She says she will be proud to have a child that will raise the family and one day go fight for the race.  So I leave my family and people behind to join the Grey Wardens in the war with evil.  Ok only 98 more hours left.

December 29, 2009

Video Games are the Novels of the Non-Reader


For Christmas I got a PS3! Yay, I feel like a kid again.  As a long time Xbox user and avid gamer I don’t think I missed much in terms of gaming, because I try to keep up.  Anyway, my Xbox is still my primary gaming machine.  I but I don’t like the idea of my PS3 as only a Blu-Ray player, so I went looking for a game to play on it.  The keys I was looking for in games for my PS3 was:

  1. Single Player.  Xbox reigns supreme in multiplayer, and that’s where all my friends are to play with.  Also I have the Playstation in the bedroom so I can lay in bed and play until I get sleepy.
  2. Have an engaging story, part of the experience is I want to be entertained and not need to watch Netflix or Blu-rays.

I remember a friend saying the scariest game he ever played was Dead Space.  So I went to look it up.  It was survival horror game and available for both the PS3 and the Xbox.  I looked at the reviews(8.7 out of 10 with a good story).  They rated the graphics, scary mood lighting, and sound as really good.  That would be perfect for my bedroom set up too, finally get to make good usage of the surround sound set up I was pressed to put in the bedroom.  It doesn’t stop there, it was also up for a few yearly awards when first released and on many blog sites listed as one of the scariest games of all time. However they did say the Xbox version was slightly better( a trend I am noticing).  I did notice the price($20 verses $60) was greatly marked down for a PS3 game and they are in production of a sequel; sounded like a perfect game to start my PS3 gaming on.

Trailer:

I turned out the lights and cranked the surround sound up.  The game was engaging and visually stunning.  It took about 2 days and over 8 hours to finish the game.  I one thing I did not like about the game and I blame myself for reading too many reviews, is that I noticed exactly what the lady that wrote the only negative review about it had complained about it.  And it started to bother me too.  I don’t think I would of notice if I had not read that review either.  Fail on my part, for breaking my own guidelines of not looking too much at reviews.  But I took that negativity and used it as a reason to hurry up and beat the game so it would stop and I would be done with the game.

Normally when playing my games I don’t pay too much attention to story unless I know it or have a strong interest in it, like Star Wars games.  Ask me what the Gears of War or Halo stories were about, I couldn’t tell you even after completing all the games.  But this time I purposely tried to pay attention and listen and watch.  And it pays off so much!  I was amazed at how much I like the entire experience after they wrapped up the entire game at the end.  I thought back to scenes and info they presented earlier and it all made sense!  Shit the game play was average, the story just ok but the experience was amazing.  It was how everything came together, the mood (visuals and sounds) and the deep story (not a great story, but depth plus they had plot twist too like any good story with additional info you don’t think is important until the end).

So I was happy and entertained, because it’s was good game and I actually finished a game and knew what happened in it.

A couple of days later while surfing Netflix I stubble on an movie called Dead Space: Downfall.  From the description, it was a feature length prequel to the video game! And guess what, it was streaming too. FTW!!!  With a 3.4 stars best guess rating for me, 3.3 stars viewer rating (all out of 5), and having NOW beaten the game, I thought I should watch it.  It wasn’t bad at all, it was good even.  The best part was that: I knew what was going on into the movie, so there wasn’t any figuring out, just all story to entertain me. 

Trailer:



The entirety of this was an epic experience stemming from an average $20 video game.

This got me thinking.  The last novel I read was couple months ago it was long and I got kind of bored and didn’t think to pick up back up.  That happens with games too.  This said novel was the 5 in a series, I like the earlier books (great value for $8 packs of paper) and keep reading to see where it was going.  Each book took hours to read, was long, and could be great if paying attention and had depth.  This is very similar in concept to the experiences I have playing some video games.  A common question when looking at a story based game is “Around how many hours is it?”  Like looking at the number of pages or words in a novel.  Novels don’t have straight lines of stories, neither do video games.  They are the same.  Except on makes you feel like you are guiding the story, but let’s be honest, you aren’t, the writers/programmers designed it that way. So I say, video games are the novels to the non-reader that like to do instead of watch.  The difference is interaction.  Both are long winding stories, but some people don’t mind reading for hours on end while others prefer pushing buttons and other stimulations to get their story.

*sorry, wrote this at work and it’s too long for me to read over and fix grammar, spelling, and shit. If you follow me, you know good grammar is not a priority when it comes to get my message out.

November 12, 2009

Who Are You?

When you hear the name “Michael Jackson” what comes to mind?  The entertainer, right?  Well maybe for most people except people that may know another Michael Jackson that’s fresh on their minds.  Michael Jackson is easily one of the most common names in America, there are hundred of thousands of them.  But this one guy stands out in most of our minds.

Often people don’t understand why  I become bothered when people compare me to other people.  “You look like…” “You act like…”  Well hopefully after this entry you will understand and also share the feeling.

When you hear the name William Washington or Will Wash, what person comes to mind?  Hopefully me.  I pride myself in that.  My own little impact to those around me.

But what a name really?  Sure your last name establishes your linage and placement in the world, kind of.  But your given name is just a name you was given by someone.  If you were the last person on earth, The Omega Man, would you care about having a name?  No.  There is now the there to need it or use it.  Because you don’t refer to yourself in third person, unless you are crazy.  This feral kid that are raised by wolves don’t give themselves names, they don’t need a name.  You are you, that why in language we have I’s and me’s.  To refer to ourselves.  Your name is simply for being able to communicate the difference between human 1 and human 2 without having to see, touch, or point.  Identification.  Any profound meaning? No, not yet.  Remember your name is not even for you because you don’t need to identify yourself from someone else.  Unless you are mentally crazy.

On the surface name don’t really have importance other than having one, and that is kind of correct.  But names can be made to have importance.  As a baby your parents gave you a name to identify you.  You don’t know about liking it or not or if it has some meaning.  Mayber is has meaning to the ones that gave it to you but it’s actually meaning is simple you, the human being because that what names are for, identification.  As you grown and as it is used you claim ownership of that name.  When someone ask you, you say your name or nickname or whatever you are used to people being able to identify you as.  That’s why people seem to be ok with strange or silly names, not because they like them or got to pick their own name but because it’s the way they are identified and have acknowledged and claimed ownership.  After 18 you have the option to start over being associating yourself with another name for people to know for other people.  Also there stages in life where you may add to your name for better identification, like taking your husbands name or taking a title.  Becoming identified as Mrs Somebody or Dr Somebody in addition your given name.  Just more ways of isolating the one in a few billion of people.  But as always doesn’t matter what your name actual name is because it’s for other people to call you.

Names don’t importance attached to them until people start associating it to something.  Like Rockefeller is to money because of the people that have that name done things that a noteworthy and worth remembering in regards to money.  Same thing with each of our names.  There are thousands of other William Washingtons in the US alone, it’s a common name.  Now if you see the name William Washington how do you know which one someone is talking about?  You don’t until more info is given but in the mean time one of them that you know will come to mind and the one that have left the biggest impression on your life will be the one.

So I try hard to leave an impression or mark on the world, for at the very least for identification purposes.  Not that I have to become famous or anything but not hiding my identity and making impact those around me so that know who I am.  Doesn’t matter if it’s my full name or nickname what matters is you can clearly identify the human being born March 15, 1979 in Washington DC.

To make an impact on those around you it really doesn’t matter either on how you do it but that you doing it.  You could be like Hitler or Gracy or on the other side Martin Luther- haha or Martin Luther King (which one was you thinking of?).  But it’s your own task to make your given name mean you as that particular human being and the emotion and feelings attached to it.

Look at Rick Ross.  Which one are you thinking of?  The rapper or drug dealer?  This is case where a person changed his name.  Rick Ross was a drug dealer that had street fame, people knew of him and when someone said the name, they knew who they talking about.  Then there was a man who wanted to be famous and took the stage name Rick Ross.  Now the name Rick Ross was familiar to many by now because of the works of the drug dealer so that help him be recognized as the other Rick Ross.  So while one guy is in jail the other is still out spreading his influence to the point where if you say the name Rick Ross you think of the entertainer instead of the original drug dealer.  At first the name Rick Ross made people think of drugs and now Rick Ross make people think of rap music.  The name didn’t change but the people and the thoughts behind it did.

Each of us have a name and it’s our job to make it stand out, mean something, or associate it with us.  Whether you was given the name or made it up it’s still up to the person that give the name value and human association in the minds of others because that’s what names are all about association in other people’s minds, not our own.  Of course, unless you are crazy and need to associate yourself with a name to refer to yourself to.

Now when you tell me I remind you for someone else that means I have not made a big enough impact in your mind.  Because you need to associate me as variation of someone else.  That’s a problem with me because when you are faced with two humans and that other guy was the primary thought.  When people first meet me I understand, don’t like it but understand.  Because we all do that to help us relate and remember things to by associations.  Over time, you will not need to do an association to identify me because I would have made a big enough impact in you mind separate from that association…hopefully.

Shout out to my dad for giving me his name, I hope I can improve it and make him proud for giving it to me.  Feel free to comment on this one.  What do you want out of your name?  Do you think it’s your job to give meaning to your name?

November 10, 2009

Wale – Attention Deficit

wale-attention-deficit Today Wale release his long awaited album.  I happy to say I am proud to be a fan of the DC Area native.  After many critically acclaimed mixtapes is easy to be skeptical of a debut studio album, but he does not disappoint.  I don’t like to tell people what to like, I say make your own decision, but if you do like him I highly recommend supporting the new artist and buying his album.  I got it off Amazon.com for only $9.50 which is nothing compared to my $16 lunches.

My Favorite Track: World Tour - Wale feat. Jasmine Sullivan

October 30, 2009

Reality Is Holding You Back, Huh???

My life is filled with lots of interesting people all with a wide range of personalities.  As always, you are who you are and there is nothing wrong with that.  Really, it's the world job to figure you out, because you can't bitch about snakes always biting you when you refuse to learn how to be around snakes.  But I'm not talking about snakes or people like snakes, I swear I cover that before.

I like people that think differently than me, don't always get along but it's never dull. One of my favorites is the people that live in alternate realities.  It ranges from delusional to having circus mirror.  For example, delusional - You know the guy you have know your whole life, grew up and went to school together.  The whole works.  Every time you talk to him he speak of something in the past that never happened, usually delusions of grandeur.  You'll say you ran in to someone like the prom queen from high school and randomly add to the convo that he used to date her. Of course you are like WTF?!  Because you know that she wouldn't of given him the time of day back then, you were his friend.  I would give you a real life example of a fingering story but it would blow up spots, and I still love my friends.

But not all people are that crazy.  The common trait is I think they might actually believe some of the stuff happen or might of happened.  You know how if you think about it so much or strongly it maybe true or become part of your memory.  Like how they say to beat a lie detector test, is to actually believe your lie.

My mother does this one to me.  I go down to the basement to do something and come back up and she is in the kitchen.  As I enter the kitchen, she asks me did I bring up the pot?  Of course I go huh? What pot?  She says I asked you to bring up the pot I needed.  Where is it?  Then it's a back in forth me saying no you didn't ask me to.  It's not that I didn't hear her because it happens at other times too and been happening for all my life.  Her minds is like mind, but faster I think.  She is thinking about about so much stuff going on and what to do next, in her head she did ask me to bring up the pot but it was just not vocalized before going on to the next thought.

Similar is the person that tells stories like that.  They interject there thoughts in to the story like it happen as a matter of fact.  You will never hear them say "And I thought" or "In my head I was like."  The more tramatic the better they sound and the more different it is from the actual events of the story.  Their retelling is like a blockbuster movie for an 8 page picture book.  For example, they went to the store and noticed someone staring at them, they look away and then they left, that's it no words exchanged event over.  But in their retelling, They went to the store and this guy was eyeballing them like he wanted to fight, gave them and mean mug and was like (notice the "was like"), "What are you looking at?!"  They say how they was about to get all up in his business and buss some heads. "You better get out of here before someone gets hurt!" And they left.   You are like WOW, that's crazy.  And then you ask, "Wow, you said that?!"  But Rule #1 don't ask these people more questions because it will force them to lie or *palmface* for making it up. "Nah, but I was going to if I had more time." :-/

Finally, there is the fact maker-uppers.  Normally very smart people and in charge of stuff, or just plain Republican.  They are not your normal liars because they don't do it because they have to, they do it feel included or to prove a point.  These are the people that make up statistic, definitions, and reviews.  I ask about a new movie and they will tell you all about it the meaning behind it.  Then you ask have you seen it, no only the trailer. "In my head," I'm like wow your mind is amazing - AND out of control.  Don't talk politic with these people either they love to pull stats out of there ass.  Did you know only 2 three people in the Turtletown, Oregon don't have healthcare?  Or the average human colon holds 7lbs of waste.  And I'm think, no you are full of shit.  Anyway the more obscure the stat the better.

October 29, 2009

Talk Of The Devil, And He Is Bound To Appear

Satan before the Lord When it comes to horror movies, the ones I like best are the ones centered around religious beliefs.  But why do movies dealing with the Devil and demons scare us more than ghosts, serial killers, or pale Japanese girls?


Ok, it is something like 84% of the population of the world believes in some type of religion, billions of people.  And as far back as human record keeping, there has been the existence of religion.  Spiritual belief goes hand in hand with human existence.  Have you notice that even children not old enough to comprehend seem to play/speak with imaginary things and friends? And babies stare at things we can’t comprehend?  But either way… Out of the 84% the spiritual believers, 66% of them all have the same God and share the same back-story (children of Abraham from the book of Genesis).  Say, if 84% of the world thinks the world’s climate is changing for the worst, and if 66% of them say it’s because of global warming it would be hard to argue that all those people are wrong.  To be able to argue the world is not changing, you would need to be smarter than the experts of those billions of people and the odds of that are like winning the lottery.  Which is why people shouldn’t argue religion.


Ok, now in the Islam, Judaism, and Christianity there is this one character that appears.  First in the exact same location, the Garden of Eden.  This character with many names, Shaytan in the Qur’an, simply the Adversary (Ha-satan) in the Hebrew Bible, and too many to list in the Christian Bible.  He tempts the first people and sets up the stage for their purpose in later accounts.  Now this character also has different purposes depending on who’s telling the story.  But exists never the less.  So he is not exactly our modern concept of the “devil”.  These books and histories are not the only places where this character or concept of spiritual supernatural personification of evil is located.  Hinduism also has gods that counter balance for example, Rahu and the satan-like god Kroni.  Even Buddhism have Mara, who tempted Buddha. Ancient Egypt had Osiris.


No matter what you believe, nobody is attracted to negativity and are careful of things that hinder success and prosperity.  Could it be movies and stories with supernatural evil is scarier than the zombie, ghost, and serial killer is because the odds of that type of encounter seem higher?  To me, the fear of a supernatural being that are god-like in influencing our well-being is scary because it’s like having a stalker that you or the police can not do anything about.  You know the stalker watching, following, and waiting and there is nothing you can do about it, you can’t run or kill it.  It’s the nervousness of being weaker and knowing something bad can happen.  In your personal life what do you find scariest and how does that influence what you find scary in movies?  I know so many people that don’t do evil things at all in their movie watching.

 


Side note: on the topic of religions, if you like researching you will notice many common concepts and similar stories found in many of the world religions, even religions that are worlds apart.  Noah and the world flooding is a big one that is shared by non related religions and science.

October 28, 2009

Death Smiles at Us All

*Disclaimer* I AM NOT SUICIDAL!!

No secret I’m not afraid of dying and I have always said I wanted to die young.  Shit, through my life I have never ever thought of what my future would be like when I’m older.  That’s just me, I guess.  Not only the Christian in me has me comfortable with dying but just the place my mind is at, I’m ok with what I’m done so far.  I’m not like Pac or BIG predicting my death or anything like that.  But I have thought about what I wanted when I die.
  1. If I have not been roasted by the time I die, I give permission to do a comedy roast…as long as it’s in good spirit.  Don’t go bring up some pinned up hatred you was too scared to say when I was alive.  Nothing mean spirited.  You all know I loved to laugh when I was alive and had a healthy sense of humor.
  2. If a ceremony is had, make it one to remember.  I’m used to having people tell me of the good times they remember, now give them one more.
  3. Finally and most importantly, I want these songs played.  They are the final tracks to the soundtrack to my life.

    Cosmic Slop by Funkadelic

    I see myself and others close to me in it.  But not literally!  The song is about an impoverished mother with five children who has resorted to prostitution in order to support her family. Although she tries to shield her children from the knowledge that they are poor and she is a prostitute, every night the narrator hears his mother beg God for forgiveness and understanding for doing what she has to do for the sake of her children. As I have said so many times…the world we live in is not in black and white. Also asking for forgiveness for trying to do the right things is a major theme in my life.

    Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

    This instrumental tugs at your emotions and soul.  And the history of it pulls even more.


    According to legend, George Clinton, under the influence of LSD, told Eddie Hazel to play the first half of the song like his mother had just died and to play the second half as if he had found out she was alive; other variants of the story suggest that he was simply told to play as if he had found his mother dead. The result was the 10-minute guitar solo for which Hazel is most fondly remembered by many music critics and fans. Though several other musicians began the track playing, Clinton soon realized the power of Hazel's solo and faded them out so that the focus would be on Hazel's guitar. Critics have described the solo as "lengthy, mind-melting" and the ending as "an emotional apocalypse of sound."

    The entire track was recorded in one take. The solo is played in a pentatonic minor scale in the key of E over another guitar track of a simple arpeggio. Hazel's solo was played through a fuzzbox and a wah pedal; some sections of the song utilize a delay effect. This style would be revisited later in Standing on the Verge of Getting It On on the track "Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts". The original version with full band accompaniment was released in 1997 on the album "Funkadelic Finest".


The fear of death follows from the fear of life.  A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.  ~Mark Twain

October 27, 2009

Picking at Old Scars

sony-f35-camera As many of my friends know I get these “great” ideas from time to time.  But there is this one that keeps coming back over the years.  “Let’s make a movie!”  Years later, and several camcorders later too, there is nothing to show for it. It’s my personal unicorn or pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Most of the time it just ends with talk and no actions.  Part lack of creativity and part lack of stick-to-it-ous. 

So today my mind is wondering at work and it hits me look for lamps on Amazon.com so you can NOW make a movie.  Also Paranormal Activity started the wheel turning again too.  If they can do an $11,000 movie, I can do a $20 short. LOL

I get on Google chat with Lu and say let’s try again, and to my surprise he says sure he got a new camera he wants to try out.  I was expecting an “again?” or “are you going to finish this time?”  He mentions my old script.  This is the closest we ever got to making a movie.  It was a script I wrote years ago while sitting in class one day.  For the record I didn’t like it, and every time I read it I hate it even more now.  Everyone that read it said they like it but refused help edit or improve it.  I want it to disappear from the earth but it is the closest I have ever gotten to seeing a unicorn and don’t want to lose that.

My main focuses of my shame is how poorly it was written, the language used (it was many years ago and I have matured a lot), and it reads like a complete rip off.  So now it’s time to lay it rest and replace it.

So I start my Winter challenges.  First challenge is the Creative Writing Challenge: to write a short script no more than 10 minutes.  Contain little to no special effects and a single room location.  I sent out the challenge to Susan, and she accepted the writing challenge.  This should be fun.

I am also challenging everyone else to accept this script writing challenge and let’s see what we can come up with.

…to be continued.

October 21, 2009

Bad Boy 4 Life

shyne In current pop culture news, it looks like rapper Shyne will be deported after being released from prison.  If you don’t who the guy is, you probable not a Bad Boy Music Label fan, any time in the last 12-13 years.  Shyne was a young promising rapper from the streets of NY that sounded a lot like Notorious BIG, Biggie.  *Dateline, Signal the Musical Child Predator* Puff Daddy, Puffy, P-Diddy, Diddy, Sean Combs the music business tycoon behind one of the greatest rapper of all time B.I.G. got wind of a guy sounding like Biggie and signed him under his music label, Bad Boy.  Puff took him under his wing like he does most of his young artist to groom his career.

At this time Puff was the luckiest dude in America, more than the President, he was dating and hopefully tapping (can’t assume he’s not a Decepticon) the most famous booty in America, Jennifer Lopez.  So one night they go to a night club and NYC and of course shots are fired.  Someone was hurt, Puff and Latin Booty flee the scene.  Scandal.  Puff and his Biggie Pokémon are arrested.  Police say Puff and Shyne both pulled guns in a “dispute” after a person disrespectfully threw money at Big Daddy Dollars Mr. Combs.  Shyne’s dumb ass fired and shot someone in the face.  Puff’s driver says Diddy tried to bribe him in to taking his gun.  The same driver who later takes Puff Daddy to civil court and gets a settlement (for you Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson people ;-) means he was guilty, right???). 

Here’s where my opinion comes in.  They both get the same charges against them but like a smart guy, Puff ( the rich guy of the two ) get another lawyer.  He buys the greatest lawyer on earth, at the time, Johnny L. Cochran Jr.  I would too, if I had the money.  And Shyne was left to fend for himself in court.  I would of thrown Shyne some money for a lawyer upgrade, that’s a rich me.  Smart for Puff but it may not be the most loyal (street) thing to do either.  Even drug king pins give their best guys and friends money and access to their favorite lawyers, if only so the don’t snitch.  But Diddy is too pretty to go to jail, and not a “street” dude.  I thought he did Shyne kind of dirty in saving his own ass.  I mean, one, you are the rich one of the two.  Two, you supposedly took the guy under your wing and befriended him to the point of loyalty.  Also most like a father figure to that young man.  Finally, the guy got in trouble defending you!  Sure it was a dumb way of doing it, but not like you wasn’t involved in it too.

Shyne being the stand up guy (and street) that he is, he didn’t turn on Diddy.  He plead guilty and didn’t testify against Combs.  Of course, Diddy beat the case with his super lawyer.  One juror actually said Diddy was guilty but the prosecution couldn’t prove it’s case.  Why wouldn’t that work for Shyne too?  He was up for the same charges, was standing right beside each other???

Was Shyne guilty, yes.  And so was Diddy.  The people outside the courthouse protesting and claiming his innocents are retarded.  They didn’t know he was innocent, they just like the guy.  He’s popular, that’s all they know, and like his music.  They don’t know him personally.  Most of the people that was on his label don’t think nicely of him.  A real friend or someone who cares about you will tell you when you are wrong and not just overlook it. And fans will not.

I do like when people beat the justice system designed to work against them, but it doesn’t change the fact they were wrong.  It is also troubling that the justice system is not the same for someone with money verses someone without.  Now the poor kid from the streets, Shyne was not a US citizen.  He carried a green card.  He been in the country since early teens.  Typical immigrant story of a poor family saving up to bring the rest over to America for a better life.  It’s sad the family dream was almost greatly achieved with Shyne getting a record deal and famous mentor (who brought the world one of the greatest rappers of all time) then only seeing it being locked away or put on hold.  Shyne could still be a great rapper and make millions, but the problem is - he is not a citizen and committed a felony, he must go.  Seriously, I am all for this law!  We should not have criminals as a US import, we have enough home grown ones.  But is Shyne special, should he be allowed to stay, because people “like” him?  No.  He is in fact no different from any ol’ Hector.

I commend the guy for being tough through prison (and not snitching when he easily could taken down the music mogul) and I think he is a good/alright rapper but just winning a popularity contest is not enough in my book to be above the law.  Also, he is a rapper and well known, he has a much better chance at a fulfilling life overseas than some poor knucklehead with no education does.  He doesn’t NEED to live here, would just LIKE to.  He can still make music, shit the internet don’t care what country you are in.  Shyne is just a victim of stupidity, idol worshiping, and Diddiness.  For that, I feel bad for him.  I’m sorry he was a talented guy that crossed paths with Puff Daddy.  I think Puff should of had him take the Nationalization test while he had him under his wing too.  I mean he grew up here, why not?! 

I also feel sorry for the families that were hurt in the shooting.  For that reason, Shyne doesn’t not get a free pass.  He hurt people.  Those families should not have to see him and Diddy grinning and hopping down the street of NYC on a shopping spree (Not that they ever would, Shyne hates Diddy now).  Shyne should put a hit out on Diddy for ruining his life, since he can’t come back to America anyway…just a thought.

I think we all can learn a lesson from Shyne’s story.  Want to support him, then buy his music on itunes when it comes out so he can make money still –and pay back the civil suit he lost to the families that were hurt in the shooting.  Just please don’t argue he is innocent or should stay here because he is not and shouldn’t stay.  We have enough popular “bad boys” already.

October 15, 2009

Pet Peeve #3: Special People Type A

To me there are two types of special people. Type A – people that think they are special and Type B – people that are retardedly special.  Let’s be honest, to be called special now-a-days is not a good thing anymore.  I can’t stand Type A Special People.

These are the people that act like the world owes them something.  They are amazed when they have to pay for something, which always costs “too much”, because everything for them should be free.

They don’t believe rules apply to them.  I hate playing games with rewards and consequences with these people.  They are the ones that will join in drinking games and refuse to drink.  You don’t have to play!  Sit your monkey ass out, if you don’t feel like drinking anymore.  If everyone else is drinking because they lost, what makes you special?  You only want the rewards, you selfish, self-centered bastard. It’s like you joining us in a bank robbery but not wanting to go to jail when you get caught.  If you don’t like jail then don’t participate, you knew before you started what happens when you lose. …“the cake and eat it too”

They don’t like waiting their turn in line.  No remorse for cutting in front of people.  Because once again, rules don’t apply to them. Especially, social rules.

They don’t say thank you when you hold doors for them, because that’s like asking them to pay for a service they are using; even with simple words of gratitude for not letting the door hit them in the face for which they would later dog you out for not holding the door for their special ass.

One telling fact is no matter what, if these special people tell it, they are 99.9% of the time never wrong and it is always someone else's fault or excuse riddled tales.

You can tell these people by the two simple assumptions they make:

  1. The rules don’t apply to them, but work for them.
  2. They should never be required to be grateful.  Because they are God’s gift to the world and the world owes them.  Even though they could die this moment and 99.98% of the world wouldn’t give a damn.

You know theses people and are friends with them.  You might even be one without realizing people see you as one.  Ask yourself how often it is someone else’s fault or how often you believe stuff should be given to you (like how often you complain about paying for something).  Do you try to sneak, slip, or get around systems?  Do you back out, renege on your word (say you would participate and then back out) because you don’t want to and find excuses?  You are one of those special assholes.  I bet money, you get mad when someone calls you out on it, because you are in fact a special person and are never in the fault.

October 14, 2009

Save a Tree, Read an E-Book

I don’t like reading on the PC or on my cell phone or anywhere for that matter but there are times when it is useful.  So for this How To, I’m show you Microsoft Reader and the underground world of e-books.

*disclaimer* you should pay for paid books.  If you download a book and like it or find it useful, pay the author.

First to view e-books, you need an electronic device, huh?  There are standalone readers like Amazon’s Kindle (who just had a price drop).  But you can also you a PC/Laptop, your cell phone, or ipod.

Microsoft Reader is a e-book software that is available on PCs and Mobile devices.  The importance of a Reader is that it improves the visibility of the display to make reading easier.  They try to get the print type quality.  Also they have features like bookmarks, highlighting text, and Text to Speech for lazy eyed people like me.

After you install the reader, you just need books.  Like the real world there is large supply of book available electronically.  The easiest is to just buy them online. But you can also find a lot books for free or for “free.” There are websites.  Here’s a site with free classic literature: http://www.planetebook.com/ In a previous blog I showed you how to use torrents, that’s one way.  But you can also find free books through Google Reader and blogs.

To use Google Reader select “Browse for stuff.”  Then click “View all” from Bundles from Google.
Google Reader Discover Feed part 1
then scroll down to ebooks and subscribe.
Google Reader Discover Feed part 2

Once you subscribe you will now have access to thousands of E-Books.
Google Reader Discover Feed part 3

Here’s a book to get you started: World War Z
and the entire Stephen King Collection via torrent (learn to use torrents).

September 30, 2009

What Could You Do, If Anything?

Claire-Danes---Romeo-Juliet--C10103871 If faced with this situation, what would you do?

You are living in modern Germany, divorced with a daughter living with your ex.  You and your Ex do not get along and you feel like she takes every opportunity to make your life a living hell when she can.  Also she has a very hands off relationship with your daughter.  No curfew and such, she can do what she wants.  Your daughter is in her late teens and in post secondary school.  She is a good girl and never a problem.  Also very responsible.  You couldn’t of asked for a better little girl.  But there is one problem…Her boyfriend.

Your are not racist by any means, but your problem with the boyfriend is that he is Turkish.  It’s the cultural differences you have a problem with.  You would like for your daughter to be with a nice Christian young man (practicing Christian with good morals, like you, no sex before marriage).  Her boyfriend seems nice enough but he is a Turkish Muslim and your better judgment keeps you from seeing a good outcome in the relationship and you want what’s best for your daughter.  The general understanding with Turkish men in Germany is that they get local girlfriends to sow their oats before marrying a Muslim Turkish woman from home.  They have to follow tradition or risk losing their family.

So one day you have the opportunity to talk to the boyfriend.  You lock him in the car after taking him home with your daughter in the backseat.  You was giving them a ride.  You then question him.  Since you are sleeping with my daughter, I want to know what your intentions are.  Do you plan on marrying her?

You have giving the boy a chance to come correct.  He doesn’t have to say he will marry her but just make you and your daughter feel better about the whole situation.  He fails.  He start a list of reasons of what’s wrong with her.  She can’t cook and such.  He had an opportunity to show he is not like the Muslim stereotype, but instead reinforces your feared beliefs about Muslim men with their views on women.  It hurts your heart because you raised your daughter in the independent strong black woman type way.  Also you know if they wanted to marry he would have to go against his family for love and you now don’t see him doing that.  And even more you do believe they love each other.

Funny how often Romeo and Juliet manifests it’s self in our lives.  You don’t like the idea of your daughter being used to sow his oats and you tell your daughter she needs to look for someone else.  But she is in silly girl mode and that’s her boyfriend, the only one she has every had.  And from what you have seen he is a good guy.  Doesn’t hit her, never seen him do anything inappropriate.  He must be at least a decent guy for your daughter to love him and want to continue to see him.

What could you do, if anything?  You are not racist, it’s the cultural rules; not all Muslims, but Turkish Muslims.  Your daughter could never be accepted.  Your baby girl is with someone who using her temporarily whether on purpose or not.  How do you get around the idea of your daughter being used as a booty call while there in Germany, only to be tossed aside later?  She is 18 and doesn’t live with you, so you can’t enforce any rules.  The ex-wife is no help.  And God forbid she gets knocked up because he would deny the child and offer no support, maybe even move back to Turkey.

A few more details if you think I’m overstating the problem.  One, he will not bring her home or allow her to meet his family and they have been together for 5 years.  Two, I saw this first hand, he rerouted her phone calls to his phone.  He is remotely screening her calls.  Now if this ain’t the possessive Muslim stereotype???  Controlling.  She is scared to leave the city much less the country because of him. We are still trying to get her to come to the US where every guy would be tripping all over themselves to get with her.

More on Mom.  It’s not weird for her to be very hands off.  Apparently most German parents are very hands off.  While there I saw kids walking around 3-4 in the morning, there is very few crimes, and condom kiosks everywhere.  Her personality is laid back, no curfew and don’t punish.  Plus she has a new boyfriend.  Only rule is wake her when she comes home (no matter the time) so she doesn’t worry.

What Cha Looking At??? Got A Problem?!

As everyone knows I had a great time while in Germany.  But one thing I valued most was seeing what it is like outside of my home and culture.  There are many things I've picked up and want to add to my lifestyle.  And there are many things they can have to themselves.  But there were two cultural issues that I will blog about because I find them so interesting.

One thing I noticed immediately was the social differences.  For the most part here in the US we don't stare down people.  And when you get caught staring you either look away, speak, or smile.  Well I noticed they don't do that in many states in Germany.  So much that it bothered me, because of my culture I guess.  But after smiling at people staring me down only too get a cold response I needed to know what's the deal.  It's the 21st Century, I know they have seen a black person before.  So while over there me and my aunt would complain about the rudeness of the local people.  So one day at dinner we are all talking, we tell my uncle it's weird.  He says we only see it because of the racism in the US.  I would agree with that, when you are aware of the existance of racism you will notice it.  It's like buying an new car you don't notice how many people have that car until you buy it.  He doesn't think it's a big deal and we are making too much of it.  He goes on to say that German's love Americans.  But he says they don't like the Africans.  They feel like their country is small and has limited resources, then people come for these large country with resources and use theirs, whether it's jobs, land, or money for welfare and other social programs (Sounds familiar).  So in the same breath that he says racism is not a problem AND he declares that they have a problem with Africans.  Our immediate question was, how do they know we are American and not African???  I mean growing up in the States we can tell for the most part an African American Black (several generations removed from Africa) and an African Black person.  But how would they know?  They don't have 13 percent of their population Black.  Even the Ethiopians (they have a growing population there) there had to do a double take when they saw us there.  When were looking at places to visit in Germany, my uncle said we shouldn't go to Berlin.  I didn't understand why Berlin seems like a tourist city.  But he didn't go into details but he said it wouldn't be safe unless I was in a group.  Later looking up info on Germany I saw news reports and internet postings of racist attacks towards Ethiopians there.

GERMANY: Racist Attack Fuels Fear of Far Right
By Jess Smee

BERLIN, Apr 24 (IPS) - A brutal attack on a black German has left the victim fighting for his life and has reactivated fears about right-wing extremism in Germany.

Ermyas M, a 37-year-old engineer of Ethiopian descent, was attacked early on Easter morning while waiting at a tram stop in Potsdam in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. His assailants called him a "nigger", attacked him with a bottle and beat him to the ground.

The German citizen, who is married with two small children, was so badly injured he is in a coma in hospital.

Spurring headlines, political debate and protests by hundreds of Potsdam residents, the attack is a reminder of an unrelenting problem in Germany. Since reunification in 1990, more than 100 people have been killed in racist violence. Across German towns and cities, neo-Nazi groups routinely protest against foreigners.

In Potsdam, insecurity and anger prevail. "Until now we had an atmosphere here where residents, including black or coloured people, could go out at night without fear," mayor Jann Jakobs told the national daily SüddeutscheZeitung. "Now that has changed."

Not all Germans are racist or mean.  For the most the vast majority were not.  But the looks and rude dismissive attitudes were hard to over look.  But the real race ripple in Germany was with the Turks.  There is a good percentage of people from Turkey living in Germany.  And many German have a strong dislike toward poor Turks who move to Germany.  They say that the social services are so good that they can make a living having babies and getting welfare (once again, sounds familiar).

In a forum post entitled: WHY DO GERMANS HATE TURKS?

One lady writes:

I telly you why...
because they are rude, loud and disrispecting. Sissy pricks that are scared shitless by a fight 1 on 1, which explains why they always show up in packs. They are wannabe gangster that steal old ladies' purses and show it off like they just won an oscar for extraordinary achievements. Sad, innit?

They are not willing to become integrated whatsoever. It's not only turks... in general the islamic fuckers are getting on everyones nerves.

Oh, and since you do not know much about german history, I'm gonna help you out. We are not racists, we're patriots!!! lol
See? It's that easy.
If you have questions, shoot! My other lessons are not so free though

Now my cousins are mixed (African American and German) and one of them mention to me that they hate when people think they are Turkish because of their light complexion and straight hair. They are proud to be of African American descent.  My heart went out to him. They have to learn the same lesson on race that our mothers and fathers taught us here.

September 29, 2009

Blog Makeover Time

This morning I stumbled on a blog entry on the Psychology of Color in Webpages.  It talked about the effects of color and correlation between color and the audience.  The most interesting part was the meaning of the colors.

After reading all that I decided it was time for a blog makeover.  This would be the third or four major visual change to my blog since i have had it.  First, I went from a mostly black and hard to read site to a universal and easy to read style.  Now I wanted one with color that reflected the content of the blog.  So I wanted purple! lol. I know but I thought I could pull it off. The meaning of purple:

Purple is halfway between the exciting hue of red and the calming shade of blue. It creates a sense of mystery and rich appeal. Purple is also said to stimulate the imagination and creativity, and so it is often associated with innovation.


In Western lands purple may be associated with nobility, or spirituality, whereas in some Eastern lands purple is the color of mourning.

I hoped that was my blog but now I don’t think so.  I wasn’t able to come up with a good purple and manly theme.  So I then went with blue.

Blue can convey a sense of importance or universal appeal. Blue is the color of the sky, and therefore it is something that everyone can connect with in some way. In addition, blue is often associated with spirituality. Again this is because the sky is blue.


In Western culture blue may be associated with depression or sadness, but at the same time it is tied in with professional corporations and the "something blue" bride tradition.

I can work with that.  Also I need to not just change the color but evolve the site some so I finally made a Title for it.  The name of the blog was giving to me from Dan while was at Best Buy.  During meetings with management I use to ask them why we were doing something, the purpose for the most part.  Or questions of “what if?”  These were hard for them to answer because they did not always know why they were doing something only that they were told to do it and did it blindly.  So I gained a reputation as a problem maker because of the questions I asked.  Thus the title, They Hate Me Because I Ask The Hard Questions.  The boy in school raising his hand - is in reference to my time at Bowie State where I used to ask questions I knew the answer to only to argue and prove the teacher incorrect. Only happened in Computer Science, I’m not a smart person at all, just knew my programming languages.

Blog before:

Blog Before

Blog after:

Blog after

September 24, 2009

Two Types of Followers


There are two types of followers for those that are leaders.  Those that follow with their heart and those that follow with their head.  The heart followers need to believe in you.  The head followers need to believe you.  When going to war or saving the sinking ship, confidence in you will channel the heart followers.  Charisma is the pulling trait.  But the head followers need to understand and believe in your plan.  Intelligence is the key trait.  The greatest leaders possessed both to command the greatest followers.

September 23, 2009

Auto Photo Face Tagging

FYI Picasa just implemented auto face recognition in the software and website.  Meaning… it can auto tag the people in your pictures.  I just finished playing with it and it is really, really cool.

More info here: http://picasa-readme.blogspot.com/2009/09/picasa-35-now-with-name-tags-build-7967.html

To Enable or Disable the new feature:

The name tags feature, which uses face-matching technology to organize your photos by face, is available in both the Picasa software and Picasa Web Albums. To enable or disable name tags, follow these steps:

Picasa

Name tags are enabled by default in Picasa. You can toggle name tags on and off by following these steps:

  1. In Picasa, click Tools > Options (PC) or Picasa > Preferences (Mac).
  2. Click the Face Detection tab.
  3. Toggle the box next to 'Enable Face Detection.'
  4. Click OK.
Picasa Web Albums

Name tags in Picasa Web Albums are disabled by default. Follow these steps to enable or disable name tags in Picasa Web Albums:

  1. Sign in to your account at http://picasaweb.google.com
  2. Click Settings at the top right of the page.
  3. Click on the Privacy and Permissions tab.
  4. Toggle the box next to 'Use name tags to name people in my photos.'
  5. Click the Save changes button.

You can also delete name tags for specific people in your gallery or request removal of a photo or name tag on other people's albums.

September 19, 2009

Oh, man, Munich **** rules.

“Through every movie with Jews, we're the ones getting killed. Munich flips it on its ear. We're capping motherbleepers.”
”If any of us get [lucky] tonight, it's because of Eric Bana."

Yea, Munich is great.  I liked the city and the people.  Oktoberfest started the next day and the city was buzzed.  Unlike the rest of Germany, I felt welcomed.  Also the people there were more diverse and colorful.  I would go back in a heart beat.  Like here, each state and city is different.  Munich flipped my impressions of the German people on it’s ear.

Pictures:

September 18, 2009

We Was Going To The Free Zone, Hamsterdam

I am trying to forget this story, but let me try to recap for the record keeping. Those that follow me on Twitter prob heard me bitching. After Brussels, everything was lovely. We was on a natural high. We jumped on the train to Amsterdam first class and was scooting along in a private room on the train. But we get to this one stop in Belgium and they make an announcement that there will be a delay. We think nothing of it. Sitting around laughing and joking. We caught two people at the train station picking boogers in the same spot. First guy sits on the bench and picks his boogers, then another guy takes his spot on that bench and picks his but then he wipes his boogers on the seat and gets up. A lady and her child then takes his spot on the booger bench.

A few minutes becomes an hour. They announce people can go and come from the train. The power is out of line in the section of track between Belgium and Netherlands. Confusion was here by now. There was no universal language to share information. The Station displays were in Dutch and people were speaking Dutch, French, English (somewhat AND as an afterthought), and German later.  The lack of information was the theme of the night.  So then they said for us to take another train and transfer at some station.  Everyone goes to the other train confused in all types of ways.  At the first stop on the new train they tell everyone to get off and catch a bus.  People breakout running and confused, don’t know where to go to.  It just officially became the amazing race.  Running, asking questions, running again – just going in circles.  So we wait outside under a bridge for a long time waiting for buses.  This was a whole train of people going to the Netherlands, so we are talking hundreds of people.  People start grouping up together and taking taxis.  We was making friends through pain with people that spoke English, I mean we had to stick together for info because all the officials was only speaking Dutch, it hurt them to talk English, a universal language most of the riders understood.  After a long time under the bridge they told us to go catch another train they set aside for us.  We take that train only to be told to get out.  Half the people went to a transfer point only to find out the last train to Amsterdam left already.  So then there was another mad dash to the buses that was suppose to take us across the country line.  By this time we left Belgium and was in Germany.  We was one of the lucky few to get a spot on a bus.  By this time I stop helping the lady with the baby in a stroller, I was out for self.  She wasn’t smart about it and evolution say the strongest survive, that includes mentally too.  If she was smart she would take the baby out the stroller when going down steps.  My new friends was people that speak Dutch and English.

The bus drove us in to the Netherlands.  Stopped at a station where the trains were still running to Amsterdam.  The process lasted for 8 hours, the normal train ride was only about 2 hours.  We got to the hotel after midnight.  Every 100 meters (doing the Euro talk) you smelled weed in the air, every 50 meters you saw a young zombie walk by.The people at the Hotel was cool, the Hotel was cool. Amsterdam is cool.  I loved the friendliness and diversity of the people there.  I plan to go back.  I lost 6 hours of Amsterdam wondering due to a fuck up in the train system.

We had really stylish rooms that was a great change from the old grim of Paris the night before.  After finding both food and free porn on TV, we called it a night.  For the record, Amsterdam makes you horny.  It’s strange but true.  It truly is Sodom and Gomorrah.

The next morning, we had breakfast (Dutch and English Style), shopped, and went on a tour.

this little kid keeps staring at me. i want to punch him in the face

I wanted to punch this kid in the face.  He kept giving me the evil eye.  You can see where he learned it from.

Also hit up the Diamond Factory and wasted a lot of time there buying stuff.  Tax Free.

Pictures:

September 17, 2009

Belgium Got Bomb Waffles and Chocolate

After spending the night in Paris, I woke up fairly early to the sounds of police sirens.  oh Paris…  We dress, eat breakfast, and then walk over to the near by train station only to find out it was the wrong station.  We had 20 minutes to catch our train out of France.  The Amazing Race began.  We hustled up steps and down streets and alleys to get to the other train station and find our train.  We made it and then to Brussels, Belgium we went.  The plan was the same - find a tour bus in Brussels and bounce to Amsterdam by the evening to check in to our hotel.

The Brussels tour was the best tour so far.  Very informative and clear.  Made an otherwise overlooked city very interesting even with it’s comparatively short history.

Pictures:

Most Overrated: 1. Duke 2. Paris

Hey, I’m back in front of a PC! yay blogging time.  I’m get hated on for this one, but it’s ok.  So let me catch yall up.  Monday, I caught the first train out of Kassel, Germany to Paris, France.  I had to catch two trains, the first one was cool minus the morning commuter crowdedness.  The ICE train in Germany, lovingly called the bullet train.  But the second French train to Paris was the worst.  Small and mildew smelly.  Also is was packed, knees to knees.  Two buzz cut French punk looking dudes thought they was slick sitting in our seats, I don’t think the spoke english but they knew what I meant when I said those are my seat, you need to bounce.  They move across the aisle to what was probably their tight ass seats bunned with a grimy looking guy.  They was blown, I can tell because they had no room- knees touching, fidgeting, and shooting cold looks over at us.  Whatever, we go hard.

So as we got off the train, it was clear Paris is nothing like what we have been seeing in Germany.  The diversity was apparent.  Let’s be honest for a second there is a about 6 templates of the majority of German residents.  Like the Sims or a video game, you have several base types and you make small variations to them so your avatar looks different from the next person, but they all loosely look a like.  But Paris has the diversity that maybe only New York City can come close to.  It felt good.  And the people were nicer and not staring at me like there was a problem.

After checking in to our leaning hotel, the building didn’t lean, just the floors, we went to a hole in the wall restaurant near by.  The people in there was eating some kind of eggs and mayo dish and something that looked like mud.  But we played it safe and order chicken and sausages.  Sausage in normal non-fancy Paris must mean hotdog, because that what it looked and tasted like.  But it was bad, actually it was pretty good for a hotdog with no bun.  And every dish had french fries with it.  Come on, Paris, have to do better.

Because of our 3 countries in 3 days schedule we only had hour to do a lot so decided to take a tour bus, but the catch is that the tour bus locations wasn’t anywhere near our hotel.  Looking at a map and being city folks ourselves we decided to walk to.  Item on the map appear closer than they are.  But it also gave us an opportunity to get a feel for the city and people that roam it.

The tour bus was cool but GPS audio sucked and mistimed. So didn’t know what I looking at a lot of the time.  We had the option of getting off and checking out places but wasn’t on our side and was content with taking pictures from the bus.

After the tour, I had to go back to the hotel I was feeling pretty bad, my cold was at it’s worst part.  I was on top of the tour bus in the open air and it was cold and windy.  Also it threaten to rain a couple of times.  I rest for a while until the family came back the room and then decided to eat and run to the pharmacy to get something for my cold.   Because it was my parents 35th wedding anniversary, we want to eat somewhere nice.  Found several fancy looking places but picked the one that had France in the name.  Good move.  The place was great and food was amazing.  I decide to not play it safe and try new dishes so I got a duck appetizer and rabbit smothered in some kind of amazing creamy sauce with cook vegetables.  The rest had lamb chops and chicken.  Tasted each others food but everyone agreed I was the winner with the rabbit.

Pictures:

Video:

Now if you are a Paris lover then you would want to stop reading because I about to go on an unfocused rant about what’s wrong with Paris.

Paris has a lot of hype around it.  It’s a major city in the world.  As I left the train station, I thought that this is what New York would look like if placed on Mars and it was never cleaned up by the mayors.  It is hard to formulate my thoughts so let me try doing it in a list.

  1. There is an odor.  They got the same NYC trash issue, that shit is on the sidewalk in front of the buildings.  So you know the rats ain’t far away. Paris is dirty.
  2. Related note: The pigeons.  Them flying rats are everywhere and ain’t scared of people.  Shitting on everything.  Their number is in the millions.  I walked past the area where there was a nice arch building (would be photo op) but I couldn’t take a picture for several reasons, but the pigeons was one. There was hundred of them there.  Who the f**k is feeding them?  And it stunk over there because there was a dead pigeon in the middle of them rotting. The city needed to remove the dead animals in the middle of a heavily populated sidewalk.
  3. The questionable people.  I started to question myself because I smelled a dead bird with a stuffy nose yet people was chilling in the square like there was nothing wrong. ???  Am I missing something, how could people post up and eat around a hundred pigeons and a funky ass dead animal smell?
  4. Unfashionable people.  I know Paris is the fashion capital of the world.  It was clear because the people there was “trying” to do their part.  I seen rack of girls and funny guys put together some outfits.  BUT for having 600 hair stores in 3 blocks why wasn’t there one decent weave in a 30 mile radius?  I’m not a weave expert but I know what don’t look good.  The Dominicans need to set up shop in Paris.  Your clothes can be the freshest but you are, not just look, busted if your hair ain’t right too.  The African women had the messed up synthetic weaves and the racial mixed girl had nothing going on with theirs.  You know what I mean, the poor little mixed girls caught between worlds.  No one showed them or took them to a hair dresser, so they got the thicker than straight hair but try to style it like you got the easy to work with it hair.  Some call it “The White Mom” syndrome because it’s common for a White mom with a black or mixed child not to know how to control her child’s hair.  Anyway, I seen a rack of that.
  5. African Men.  They are scary.  Straight terrorist.  The way they was acting I would want them out my country too (Germans, but later subject).  There is a gang of them just wandering the streets with no job, all trying to hustle.  30 bammas can not all be holding down one corner or stoop.  Yall over perfumed motherf**kers need to spread out.  When I see that many broke people gathering in one spot, I get scared too.  Normally, I would take a picture or video of foolishness like that but they was everywhere like project roaches.  I was scared to pull out anything of value.  I mean, I can take on 2-3 dudes if they tried to rob me, but I don’t know about a village or a tribe.  My hands ain’t that good.  I don’t know what they were hustling or trying to do and I wasn’t trying to find out.  I walk about 5 blocks through African territory ( main streets too, from Boulevard de Strasbourg to Galleries Lafayette) mean mugging, like I ain’t one of you, don’t say anything to me.  So for the most part I wasn’t harassed like other people walking the street.  But I did make the mistake of making eye contact with this one dude, he asked me what did I need.  I said I only speak English, he was like I speak English too.  He had some type card in his hand.  I said, I’m good and walked off.  But the thing that took the cake and really upset me was that their was like 40 African dudes standing in front of the Subway entrance waiting for people to walk out, I know was scared for them.  This one young lady walked out and they got aggressive, cat calling and following and reaching.  Like that was going to make her interested in any of them.  Where was the police?  Man, in DC it’s safer to kill a local than harass tourists.  They don’t play when it comes to the image of the city.

In all, Paris has a lot of history and other things to offer but it’s not as great as people make it out to be.  The potential is there.  But they need a good mayor to clean up the city like NYC.  Hide the homeless, clean up the trashy buildings, and reduce crime and traffic.  They need standards.  Because it’s Paris they take it for granted.  People will always want to come, but the hotel situation needs to be addressed.  The city hotels are almost always sold out like here in DC but they ask for top dollar for subpar rooms.  Maybe people give them a pass because it’s Paris, or Europe, or whatever, but the hotels need to earn their star ratings.  Fix the buildings up too.  Hey but at least the food is good.  That’s something good I can say about Paris, they have really good food even if the table is wobbly and the plate is dirty.

September 13, 2009

Ambassadors of Dance

Time to catch up from the last couple of days.  We drove a couple hours north to Hannover through the country side to get our EURail passes for the train.  Hannover is the 3rd or 5th largest German city with a pop of about 500,000.  Facts my uncle says while driving.  Had some fish and chips at the train station, believe it or not this was the first English speaking (me) to German speaking only interaction I have had so far without help of a translator.  Went over well, but my dad got the epic failure when he tried to buy a soda.  He couldn’t understand how much she said it cost and the a lady of the line came and tried to help him pick out the right amount.  Image a little kid going to the store with his allowance money and counting the pennies in the palm of his hand.  Now make that kid 50 years old and 6’2”  lol I kid, my dad.  By the way what he gave her was not enough, wrong amount. lol Let’s try it again.

I won’t lie, figuring out the change is only tough part of dealing with the Euros.  They have their dollars as coins too.  And mix that with not know how to count in a foreign language.  I been looking at the register and/or remembering the cost from the menu instead of listening to their total. 

More Pictures:

We also stopped in a small town on sightseeing course back to Kassel.  Me and my Aunt Ann are still not used go people staring at us.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they would respond when I smile or say something.  The people are so rude.  I be mugging back now.

Saturday, the change of diet caught up with me.  Not quite the BGs but a consent need to take a dump every 15 mins.  After 4-5 time I pulled out the pink stuff and problem solved along with a long nap.  I blame all the bread and cheese in the German diet.

After sleeping all day, I got the chance to taste the night life with my aunt and uncle.  It was a 30 and over disco.  There was some dancing that would put Allison’s and Jenny’s awkward dancing to shame.  There was about four or five people that were dancing hard the whole night, never left the dance floor.  And it was hot and funky.  Euro Funk aka musty underarms.  But it was a really good time, we all had a lot of fun.

Some video from the club:

This morning we rode out to a small town of about 2,000 people, there are a lot towns like that here, to what Yoshi’s track meet.  But almost there Joshua calls us any says he is not participating because his groining hurts.  We still ride out to see what’s what.  The place and track was tiny, it wasn’t a major event so I see why he wasn’t pressed to perform.  But he look sad to not be able to show off for his family. Now it's been raining all day. The weather has changed, it’s cold and thunder storming.  Now I’m feeling sick (snotty nose).  France tomorrow, maybe we can run from it.

More Pictures here:

September 10, 2009

Father vs Son in a Dance Battle

We have been having so much fun in Kassel with our German family we have fallen off out itinerary and are readjusting. It feels so good reconnecting.  Last night after barbequing we sat around and some how talking turned into a sweaty dance party.  Our family has a good time.

September 09, 2009

Hercules, Hercules

I got to check out some of what Kassel, Germany has to offer and got to see my cousins for the first time in over 10 years.  Showed them facebook too. lol.

September 07, 2009

I Made It Safely Across The Atlantic

After staying up all night and last minute shopping, we had a smooth flight over the Atlantic Ocean.  As those of you that have been following me on twitter I have seen some shit in the mean time.  I’m try to keep yall updated with Twitter but I only have 20 MB of international data transfers on my phone account.

Follow me on Twitter for live updates:  http://www.twitter.com/willwash

But when I have free time, like now, I will post and upload.

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The US dollar sucks balls.  I blame the Republicans and Bush.  Tell me no lies.

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Jet lag or what it’s called is a mother… I stayed up all night hoping to sleep during my 8 hour flight, but I couldn’t.  I’m a light plane sleeper and had the drunk crazy German lady in the seat in front of me and a kicking kid beside me.  And the few times when I could dose off someone would walk down the aisle and bump me.  We landed a 5:00am German time and rode down the autobahn to my Uncle’s house.  My expectations for the autobahn was pretty high.  I was blown the road wasn’t a large 4 lane high way with fresh, smooth asphalt.  It felt like I-95 with all the potholes and was narrower.  One thing I am digging is the speed but not as fast as the thought, prob because of the potholes and every car is either a VW, BMW, Mercedes, or Audi.  And different versions of them.  Here are pictures of us driving on it.

As I type this the time is only 11:00 am here and 5 am there.  My goal is to stay awake until 7-8pm to get my sleep schedule on European time.  It’s going to be hard.  So I’m blogging to past time.  Everyone else is sleep.  Check out the view for the home office I’m working from.

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Also I went to the store to get breakfast bread.  Bread overload, every meal so far had a lot of bread and cheese.  And then I see why…

The guy at the store was the first friendly German person I have met, that’s not family.  Everyone else has been rude and un-courteous.  Having a slightly southern upbringing it’s not cool to me.  The lady in front of me in the plane keep throwing her trash under her seat where my feet were even after looking and seeing my feet and the stewardess saying that feet are suppose to be under the seats.  The stewardess were rude too on several occasions.  The guys at customs was throwing passports back at people.  Can only keep being nice to people but for so long, then when in Rome do as the Romans.

ok, I’m done for now maybe I’ll take a nap, it’s only 11:30.

September 04, 2009

Speak Your Mind

It was brought to my attention that the comment option was turned off on my blog.  So I turned it back on.  I didn’t notice or expect comments.  Honestly I took pride in having the best blog nobody reads.   But it’s no fair to close the option to comment since this is an opinion blog and nothing is more un-American as silencing the voice of the people; so now you can comment your heart away.