Being a father, I sometimes ponder...

...what I want to teach my daughter, Zoey. What I want to
pass on to her...





...well, it's a start...

DUN-uh! DUN-uh! TRANSFORMAAAAAAS!!!

For all you young 'uns, chicks, and other mua'fuckas who may not be hep to all things Transformers, take note of the following...





I mean, just in case you ain't know...

Oh come on, Axl! The world NEEDS a little reinventing now and then...

My old Army buddy Matt from Michigan (wow, I have "old Army buddies") had a song (which has recently been "Deleted by Artist") on his MySpace profile that I really dug. It's by a punk band from Florida called Against Me!, and is titled "Reinventing Axl Rose". Rockin' song, intriguing title. And so I did a little internet research and found the following video (it clears up after a few seconds)...



Now if this story is true, then-in my opinion at least-the whole situation is incredibly cool on several different levels. Especially when you consider the lyrics...

"Reinventing Axl Rose"

We want a band that plays loud and hard every night
That doesn't care how many people are counted at the door
That would travel one million miles and ask for nothing more than a plate of food and a place to rest
They'd strike chords that cut like a knife
It would mean so much more than t-shirts or a ticket stub
They'd stop at nothing short of a massacre
Everyone would leave with the memory that there was no place else in the world
And this was where they always belonged
We would dance like no one was watching
With one fist in the air
Our arena just basements and bookstores across an underground America
With this fire we could light
Just gimme a scene where the music is free
And the beer is not the life of the party
There's no need to shit talk or impress
'Cause honesty and emotion are not looked down upon
And every promise that's made and bragged
is meant if not kept
We'd do it all because we have to, not because we know why
Beyond a gender, race, and class, we could find what really holds us back
Let's make everybody sing
That they are the beginning and ending of everything
That we all are stronger than everything they taught us that we should fear

It all comes across as just some wild, passionate, drunken rant that was scrawled on a napkin in a bar, and which was then put to music. Of course, the cynic and skeptic in me has considered the possibility that, unknown to all the sweaty, moshing kids screaming the lyrics word for word, there are corporate forces intentionally trying to orchestrate this as a "Nirvana slays the hair bands" paradigm shift, which would then make this a bunch of contrived, empty hype. And that would be assuming that the story wasn't created by someone bullshitting their friend over a beer somewhere just for kicks. Still, even though I'm knocking on the door of 3o-and I swear that I'm not getting maudlin here-I can still enjoy the stark, black and white, us-against-them, youthful idealism of a punk band yearning for a band that would travel a million miles and ask for nothing more than a plate of food and a place to rest. I mean, it's all about the music right? Of course, I'm old enough to know that it's not all so simple. If nothing else, it's still a great soundtrack to enjoying a tall, chilled glass of Guinness.

On turning 30

So Sabete sits down in front of the TV while I'm washing dishes. The TV is on the History Channel, which is showing a special on "Star Wars".



Sabete: "Do we have to watch this?"

Me: "No, you can change it."

Sabete: "I don't even like 'Star Wars' anyway."

Me: "I've never been a hardcore 'Star Wars' fan myself, but it's turning 30 this year. It's a worldwide celebration!"

Sabete: "So? 'Grease' is turning 30!

Me: "Yeah? Well 'Grease' doesn't have spaceships! Or the Death Star! Or The Force!"

Sabete: "Oh yeah? Well 'Grease has John Travolta!"

The Both of Us: [Travolta-esque] "Oh my God!"



Also, the History Channel was recently, for some strange reason, showing "Planet of the Apes". So naturally...

Me: "Why in the hell is the History Channel showing 'Planet of the Apes'?

Sabete: [without missing a beat] "Because it really happened, man!"



Me+Sabete+the History Channel=good times!

It's been a year!

I almost updated this blog in late April. Then I figured, why not wait until a complete year has lapsed since my last update? And as you can see, that's exactly what I did, so break out the wine and roses, 'cause it's our anniversary! Well, the anniversary of the last time I overcame utter laziness and managed to blog something. And what, you may ask, has changed in a year? Well, if you're a regular reader of Sabete's blog, www.sabete.org, you've already been kept abreast of all the major life changes. Moved into a groovy bright orange apartment, got a kid on the way, etc. Both subjects have been covered superbly and at length by my fabulous girlfriend. So what do I have to say after a year of silence (if I may risk sounding like I think I'm J.D. Salinger or something)?
For those of you out there who care (and who didn't stop checking my blog after 4 months of nothing) I suppose I would start with the fact that I feel a lot more like grown-up-hood is kicking down my door to flex-cuff and spirit me away. Yes, I know that I'm less than a year from 30, but it all feels more real now. The kid, naturally, is a big part of it. Another big part is the evolution of the relationship between Sabete and I. I suppose it's just the passage of time as well as the whole moving in thing. We've had to make all the expected adjustments to our respective unanticipated quirks, the newness has been replaced with a sense of security and comfortableness, we've had actual arguments, the whole nine.
As far as the kid, whom Sabete and I have temporarily dubbed Junior (or, for all you Guam-types out there, "Dzooner") we are growing more and more excited about the prospect of raising a little human being into an adult. We believe that rather than trying to make your child live out your own aspirations, one should strive simply to provide a solid foundation and guidance as he/she eventually finds his/her own path in life. Still, it's just so tempting to try and plot ways in which we can form Dzooner into a kung fu-fighting, break dancing, guitar playing poet. However, our kid WILL grow up exposed to THE most bad-ass music, book and movie collection EVER! If any of you readers out there have suggestions for a top 10 (or if you're really geeky and have a hard time deciding, a top 20) list of essential albums, books and movies to expose our kid to, please leave a comment! I have to say, these days I'm pretty glad my father raised me on Earth, Wind & Fire, Lakeside, Average White Band, Santana and Cream. I've even been thinking about teaching our kid colors via "Bold as Love" by Jimi Hendrix. You know, a colorful poster to hang in Dzooner's room, with the lyrics to the song and the Jimi Hendrix Experience rendered all cartoonish and cute. It'll be great!
I guess that's my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY STATEMENT. Nothing profound or anything. Just me getting back into the blogging scene. I really wish I had some brilliant observation or maybe some poetry. Alas, it's just me again. Until next time...

Heard the new Outkast song

According to what I had read somewhere, Outkast had decided that genre-pushing is all well and good, but with their new album, they were going back to basics. Beats and rhymes. Being the hip hop head that I am, I was naturally interested in what that would sound like. Heard the new single,"The Mighty O" on the radio last night and yep, it still sounds like Outkast, only doing a head nodder. I don't know what the kids would call it these days. Dope? Bangin'? Mashin'? Tickin'? Smashin'? Clean? Either way, you should check that shit out. It's instupicuous!

Could it be? An UPDATE?!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's true. This is indeed an update. Here follows a brief overview of all things new in the land of Wayne. Let's see...

New Glasses
Not that my prescription was outdated, but I was at the mall with Sabete, who was getting new glasses, and a small inconsequential bit of my old glasses frame had broken off, so hell, why not? I'm still getting used to these snazzy new frames, as I'm usually pretty conservative. Thin, lightweight, and innocuous will do just fine, thank you. Nowadays, I'm sporting these rectangularish joints that are far more noticeable. Kind of "geek chic", but, being a sort of dull, steel gray, hopefully not garish. Sometimes I quite like them. Other times, I feel like some tool fashion plate. "Just gotta get used to them", I keep telling myself, "just gotta get used to them...".

Proof Gets Murdered
Is that some shit or what? I bought his solo album, "Searching for Jerry Garcia". In spite of the cool title, I found it to be good, but not great. Not quite that perfect balance of berserk, free ranging creativity, solid street cred, vivid story telling, and street smart insight into life in general that I was hoping for (that I'm perpetually hoping for). However, after the Matrix-inspired game of horse on the accompanying DVD, he did crawl out of the pool into which he had leapt, and, dripping wet, yelled at the camera, "I AM a MUTANT! I AM an ALIEN!" So that was cool. And so another rapper goes the way of Tupac, BIG, Big L, and a whole lot of other urban kids. Of course, there were the expected tributes on BET, and I'm sure it'll be the cover story for next month's issues of The Source, XXL, Vibe, and assorted other urban media outlets, with titles like "When Will it End?" and "Another One of Ours Falls", etc. with articles that generally end with some variation of "This is our problem, our culture, our community, and it's up to us to save it." But how?

The Addiction Grows
Well, how addicted can you be to something that only occurs weekly? Perhaps, enthusiastic would be more like it. Anyway you slice it, it's pretty much a tradition now. Wednesday night is Ghost Hunters Night at Sabete's. The usual crowd is Lani, Michelle, and myself. And now I extend the invitation to you. World Wide Web and all it's virtual citizenry, you are cordially invited to Sabete's house every Wednesday night, at eight thirty-ish, to witness the exploits of Jason and Grant, et al of The Atlantic Paranormal Society. There might be snickerdoodles! Okay, there was only one night when snickerdoodles were present. But, a precedent has been set!

She's the Man...
...was actually a lot funnier than I had anticipated. Even Sabete liked it! A lot of it was due to Amanda Bynes' performance. I've always maintained that Amanda Bynes has definite potential to do great things comedically, and while the expository first fifteen minutes or so were excruciatingly teenagery, once Amanda Bynes and certain other choice cast members were allowed free reign, their surefooted, charmingly goofy performances carried the film. It wasn't some next-level, Andy Kaufman, Upright Citizens Brigade shit, but it was much better than I thought it would be. If nothing else, it was a hell of a lot funnier than "The Benchwarmers."

School and Work
I'm going back soon. I don't want to go. But I have to. Damn "having to work for money"! Can't I get paid large amounts of money just for being me? I thought we defeated the Communists! Double-you-tee-eff!?

Dune Extended Edition (The David Lynch Version)
Came in a nifty tin case (which had a dent, but slight enough that I'm not gonna return it to Amazon.com) and brought back a flood of highschool Dune-fanatic memories and sensations. I even found myself mouthing some of the dialogue, which makes it even more amazing that I have a girlfriend. Decent special features, but not quite as much as I would have liked. Certainly not the full on orgy of extras that came with the Sci Fi Channel Dune Mini-Series DVD. While David Lynch's Dune isn't necessarily a good movie, I prefer it to the Sci Fi Channel effort. Why, you ask? First of all, I didn't like the interpretation of Paul Atreides. I felt it was inaccurate, and plus, he was annoying. Paul wasn't a perfect hero-he wasn't meant to be-but he certainly wasn't an annoying, whiny ass bitch! I still bought it though. Why? Because I tend to be a completist about such things. And kinda stupid. Secondly, I feel the director of the mini-series made a mistake in that he was "trying to emphasize the universal human elements rather than the more exotic, difficult ideas" of the book. Now there's nothing wrong with emphasizing universal human elements of a story. The problem is that it is all those weird ideas that make Dune stand out from any other space opera in which a rag-tag bunch of rebels overthrow an oppressive regime. The plot of Dune is actually kind of mundane. The point of this is that Frank Herbert (the author of Dune) was saying "This situation has repeated itself throughout human history. Does it ever go anywhere? Do we ever learn anything? Does any good ever come of this?" Stripped of it's more intellectual aspects and just plain weirdness, there is little to distinguish Dune from any other rah rah "let's overthrow the evil empire" sci fi yarn. Until you get to the sequels (the Sci Fi Channel treatments of which I rather like and consider far superior to the original mini-series, a few instances of pretentious overacting aside). In short, the Dune mini-series is easier to understand, but the David Lynch film has balls.

My Girlfriend
and I have a great little thing going on. Our relationship is clipping along at a considerable pace. We're actually kind of hoping to get past this whole honeymoon, "we just can't bear to spend a single day apart, lovey dovey" phase so that we can chill out and act like normal, functional human beings again. New relationship euphoria isn't very conducive to productivity, I'm afraid.

I have
Kristanna Loken as Brunhild the Valkyrie Queen (from the Sci Fi Channel mini-series "Dark Kingdom") on my desktop and an Aishwarya Rai screen saver. That's not cheating, is it babe?

a growing desire for my own pad

a shit load of really good books. Having the time and discipline to actually read them all the way through, however...

a small, but growing library of rad video games (which may have something to do with the preceding dilemma)

the growing suspicion that I just might be able to pull myself together...

And that's all for now, folks. Hope you've been informed, delighted, or at least mildly amused. Until next time, be cool people...