Once upon I time I was a magazine fiend. If it had women, cars, clothes and music in it, I bought it. I bring this up because while at the Bookstore to buy the sunday paper this morning, I happen to glance at the cover on the september issues a few magazines on the newstand today and I almost vomitted. I see lil wayne in a spacesuit on one cover and then I see Game grimacing on another. Pure comedy. Shit just isn't the same. Up above is the first Source magazine that I bought exactly 15 years ago. The first and best article I had read about Snoop. When I was in college, the Source Mag was more than just Hip Hop music. As their moniker says it was also culture & Politics. I first saw a 19 year old Tyra banks between its pages. And the advertisement in the top corner of the "fly Market" Had me, still a suburban boy travelling deep into the city to find a clothing store called, "SPECTACLES". See the picture up above. It's still there. Back in 1993, I figured if it was in the Source, it had to be hot. I bought all the clothes I wore my first year of college in that store. I kept buying Source magazines up until about 2003. Around the time Benzino fucked it up completely. Back in the day you could buy a Source magazine and read "real" interviews, get "real" hip hop news, learn about politics and find out what the fashion and music buzz was in other parts of the country. whether it be East coast, West Coast, Midwest or down south. As I pack my books for my move outta michigan, I also noticed XXL and vibe issues that I have collected. All magazines that have lost there usefullness and integrity. They're nothing but paper commercials now. The interviews are nothing but publicity stunts and the news is always old cause you can get up to the minute news on an iphone in 2008.
September 24, 2008
Just some snapshots I took before I left San Francisco Monday morning.
September 23, 2008
Alright, this was the worst part of being in San Francisco. I proudly wore my lions gear into raggedy/out-dated Candlestick Stadium, along with quite a few other Detroit fans. We had to literally sneek out of that mothafucka though. It was kinda like when you're at a comedy joint in the hood, and you leave early. You get clowned. Well, we got clowned by drunk 49er fans. The whole experience was a huge joke. The lions are probably as bad as I've ever seen them in my life. As Bill Ford Jr. said yesterday, they've become an embarrassment. A couple bright spots in football field fiasco was when Sheila E. and her pops walked past us in the coca cola red zone...They put on an incredible performance at halftime. Oh yeah, and then there was the 49er fan, that ran out on the field and got chased down by security.
September 22, 2008
The most eye-pleasing and ear soothing sounds of the weekend. Walking down Market street, near Sutter shopping I heard a mustang crew coming, before I even saw them. I would have had to have a better camera lense to let yall see how many of them there were. At least 20, All models from the 80's, 90's and 2000's. I'll be back tommorrow with the "low" of the weekend. Plus I'm behind on updating all my sites...That's what pays for these out of town excursions so I gotta get that shit done.
September 22, 2008
Breathtaking views. The cool breeze hitting me in the face. Man, I could've pulled out a chair and sat there all day.
September 22, 2008
Then of course there's the Bay Bridge. Views from the San Francisco side. I was pressed for time and couldn't make it over to Oakland this time.
September 21, 2008
For those of Yall at the crib flippin' through the channels tonight, you'll probably see the Emmy Awards on TV. Well, yesterday I was in the area of where the event wll take place, and I noticed ET, Access Hollywood, and E! all scrambling to get their red carpet stations ready. At last check, tickets to get inside are available for $500. Of course with those tickets, you'd be so far away from the stage that you'd need binoculors to see anything on stage.
September 20, 2008
As you can see I've made it to San Francisco. It's been a loooong day so now it's time to play. I'm hittin' a few night spots but I'll be back tommorrow with a few city shots.
September 20, 2008
Just strollin' around Long Beach on a quiet saturday morning. I Figure I'll leave for San Francisco sometime late tonight. Unfortunately not in my 68 like I had hoped.
September 19, 2008
So yeah it might not be a big deal, but on my way to Cali. I left from the brand spanking new North Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport. It was kinda funny to me, because over the last few years I've watched them build that joint up. It looked like it was never gonna be done. Then I just saw the news coverage of it On local TV 2 days ago. In my honest opinion, I find it looks kinda bare. Not enough restaraunts. Maybe that's just because it's new. Sorry about the less than usual quality of the pics, but I shot them with my nokia N73. People get nervous when you start pulling out big cameras at the airport. I found that out when I got arrested at LAX a few years ago(See September 2006). I'm sitting in Chicago right now, laid over for an hour. And I'm really thinking about Fucking with TiJuana tonight. buuut, I don't want those parking tickets in L.A., that got my camaro towed away to catch up with me just yet. The last thing I need to do is try to cross the border in San Ysidro and get sent to the county. I can see it now, them making a nigga wait until monday morning to pay that shit off. My entire weekend would be fucked up. *mental note send the city of L.A. a check on 09/26.
September 14, 2008
Man, this game was worse than the last one. It seems like the season is gonna be another long and disappointing one. But I had a good time today and I guess that's all that matters. If you ask me, there ain't a football stadium in the country as beautiful as Ford Field. It captures the industrial feel of Detroit. I love the bricks and exposed pipes inside.
September 12, 2008
Today, I went out and bought a Brazilian Portuguese phrasebook. I told yall in August that the all money I make during the month of September at my 9 to 5 is all gettin' blown on Carnivale which is just 5 months away. We're half way through September, and my savings are looking good so far. I was gonna go to carnivale last year, but it came so early(february 2nd) I had just done New Years in NYC a month earlier, not to mention just getting back from the AVN awards 2 weeks before. So I decided to just do P.R and D.R. in February 2008 instead. But it's on and poppin' for 2009. I'm telling yall, When I touch down in Rio de Janeiro February 22, 2009 I expect nothing but the prime pussy and exotic eats. I'm thinking about staying a couple of weeks. I remember earlier this year, I asked a broad that speaks spanish how much different spanish is from portuguese. I got the impression that she was talking to me like I was some broke dumb daydreaming nigga when She said, "Since I speak spanish, it would be easy for me, but you, I don't know." Like I can't learn shit. Bitch! I've been reading and they are very similar languages. For the next 5 months, I'ma be carrying this book around in my back pocket, studying words and phrases. Of Course I downloaded Rosetta Stone too, but I'm from the old school, I absorb info much better when flipping pages. Oh yeah, this entry will be cut and pasted to my blog on February 22, 2009(the start of carnivale) just so yall haters out there can see that I gave you fair warning to get your shit together. Especially the ones in MICHIGAN. Between shoveling snow in 20 degree weather this winter and scraping ice off your car windows. I know a lot of yall will be watching my South American videos and photos. But instead of being jealous of my romps on the beaches and hotels with beautiful women, why not just make your own plans NOW. If you're not overextended with too many bills, just put away $250 a month until February and you might be able to afford the plane ticket..don't forget about hotel, food and entertainment though lol
September 9, 2008
Okay, it's late Tuesday evening and I just touched back down in Detroit. I'ma get some rest so I'll be fresh for my 9 to 5 in the morning. I wanted to throw up these snapshots of Atlanta first though. Of course the first picture up on top is the Westin Hotel peach-tree plaza, designed by John Portman, the same dude that did the RenCen building in Downtown Detroit and the Westin Bonaventure in Downtown L.A. I just love the way dude worked with glass. Goto my July 22, 2006 update to read about it. Also do you see that picture with the gold dome. lol, the first thing I thought about when I saw it was the old TV show Matlock lol.
September 7, 2008
No description needed here. These were probably some of the nicest sporting event tickets I've ever had. I saw everything. I think I'm sittin' in the same spot at Candlestick Stadium on the 21st too. Unfortunately the Lions lost. They look about as bad as the wolverines are looking this year. After watching this game, I don't think I'll be seeing Detroit at the Superbowl in Tampa.
September 7, 2008
Man, Atlanta always seems like memory lane to me. Simply because yall wouldn't believe how many men and women I see here that I grew up with in Michigan. I'm like didn't you, goto....? When I graduated H.S. the ATL was the place to be. Most people that came out with me went to college somewhere in Georgia and never moved back after. My 1.0 GPA havin' ass didn't even try to leave Michigan. It seemed only right that I would run into Jamal aka Mally G from Illegal. On that memory lane tip. Dude worked with some of them classic producers from the golden age of hiphop back in the day. If you're too young, you probably don't remember them so here you go:
Yep, that was 15 years ago and they were about 15 at that time. Make sure you check out the Jamal Fades them all video too. Shit was fire like 12 years ago. Today, I was walking to the game, and the dude shouted out "What up Doe!" from the car. I walked over to give him a play, and then Jamal said, "I got much love for the "D". I think he was shocked I recognized him. Anywayz, I showed him some love and copped the mixtape he was slangin' it ain't bad, listen to this track here(when I figure out how to break the CD down to mp3 it's been a minute):
September 6, 2008
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??!! I know I'm ready for Detroit Lion football. I'm in Atlanta, GA right now. Surfing the net, trying to find me some tickets to tommorows game. If that don't work, I'll be looking for scalpers in the morning. But before I do that, it's Saturday night and I'm on my way to see some ass and titties. The Lions playing The Falcons tommorrow gave me the perfect excuse to fly on down to Georgia. See, I've been wanting to come kick it in the ATL for some time now, but everytime I get Georgia on my mind, Florida interferes. When you're buying airplane tickets from Detroit to Georgia, it's always the same price to goto Florida. No disrespect to anyone, but Miami beats Atlanta in everyway I can think of. I guess that's why I've been there 4 times in the last 9 months. I won't be back in Detroit until tuesday, so that should give me plenty of time to do whatever. I'll have pics of the game and some site seeing shit for yall during the following few days. Next week I'll be at the Greenbay/Lions game and then the following week, I'll be in San Francisco, that ticket is below. Because I don't plan on travelling throughout the U.S.(I'm getting ready to do some more international travelling) when I move to Cali permanantly this winter I'ma bang out some southern states that I've been intending to visit. I'll be at the game in Houston on 10/19 and that weekend I'ma try to get to N.O. for a day. All places I've been before, but I just really wasn't a big picture taker back before 2001. I can't say this enough: "Life is good for a black American brotha with a lil money in his pocket."
September 2, 2008
It's the day after Labor Day. If you're a student, today is that day. By the end of today, just about everyone out there will have experienced their first day of classes for the 2008 school year. Me, I'm happy as hell I don't have to go. My pre-law A.A. from Ferris State University and my B.A. from The University of Michigan is all I need and want. I gave up my pursuit of an MBA a couple of years ago cause it just ain't worth it. I sit around too many people at my 9 to 5 that have had masters degrees for years and they're sitting at the same kinda desk that I'm sitting at. Doing the same job. Earning the same salary. I think I touched on it in my last podcast(I'm starting those back up next month). A higher education is only needed if you intend on working for someone else. And in many cases it ain't even needed then. As long as you have experience and can prove your skills, you can do most shit with a high school diploma. I'm thankful for my high grade/high school experinces as well as my college career, but as I look back I probably could have just went to motech or ITT. I was sitting in the car shop last week telling the young catz working there how jealous I was of how skilled they were. One of them bought a 2005 pontiac GTO shell on ebay for $2000 put in an engine, some interior and then slapped on paint and the car now looks like it could be in an automobile magazine. The whole project took less than a month and cost less then $3000 in material. Them dudes are in their early to mid 20's, running their own shop, doing what they wanna do. GETTIN' PAID. They actually enjoy the work they do(probably as much as I like making porn). Dude told me he had dropped out of high school and started working in a shop. That's where he learned everything. They tell me that business is good and only getting better. Over Labor Day weekend, I looked back through all of my college notes and papers. Believe it or not, I have every piece of school work that I've done since 1st grade(I'm not lying). The documents I've put up today contain shit that turned out to be some of the most valuable things I learned in college. Down below are Sociology notes from my first day of class in 1994. I was in such awe back then when reading about how society is like a machine. I was fascinated with Erving Goffmans work. If you get a chance read The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life and Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Up above there's my first computer information science 121 project from 1996. It's the same basic HTML language that I use to make this blog. Like I said I'm happy I'm not beginning classes for the semester but I love learning so I'm already looking into into taking some enrichment classes this winter. Some shit I'll do not for a "piece of paper" but for some knowledge that I can use.
September 1, 2008
I only went out cause I thought I was gonna be able to casually walk up to Hart Plaza in Detroit to hear the man speak. I strolled down Woodward Ave. at 10am, watched the Labor Day parade as I made my way to Jefferson Ave. Thats where I realized I would have had to be up there at like 5am to get near the speech podium. Now I knew it was gonna be packed, but Hart Plaza is such a large open place that it can hold a lot of people. I guess his security only wanted a certain amount of people in though. Oh well, I'm not trippin' though cause there was no way I would have gotten up that early on my day off to see or hear anybody. I stood in the crowd for about 15 minutes. Then just as Obama and Biden became visible on the big screens, I snapped the last picture up above and headed back down woodward to my car. I had bluetooth headphones on and listened to the speech through my nokia celly. The crowd, heat and lack of port-a-potties were just too much for me to stand there.
