Martha to Celebrate Light Sentence with an Orgy for the Devil...On a Bed of Cash

It must be nice to be part of that elite branch of society to whom appropriate federal penal codes do not apply. Now let me get this straight. Martha Stewart is proven to have lied and deceited law enforcers, and she admits to having treated her staff like shit, yet she may or may not get to serve a measly five month jail sentence based on the premise that many people's liveliehood depend on her freedom.  Do I have the story straight?
Please feel free to chime in to correct me if I'm confused about how justice works in our society.
And she has the NERVE to compare herself to Nelson Mandela! I'm sorry, did I miss the part of her self-serving get-richer scam that promoted anti-apartheid? 
 
Meanwhile, enter Elaine Bartlett, a poor black woman who lost 16 years of her life and her childrens' lives, imprisoned under the Rockefeller Drug Laws.  She risked smuggling 4 ounces of cocaine in order to make $2500 to cover the cost of her rent and raising 4 children. 
But all's fair in white-collar crime. 
 
Once again US law has upheld its long history of setting seperate standards of law enforcement for the wealthy and for the rest of us. How convenient for Martha. My heart goes out for our poor 'misunderstood' former stock broker/friggin' millionairess-wench.
Decoupage *#@!! this Martha!

Uhhhghh....Mess!

Ok, that day I was definitely going through something (probably got a hefty cell phone bill or something)  and just mumbling shit in front of my then fairly descent, now antiquated, Sharp Mini-DV camera. How do those things get obsolete so quickly?
 
Currently, I've got my eye on getting either a Canon Elura 50 Mini-DV Camcorder (about $900) or the coveted Canon GL-2 Mini DV 3 CCD Camcorder--it's a beautiful machine at a mere $3,000.  And then I'll need 24-hr access to a Final Cut Pro or Avid editing suite (at no cost to me of course).   B & H Photo is a great online resource for all these self-contained digital video empire systems.  Oh, and someone will have to see to it that my rent and daily expenses are in order while my days are free to write and create.  
 
By the way, I am now accepting monetary and/or DV camera donations to record documentary footage.  We can do this through Paypal and all I can promise in return are executive producer and contributor credits upon its completion.  Philanthropers, can we talk?

My Friday Off

Today was a productive day. First of all, any day off where I don't have to sit behind a desk and stare at databases is what I consider productive.
I popped a squat over at Flying Saucer Cafe and wrote for a good 3 hours. The music nice this time and conducive to writing.

Afterwords, I went home and took a three-hour nap, which was much deserved. Somehow naps at my work cubicle are frowned upon.  How very uncivil.

Now I'm here at my good friend Francisco's apartment in the Upper West Side, and my other good friend Steve, who's visiting from Philadelphia. They're both very cool people and we're getting ready to order in from Saigon Grill. Some more friends are on their way, Olga and Roberto to join us.

Anywho, they're on their way up so I'm going to make this entry short so as to not be anti-social.
But before I sign off, check out Francisco's web site @ http://www.ferenczi.net and purchase his stuff. He's a brilliant Brazilian artist.

Until Later....

As if the subways weren't bad enough...

A blurb in today's New York Post announces that the MTA is now considering "worse case scenerio" additional mass transit cuts in its upcoming budget like terminating overnight transit service and increasing the Metro cards rates.

Now, I'm confused. Not only to I pay an excessive amount of rent that falls well above my financial comfort level, but now I'm looking at the possibility of no after hours transportation in New York City? The city that never sleeps? I lived in London in 1992, and having the subways shut down @ midnight was really whack and unpleasant.

So what other reasons are there for me to continue exhausting my weak income here? I'm nowhere near being a home owner, I don't own a car--never have, and at 32, I still live check-to-check. Hmmm....quality of life (at least for the average New Yorker living just above the poverty line), dismal.
I am hopeful (one has to be) that my financial crunch and worries will dissapear one fine sun-soaked day.

But I must say that the very fact that this city is even entertaining the thought of cutting even more services from tax-paying (one of the highest in the nation) New Yorkers, burns my ass and angers me to no end. This, BTW, follows a recent taxi fare hike. The nerve.

Afternoon Thunderstorms

Today's forecast calls for "dangerous thunder storms" late this afternoon and I'm ready. I just bought a new wind-resistant mini-umbrella. The one I had before lasted about 8 months and is pretty run-down. I know it would not have survived today's downfall.

I'm fortunate that the TV show I was in (The Bugaloos--I'm the Black Bugaloo) was so popular. Today I can luxuriate from the royalty checks I receive. I choose to sit behind a desk every day at the university because it's fun!

Is it Friday yet?

It's raining , chilly and crappy Tuesday in NYC. Not a good for my lengthy lunchtime stroll.

I'm already looking forward to the weekend. I want to get some writing done and house cleaning.

My mom had been visiting from Haiti. She's been at my place for a few weeks now and it's been a great visit. Now she's off to visit my sister in Baltimore, MD tomorrow.
She'll be missed. I think she's already missing the tropical heat since NYC's summer weather pattern has been so up and down in temperature. One day it's sweltering hot, the next it's like early Fall. Very strange.

On a brighter note, I just remebered that I put in for a vacation day this Friday, so it's a 4-day week for me. AND tomorrow's weekly Wed. meeting has been CANCELLED...very exciting!

I think I'll aim to do some writing for a good portion of the day on Friday @ this coffee shop a couple of blocks down the street from my place on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. The place is call The Flying Saucer Cafe. It's very nice. They're open @ 5a on Saturday to accomodate the late night clubbers. There's plenty of cozy couches and writing spaces with outlets for laptops. However, the last time I was there, the music was a bit loud and it was some R&B crap, but generally they play some nice stuff. Thursday nights they have a live DJ spinning some tunes.
I haven't heard them play any Roy Ayers or Fela Kuti yet. Their tunes always cheer me up and spark my creative juices. Oddly enough, his beats also make me a little swervy and horny. It's just good stuff. I was jamming out to my favs, "Life is Just A Moment," and "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," at the office this morning. It definitely made the day swing by a little faster.
BTW, one of the best web site to purchase the best tunes, bossa, acid jazz, house, afro-brazilian, world, 60s, 70s, revolutionary soul orchestral jammin' beats....is Dusty Grove. Great for DJs or wannabe DJs.

Friday night I plan on having dinner with my friends Steve (visiting from PA) and Francisco on the Upper West Side at this place called Saigon Grill. It's almost always packed, but the food is fantastic and reasonably priced.

More later...