Are We Surprised?

In case you're not convinced that he hasn't matured during his term in office...

At a White House bill signing yesterday, George W. Bush, yet again, proves himself to be as sharp as cotton when addressed the media as follows:

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," Bush said. "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

Uhmm...still dumb as a door nail? Yes. Do we want to make sure he doesn't still the elections again in Nov. 2004? Yes. Let's FOX try to clean this one up--if it makes their newscast.

And if that not enough to convince you, there's a story circulation on the world wide web in various message boards (no mainstream coverage of course) including this one, that the local Florida Democratic Party received a complaint that newly sworn-in naturalized citizens were then escorted to register to vote.

They then realized that their voter registration forms were partially filled in by Republicans declaring them as Republicans.

The Late and Legendary Rick James

The very talented and legendary singer/producer Rick James is no more. He died in his LA home this morning in his sleep. He was 56.

One of his most memorable contributions to the world of Soul-Funk is "Superfreak," The Mary Jane Girls and Teena Marie, and 1981 album "Street Songs."

He will be missed.

Al Franken & Paul Krugman @ Barnes and Noble

This evening I went to a Meet the Writers event @ Barnes & Noble @ Union Square (NYC), featuring Actor/Radio talk show host/Political Commentator/Comedian, Al Franken & New York Times Op Ed columnist Paul Krugman.

They both had tons to say about our current administration and mainstream right-wing media's domination over free-speech and oppression of anti-establishment expression in the US. Of course, how can you mention media whores, war-mongers and right-wing nazis without also mentioning bumbling fools like George W. Bush, Bill O'Reily and FOX Network in the same breath.

They both spoke to a jam-packed room about their books (The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century, Paul Krugman & Lies and the Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, Al Franken) took questions from the audience, followed by a book signing. Altogether I had a very pleasant and cerebral evening.
It's always encouraging to see that there are hard-working Americans who are still interested in challenging mainstream views, un-afraid of being labeled "evil."

Land of Free Speech!

A recent poll has shown that 40 percent of Canadian teens have said that they consider the United States to a be a force for evil in the world. 64 percent of French-Canadians called America a force for evil. Greg Lyle, the pollster who conducted the phone survey said that the Canadians were reacting to the U.S. governents belligerence and warmongering.

It's nice to see someplace where you can freely express anti-war sentiments without being crucified by Fox Network.

The sentiments seemed to peak since the Iraq war started. Folks, are we surprised that this is the growing response throughout the world with General Dubya running things?
My reaction is, where can more Americans get a dose of that Canadian enlightening pill? And quickly, so that we can vote him out of the White House!

Seriously...Another Term In Office?

Thought I'd share this interesting and funny PSA on George Dubya that's floating around on the web.
Of course this blog post would be incomplete if I didn't encourage you to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and to Vote!

Aw HELL NO!

This was the scene this afternoon at the new Target that opened for business at the Atlantic Terminal Mall. Can I just say, MESS!!

I have never seen such madness and chaos at one location. It was an absolute circus...literally, a circus. There were fools on stilts, jesters, clowns, balloons and loons. The place was packed, confused patrons lugging large Target bags, containers, baby strollers blocking the exits and very large individuals shoveling mall foods down their necks.

It's not that I'm anti-people, but I am anti-mayhem. And get this, there was a massive line of confused patrons on the lower level of the mall stopped dead in their tracks because the escalator stopped moving. It was amazing for me to see folks perplexed when forced to exhert energy to climb up the stairs rather than be carried up.

This, my friends, is why I shop online. I just don't see the appeal of spending an entire day immersed in a shopping frenzy with THOUSANDS of aggressive shoppers in that particular ambiance. It was no big effort me to get there because I live across the street, but why people would drive in from long distances for that experience is beyond my comprehension. 
And drivers beware, if you're driving into Brooklyn for your Target fix, no additional parking accomodations have been built.  If you thought the traffic and parking in and around Atlantic Avenue was bad before, you're in for a doozie now.  I know of no immediate plans to facilitate additional vehicles.
But that's just my opinion, not a judgement Target fans.

Lila Downs in NYC

I'm glad I got to see Lila Downs and her fantastic band perform @ the World Trade Plaza last night (7/20/04). She was incredible as usual. Her voice was like butta and filled the night air.

This was the second time I got to see her perform live and each time she blew me away. She sang some great songs from her new album Una Sangre/One Blood. Of course she also sang the popular tunes from her last album La Linea/Border, like Hanal Weech and Pastures of Plenty--about the migrant workers who grow our produce. Unfortunately, she didn't sing
La Llorona for her encore, but the course was still satiated with her rousing performance.
Such are some of the few free perks that NYC has to offer in the summer outdoors.

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...

Sun and Soup

So, it's Wednesday and we had a divisional meeting (I'm an administrator at a university) this morning that went on for a little over an hour and a half.
Some interesting tid-bits. General assessment....yawn.

After the Wed. meeting, I got greedily made my way to over to Hale and Hearty. They probably have the best soup in New York City. Today, I had the low-fat, vegetarian lentil chile with some delish oyster biscuits. Love it! Reallly good. Highlight of my day so far.
Not something I'd get regularly as they exceed my reasonable price range for the city.
I only treat myself to their soups when I'm in and around mid-town Manhattan.
I work in the lower-east side campus, where you can get a decent meal, like a falafal for under $5 bucks.
Ah..My soup and a nice stroll. Today's weather is perfect. Sunny, clear and dry.

Yes folks, the reality of city living for the many living on the fringes of society. I got something for the GOP convention next month---stay in DC! But I try not to sweat it.

Faith and a good...very good sense of humor keeps me together and on top of my daily expenditures, including my rent--$900/month BTW and climbing. Just me and a single bi-weekly paycheck. Mmmhmm! A temporary situation that I'm fixin' to change.
Meanwhile, my retirement plan: Mega Millions!

Me, today...seemingly at peace with my environment.

My baby blog is born

What's up everyone:

Welcome to my blog. My name is Vladimir. I just created this blog tonight and I'm exhausted and excited that it's up.

Me: Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY (USA). First generation Haitian-American. More about my family later. I got good ones.

This blog will consist mainly of my day-to-day routine (like most blogs), and some more creative posts of my writing samples and rants about current events, my job, a pimple on my ass (hasn't happened yet btw), whatever!

So stay tuned. Eventually, when I figure this blog site out, I'll get more digital photos up. All I was able to post was this picture of in Kindergarten. I think I was 6 years-old.

Which brings me to my first rant:
It was really damned sneaky of this blogger site to get me to sign up for this picasso thing in order to post photos...as opposed to just allowing users to upload photos directly from their folders to their blogs...hmmm...tricksters.

You best believe I aint paying a fee to post pictures to my own blog no matter how sweetly they try to package it. I don't mind doing the extra work in Photoshop. I aint the one for your trickery...ya hear?

Youthful Innocense? I was paid lots of money for this sitting in the 70s.