I Do My Best Work…

…When I’m offline.

Let me repeat that…

OFFLINE.

As much I as enjoy ‘V for Vendetta’, I think ‘The Matrix’ is one of the most profound movies of our generation … just the simple fact that freedom was synonymous with pulling yourself out of the ‘system’ … just pulling yourself out of everyday life … your existence, which can be surreal or downright fake sometimes.

I actually thought about this blog AFTER I decided against picking up my computer earlier and decided to clean up around the house … if I’d gone and picked up the comp, that time would’ve invariably been lost looking at someone else’s blog or something, but I digress.

I decided to clean up, and an immeasurable wave of thoughts come to mind … it was so refreshing, and I’m writing stuff down…

So I clean up, and come across an old DVD … ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’…

One of the greatest movies of all time … it’s profound as well, I just can’t say it’s a part of my generation. That’s all good, though, the joint is as timeless as Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”, and watching Charlie’s sacrifices lead up to him eventually owning the factory is something that can make any beautiful mind remain hopeful.

I think I get the most done when I actually do things instead of dream about them, as well … not that there’s anything wrong with dreaming, it’s just that, well, I do most of my dreaming when I’m, well, offline…

It’s just that, plugging back into the ‘Real World’ is so painful at times … I was watching Tavis Smiley (the last relevant figure on BET) with my old man, and we were talking about how a couple of folks’ greed are crippling this nation … all with Smiley talking to Don Cheadle about Cheadle’s upcoming movie “Talk to Me” (I’m definitely going to see that) … and I just found myself longing for the freedom that I had earlier.

My apologies if this blog seems random … yet I ask myself why would I apologize for truly being a free writer, truly flowing in a stream of consciousness? What I want to say, then, is when you can’t, keep dreaming, but when you can, keep it moving…

…and I will do likewise.

Breakfast and Booty

Somehow, I thought that would get your attention…

Normally, I don’t listen to the radio; I keep CDs in the whip, because the radio and mainstream music is just one of those things that lets me down more than most of the time.

Anyhow, it’s about 12:45 a.m. last Tuesday night- last Wednesday morning, and I’m just leaving work, and decide to turn on the radio, just because.

What I come across is a call-in piece on one of the local stations called “Breakfast and Booty” (no, seriously) where the premise apparently is to successfully make a ‘booty call’, so that one might receive free breakfast from McDonald’s.

(intermission – this intermission is for me to just calm down and relax so that I might be able to write the rest of this blog, ha ha…)

Tonight’s contestant was a young lady from the area … couldn’t have been much older than 15 … who had a … to coin a phrase, neoafrocentric name (I don’t like the connotations of saying something is ‘ghetto’) … and decided to call up a young fella to see if he wanted to … well, you know.

Yeah, that was bad enough, seeing as how the young fella was 15 or 16 himself … but there was the deejay, who is, at last glance, supposed to know better. He’s eggin’ this girl on … of course, there was the obvious obligation to rag on her name a little bit (because it’s neoafrocentric, of course), and then he reels her in with the “so, do you have game?” line, and well, she’s on her way.

So the girl calls ol’ boy up … and the conversation goes a little something like this (paraphrasing slightly):

Girl: Hello (boy), this is (girl). What’s up?
Boy: (slightly rude) What’s up?
Girl: I want to know if you want to be with me.
Boy: Be with you?
Girl: I wanted to know if you could make some time for me.
Boy: Make some time for you?
Girl: Yeah, like a booty call.
Boy: Hmmmm, we can do that.
*applause effect from the radio*
VJ: What’s up playa? This is (VJ) from (radio station), and you’ve just been on Breakfast and Booty!
Boy: Oh s---.
*VJ, Girl laughs*
VJ: Well, congratulations! Looks like you guys are getting free breakfast from McDonald’s, so after ya’ll do what ya’ll do, ya’ll can wake up and get your grub on!
Girl: Alright then.
Boy: Don’t be (BS)ing me now…

Fast forward to the following evening … and I don’t know what was worst, the actual goings-on of the radio, or how the Bible Study class responded to it.

They didn’t say it was acceptable, but they had this defeated look on their faces … some of the kids were even cynical about it … and I tell you, there’s nothing worse than seeing a kid without faith or hope.

So where am I right now? Somewhere between trying to restore faith with an entity that should be full of the stuff … somewhere bashing in radioheads with a baseball bat … and somewhere giving parents fair warning because, as Jig said, the oldheads are still in shock about what’s going on with their kids as well.

We’ll see what happens this Wednesday…