Wednesday, September 24, 2003
9-24-03
I am a hungry man at an all you can eat buffet. I have loaded my artistic plate to the ceiling and can't wait to dig in. I am actively doing so many projects this fall and want to get into more, but probably won't. Think this is a recipe for disaster, well fear not. They are all doable,exciting and I am not taking any of them on alone, as I would have in the past. I have a book project in the works, an organization, a website, an afterschool curriculum and a film project. I am so excited about all of them, some that have just materialized. For those of you reading this who are scared now that I am over extended fear not again, they are all running on different time tables so the only things that will be sacrificed are maybe the four hours of TV I watch daily, and even then probably not all of it.
So I'll put a little bit about this week specifically Tuesday:
Got to go to acentos up at Blue Ox Bar. What a fantastic night. On the way there I finished a piece that I had in the beginning stages for months. Met Mcsiegel on the train up there and talked with him a while. Got there with enough time to sign up for the open mic. The open was great and there were a lot of first timers at acentos which was great, including a freeakin ridiculously great and funny poet from Barcelona who performed in Spanish in a spoken word/ hip hop style.
The feature was Jorge Monterossa who was brought to the east coast by Jeff Mcdaniel ( so naturally there were a lot of Sarah Lawrence kids there). Jorge was fantastic. he was a former Youth National Slam champion, who just happened to also be Salvadorean. It was really cool when he mentioned curtido and pupusas. He did a twenty minute set of really empassioned poems. He rocked the house. I could really see why Jeff liked him so much.
At the end of the night I got a ride from Fish and Lenny and we got white castle and church's fried chicken. We talked for a while about the future plans and the organization thing I mentioned above. Oh man its gonna be big. Look out for us were coming on strong this year.
Posted by Edward @ 03:01 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]
Sunday, September 21, 2003
I went to Beau's show and then I went to go see "underworld" on Friday.
First beau's show:
It was Beau, Jason Muhleburger, Ishle Yi Park, and Mas Yamagata. Beau was funny as always. Mas really did a beautiful set which included a Warrant cover that had the whole audience singing along after they got over their initial guilt of actually knowing the words to a Warrant song. Ishle did a great set of songs, including a bon jovi song which came off really great. She reallly has a wonderful singing voice. Jason did his hip hop thing and was hilarious. His beats are always bananas and he is always well rehearsed. I had to leave in the middle of his set in order to make the movie. Sorry Jason.
The movie "underworld": It's better than what you might come to expect from a vampire/werewolf movie. I know there were a lot of comparisons to matrix and blade, and they aren't wrong but I think many htings in the movie are original and the movie really has a beautiful look to it, on its own. I liked it better than blade 2 and definetely say it is worth seeing. The special effects were great and the characters were interesting.
Saturday:
Went to eat vegetarian Dim Sum with Jeannie.mmmmm. Then went to Taylor's One man show "Teacher, Teacher". It was very different from the first incarnation of this show. I like the new one much better. He put so much more of himself in the show this time and it really works to give context to all of the teaching elements. All of the jokes really worked well too and the packed house was laughing at all of the appropriate times. The only thing I would say was there needed to be a second more in between scenes for audience applause, which was stifled at least three times on my count. Otherwise I would recommend going. It's on for the next two Saturdays at Bowery Poetry Club at 4 O'clock I think. Check out the bowery website for exact times. www.bowerypoetry.com.
I stayed after the show for Bamboo girls zine benefit. Omar came up for it and did a funny story about upheaval, Taiyo and Joey did a really funny music set, and there were a bunch of other great acts. I left early to go to Ishle's feature at the Asian American Writers workshop. It's their monthly reading series Re-collection. It was very cool. Full as always, Ishle did a great set of songs and poems. Her stage bantor was so good. She was funny and warm, and really had the crowd eating out of her hands.
After we all went to MC Donalds and then each went home to sleep.
Posted by Edward @ 12:11 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Thursday 9-18.
I haven't updated in a couple of days. Not that stuff has not happened, in fact too much stuff. Work is kickin my ass. As I have not gotten my paycheck yet the reasons for taking a full tim ejob escape me. Even though I am teaching Poetry and leaadership to kids, I still feel unmotivated to go to work. There is somehing wrong there. I love the kids but I hate the beurocracy. The paperwork sucks ass.
Anyway I am not going to recap day by day because the sentiments were basically work and work, some other stuff and work.
However, Yesterday I went to see "Once Upon A Time in Mexico". It was really good. Johnny Depp is amazing in this film. All fo the side stories are really great as well. Ruben Blades gives a great perfromance and all the action scenes are over the top just like "el Mariachi". I think Enrique Iglesias wasn't exactly right for the role, but it comes across OK. I love the really hokey looikng blood as it reminds me of those old sixties westerns. It really envoked a lot of that in the scenes. Johnny Depp was hilarious, go see it.
Posted by Edward @ 10:41 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Tues 9-9-03.
Today I DJed ( cd DJed) for Taylor's Cd release party. It went really well, a lot of great performances. Free sushi and open bar. It was a pretty full house too. Being up in the crows nest DJing I realized how much I miss having turntables. I haven't had records in over four years, I kinda miss it. If only it wasn't so expensive to keep up records and turntables and if I had the room I would get them again. Maybe when I win the Lottery.
Posted by Edward @ 12:44 AM EST [Link]
Monday, September 8, 2003
Sept 6 &7. Didn't do much in the way of exciting stuff today. I am really getting stressed out over work, I start full time on Monday. This is the first time I take a full time position in over two years. I had always been able to get by doing several part time things, which I think was a little bit better. We'll just see how this goes. I hope it will be OK. Did I mention I'm playing the Lottery again?
On Saturday night Jeannie and I went to Adrian's going away party( he is moving to the bay, like everyone these days is). It was in long island city in a really nice terrace of this building by the waterfront. It was a cool night, the food was good, the shandy beer plentiful and the music was mixtapes. Got home in a half hour too, so that was good.
Monday, I'm going to really try to make the Hal Sirowitz feature at Bar 13, he is one of my favorite NY poets. Him, John S. Hall, and Willie Perdomo really do it for me. So even if I go just for the feature, I'm making it. Anyway I have to start going to sleep earlier cause I'm starting two hours earlier than normal I have to go talk to the Principal tomorrow. Good night.
Posted by Edward @ 12:21 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, September 6, 2003
Friday Sept 5, 2003. This weather really has me feeling down. Its cold already and it feels like summer just didn't make it this year. God damn global warming. I need vitamin D.
Work is making me stressed. I hate people who cannot communicate, maybe that's why I do what I do, because I value communication and the power of speech. Work sucks. I statred playing the lottery again. Haven't played steadily since I had my electricity and phone cut off in 99.
On a good note. I added an Audio section today. I put up about 5 poems, I'll add more as I get them. Thank you to Taylor for giving me a copy of some of my performances from Urbana this year, most of the poems up are from his archives. I'll be DJ-ing his Cd release on Tuesday at the Bowery Poetry Club. Come on through. It starts at 7pm. See you there maybe?
Posted by Edward @ 01:13 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, September 2, 2003
So I haven't written in about a weeek. So here are the highlights. On Monday 8-25, I went to perform at Yale for the students of color orientation. It was a great time. Helen Yum and Suba were up before me and really did a great job. They did really serious attention grabbing pieces that had the audiences breathless. Got a t-shirt after the performance, that I liked a lot.
Tuesday 8-26. Acentos was off the hizzook. Luis Reyes Rivera was fantastic. It was my first time seeing him read. Everyone there stayed for an hour afterwards like children at story time trying to get every word out of Luis. It was not to be missed.
Wednesday 08-27. Did reading at an old folks home with RAC and Taylor. It was cool, although I need to work on my performances of my shorter and non-slam pieces, had lunch and long talks afterwards.
Thursday 8-28. Work, work, work.
Friday 8-29. Did grant applications with Cristin, and ate Uncle Louie G's ice cream. Oh yeah!
Saturday 8-30. Met Omar at Bowery Poetry Club for Ishle's last seven Saturday's. Got to see Giles, Ed Bok lee, Kevin so, and Eric Gamalinda perform. All of whom I don't see very often so it was really refreshing and awakening. I really liked what I heard from Ed Bok lee, and Giles (both differently) and Eric's drawings and visual poems were amazingly dark and beautiful. After wards Jeannie and I went to eat sushi on 2nd ave with Ed and his friend Jennifer. It was really good conversation and good cheap food. Good times, good times. Afterwards we went to Taiyo's and Alex's house warming in Brooklyn. They really have a cool space. Congratulations fellas. They got three floors of a house and a big ass backyard. The party was hot, full of people and dope music. Drank Shandy beer.
Sunday 8-31. Bought two more Klingon Empire shirts at the comic shop. Gave Omar one yesterday, gave Shappy and Guy one as well. It kinda sucks that I couldn't get one more for Oscar, they had run out. I'll keep lookin, so we can form a squadron of nerds. In the afternoon. Jeannie and I went to Guy's house for a get together and had great cuban food with everyone. I had a fun time even though we kept talking about poetry stuff( I brought it up a couple of times). After that went to the movies with Shappy and Cristin, after a quick pit stop to the Magic Johnson theater restroom in Harlem. We saw American Splendor. What a freakin fantastic movie. One of the subtlest and best films in along time. So smartly done and brilliantly acted. I am so glad I saw it. I am going to recommend that movie to everyone.
Today, Monday 09-01. Went to have lunch with Omar at Neptune diner and walked around a street fair they were having in my neighborhood. Then went to my Mom's house to drop off the car ended up staying for dinner and talking for a while with my parents heraring stories I had never heard before.
Damn Why is summer over?
Posted by Edward @ 01:12 AM EST [Link]
