They MUST be Lovedrunk…

Khloe Kardashian to Get Married – This Weekend!

No, Lamar, NO. This is just a BAD idea. The Kardashian sisters are supposed to remain promiscuous “famous because they’re famous” bachelorettes forever! We already know you to be an infamous choke-artist on the court, but that’s no excuse for marrying a tramp (though she may be the least trampy of them). One word of advice: RUN. (before the week is out, preferably.)

Kate Misses Jon!!

Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten divorced, leaving your 20 kids to run around in single-parent households with two parents who were unstable enough together, and now a raging whore and a constantly lovestruck, but a perpetual “only wanted for his money” bachelor when apart. See where I’m going here?

Yale University: Sorority Row?

So the Yale girl got murdered, and hidden in the wall of the lab she worked in. Too bad they left the bloody clothes at the scene. Criminals these days…

This is why you don’t kill in the Ivy League; it’s common knowledge. If you want publicity, and an increased investigation that is bound to find you out, commit a bloody murder at a high-profile campus.

Yale Grad Student Described as ‘Sweet, Spunky, and Smart’

Sorry, but I describe her as DEAD…

My NOSE! I look like Michael Jackson!!

Well, aren’t we all nice and hyped about the wonderful world of Mr. Jackson and the proceedings with which we bid him farewell…and good riddance? I must say, I’ve been getting mixed reactions from people regarding his sudden (and self-inflicted, as far as veracity is concerned) death. While most people I spoke to were shocked and dismayed by the unexpected death of such a megastar, others were concretely convinced years ago that MJ was a rapist whose only talent was in “acquittable” molestation.

While I wish I could say I myself believe he was innocent, I cannot hold completely to such a conclusion. While I do believe has yet to rape anyone, I think from a very young age he was mentally unstable and probably needed medical help; I also think a grown man sleeping in the same bed with minors is both socially uncouth and surprisingly unpunishable. I think Michael deserved to serve time for some offense, since he was arrested for the same offense twice (fool me once…) and didn’t at all learn his lesson.

That said, Michael Jackson, as so many have impeccably put it in the last few weeks, was the “greatest entertainer of all time” along with his widely known title of “King of Pop”. Though he wasn’t so marvelous a singer after puberty hit (despite rhinoplasty throwing a few haymakers), he had a way with the music that made his voice and lyrical style iconic. No one could and can never come close to his wizardry on the dance floor, and the moonwalk is still the only dance I’ve ever described as “impossible”. R.I.P. Mr. Jackson, and I pray you knew Jesus (kudos to Andrae Crouch for (maybe) trying).

In other news, I do now have some sort of a job. I was accepted for an internship and the Courier and Press, my city’s local newspaper, for the summer, and the payout is $2500 (I know, right?) for two months (or 10 weeks) of work. Yes, I’m ecstatic, and should be receiving the first half of that stipend in a week or so. My dad had been hawking me for quite a while to get a job, and frankly didn’t care whether I worked at a pig sty on the Gaza Strip as long as I was getting paid; I took the initiative to get a job I’d actually enjoy, and ended up with free college application material and preparation for a Journalism major in college. Umm, SCORE! It’s been a lot of grunt work so far, but I have written a small story on local football camps, and I have two more projects due this month for printing, so I’m earning my money’s worth. . . . yeah right ($2500!!!)

I just got back from my family vacation with my father too, if that’s the only applicable way to describe it. I was never really thrilled to visit his family in Port Gibson, Mississippi (a.k.a. COUNTRY, MS), but I didn’t exactly expect it to be the borefest it quickly became. After the 10-hour roadtrip, we arrived in a very dirt-paved, bare part of the state that didn’t appear to have any shopping options bigger than a Piggly Wiggly within 30 miles, and the appearance was accurate. We ended up visiting Wal-Mart once, going into town twice: once for a sham of a YMCA whose “running track” was an open field behind the facility (see below for weather conditions), and another time simply to get to another relative’s house that lacked air-conditioning, which is inexcusable during a 110-degree heat index. That about sums up the first four days of vacation bliss, during which my little sister, who was staying at the “women’s house” for the week, traveled to the city to shop almost every day, including TWO trips the Jackson city mall three hours away. There were two highlights in the trip, however, that still failed to make the vacation a success but at least brought some enjoyment into play. One being the house my dad, brother, and I were staying at, which was recently built by my eccentric cousin Suzie and was surprisingly well constructed and furnished, and looked like it belonged in a predominantly-white suburb instead of the trailer-park neighborhood it inhabited — scratch that, Port Gibson WAS one big trailer-park. The other bright spot was the concert in New Orleans (where we stayed in a hotel the last two days of the trip), where I saw Beyonce, her little sister Solange, John Legend, Keri Hilson, and Estelle all in one night. My girl Jazmine Sullivan performed the second night, but my dad only got me and my brother tickets for the first night (the supposedly more teen-centric night), though he himself had tickets for both nights. I love parents. . .

That’s about all the venting I have for now, and I would write more but I’m supposed to be working and reading Animal Dreams for school (I finished 1984 on audiobook during the “vacation”. Dark theme, but politically relevant). I’ll do a top 10 music post soon, too; until then:

Last 2 Weeks…

Man, I could finally be getting a job next week! My parents finally conceded to let me finish the school year unemployed until the summer, when I’d hypothetially have no more excuses to lay around. However, my summer schedule is nearly as hectic as my in-school agenda, but I’m totally willing to make some extra cheddar during the summer months. I recently contacted my local newspaper’s editor to ask about summer opportunities, and he invited me to come speak with him about my plans for a future in journalism, which is a dream come true and could dually be my chance at summer employment! Score 2 for the unemployed teenager!

In other news, my high school basketball career is most likely officially over, as my decision to quit the team before the onset of the season this year has successfully alienated me from my former coaches and their repesctive good favor(s). I was met with suspicion at an Open Gym (which is odd, seeing as the name of the event might cause one to expect some sense of oppenness there). I was explained to that there would be no real spot for me on the squad next year, and I really have no realistically positive outlook, and basically that i should “just go home”. As devastating as this is, I retain my indifferent attitude towards haters, and that does not exclude well-meaning adults.

Summer appears as if it will be my absolute busiest yet. Two more weeks of scholastic focus (sort of) until my summer begins, which includes trips to IU, Ball State, New Orleans, Cincinatti, and Indianapolis. It’s a bit of a mystery to me how none of my commitments conflict, but I do believe God has created a plan for my time here on Earth, and successful scheduling and time-budgeting is a divine issue I need not worry about. This plus a job could prevent me from eating or sleeping for two whole months!

City track meet was supposed to be today, but got rescheduled to Monday after we got hit by major thunderstorms today. The sky was almost undiscernable through school windows at one point, and winds were rumored to have hit 70-100mph. I was toally thinking Katrina, pt. 2 but my wishes thoughts were a bit exaggerated as we were only held about 30 minutes past regular school release time. Track meet’s now on Monday, where I’ll likely take 2nd.

The school musical, The Music Man, occured about a week ago and was a moderate success. In an unexpected move earlier this year, our theatre director opted to cast two musicals this year instead of the Fall Play/Spring Musical style familiar to most programs in our school corporation. Back in the Fall we performed Grease, and while TMM was supposed to be the main musical of the school year, Grease was immensely more popular, filling the seats all three performance days as compared to one of the performances of TMM. In the more recent production, I was a member of the barbershop quartet that was thrown together mere days before rehearsals began, as two casted quartet members quit beforehand due to personal commitments. This left the group with me (probably the top male singer avaialable overall) and another boys’ choir member to fill the spots.

Continuing on the theme of school activity, class officer elections took place this week, and it proved to be a major psychological and emotional test. After struggling for a couple of days deciding on which office I should run for, I decided to face a fellow thespian and a fellow honors student in the BIG race: class president. After one of my opponents jumped to a headstart with her campaign posters, I tried in vain to match her effort before being shot down fo not having my posters approved firs. In all honesty, my posters did smear my opponent’s image somewhat, but if no that, what are politics all about? My second batch of posters were a bit more tasteful and principal-approved, but were apprently both too-little, too-late, and pointless, as the near-independent third option on the ballot won, a man by the name of Gish. While I earlier considered using his slight sketchy past against him for the sake of my campaign, I instead decided to combat my other candidate who I knew better. Gish ended up taking most of his target audience’s votes while also gaining the approval of thoe still on the fence while my other opponent and I distracted ourselves by fighting against one another, not seeing Gish as a real threat. Bad idea, apparently…

There’s likely still more to tell here, but that’s for another day, as I grow tired at the keyboard and want to see Kobe Bryant continue to dominate this playoff series with surprising ease. Mad shout-out to my boy Noah, to whom this post in most gangsteraciously dedicated. N4L!!!

GAP…

Not the store. I haven’t posted in a while, but many things have happened. I’m amazed myself that I haven’t managed to get a post down in such a long time. I don’t even have pictures to add onto this one!

So first, I lost my job at Target, and almost immediately needed another job, but because I’m busy all the time, I wasn’t exactly searching. Then my car situation got funny, in which my primary car broke down, leaving me with my secondary car, which happens to be a piece of trash. So while I struggle to drive my dad’s beat-up, cut-down, and downright janky pickup truck, I’m bleeding myself into debt trying to get my other car fixed on my dad’s tab, which is never good for me. At this point, he realized he was funding nearly every aspect of my life, so he renews his “GET A JOB!” heckling (and that’s verbatim. eugh). That was about enough to drive me to suicide, but I did renew my own employment search, and that has lasted up until now, seeing as I just executed (beautifully, might I add) an interview at a local sandwich shop.

Seeing as all things can’t remain good all at one time, I ran up a gaudy (and timely) 0.43 overdraft in my checking account, resulting in 47.43 worth of overdraft fees before I stopped the bleeding, in a manner which I don’t care to discuss here (because I wouldn’t enjoy jail very much). Now I sit at 29.27 to my name.

Also, I now understand that God does punish you when you do bad stuff, because I can’t sum up my material woes with any other explanation. My gymsack was stolen about a month ago, resulting in the loss of my newly acquired mp3 player purchased by my uncle for my birthday. Great. But I survived, you know? No more than three weeks later, however, I managed to inexplicably “brick” my PSP, leaving me with no video games for the past three and a half months. No lie. It gets even better, though: my phone, my last source of portable entertainment of any kind, died. I unknowingly ran the screen into a desk while it rested in my pocket, resulting in an unusable cracked-screen phone. I then finagled my brother’s unused phone off his hands for a time, having it taken back not once, but twice over the span of two months. Because that’s what Indian Givers do. They suck balls. I manged to purchase my own phone for Christmas, a used Blackberry Pearl on eBay. While the rumors of eBay’s unreliability and scammishness were untrue, I did promptly tear a portion or paint off the phone while removing a sticker cover, and dropped it on concrete multiple times within the first two weeks of ownership. Clumsy me.

I also quit the basketball team. I know, right? Who does that? I do. The coaches weren’t going to give me much playing time in their rather mechanical offense run by the two head coaches’ sons, so I reinvested my time in a rec league, coached by who else, MY dad. Clever, huh? Well, as that transpired, I of course ran my mouth about the whole ordeal on my local newspaper’s website on a story involving my school team’s loss in a blowout. My coach read my comment on the story and (God knows how) deduced it was me, pulled me out of another teacher’s class, and harassed me about it right there in the hallway. That’s what we call class, kids.

What I need right now is a string of miracles. I’m going to pray, tithe, fast, whatever it takes to make my life suck a tad less for the next, well, eternity, you dig?

Musical Top 10 (or so)

I want to share with you my musical hotlist in this post, but first, some rambling:

Outside of music right now, my life has become hectic. I lost my job at Target due to an apparent inefficiency in my work ethic and the fact that I’m a ‘horrible cashier’. Bull, but my temper is slow, and I took it in stride. While now re-searching for a job, I’ve found that reality doesn’t care about me or my feelings or my schedule. I have play practice nearly every evening until opening night Novemer 13th, vocal practice (for the production) after school every other day, basketball Open Gym two nights a week immediately after play practice and after school one day a week for conditioning. I also have Idea Club meetings (greatest extracurricular ever!) every Wednesday after school, and youth group after play practice on that day. There’s also African American Choral Ensemble Mondays at 6. So basically, there’s not enough time in the day or week for me to do everything I wish to. But that’s life…

I’ve recently purchased a lovely Creative ZEN mp3 player for my birthday at a cool $97, and boy does it top playing music on my PSP! No more worrying about large, cumbersome electronics while I’m walking or riding somewhere in daily life. I finally have a well-sized player that fits in a (normal) pocket and has features out the whazoo! Here are my fave songs right now that are keeping my ZEN busy:

It’s Over – John Legend ft. Kanye West: Kanye = OMGYES! John Legend had better have even more of this duo on his upcoming album.

Disturbia – Rihanna: Bumpin’ this track at night is ridiculously entertaining (sing along!).

Best, Best – Missy Elliott: The beat, the vocals, the artist. Block Party ‘08!

(Return the Favor; Energy; Slow Dance) – Keri Hilson: I can’t get enough of her right now, and her vocals are too hot for anyone who’s topping charts right now. These three are my faves.

Lacrymosa – Evanescence: My little rock song on the list, but it gives me chills, you know?

Happy Face – Destiny’s Child:  I dug this one up from the dead, but the vocals are still fly even now; Beyonce hits a stratosphere note at the end, too (that was the kicker for me).

ChampagneChronicNightcap – Solange ft. Lil’ Wayne: The Weezy verse is fire, and Solange is up there with Beyonce.

Wanna Go Back – Solange ft. Q-tip & Floetry: Back from the dead, Q-tip helps to make this track hot in an old-school kinda way.

Fantasy – Timbaland ft. Money: Who is Money? And why is her voice so underrated?!

(Mannequin; UR So Gay) – Katy Perry: This girl has more to her than shock appeal with her radio hit; she can carry a song (or two!).

Addiction (remix) – Ryan Leslie ft. Keri Hilson: The original featured Cassie, but what can I say?

Go Hard – DJ Khaled ft. Kanye West & T-Pain: Kanye’s verse is amazing as usual, and Khaled does the beat well.

Single Ladies – Beyonce: I’m feelin’ that beat, and the vocals are superb. Definitely Watching out for her new album.

Everyone Nose (remix) – N.E.R.D. Ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, & Pusha T: I don’t care much for N.E.R.D. as a whole, but this collabo was too hot to pass up. Kanye kills it.

Bottle Pop – Pussycat Dolls ft. Snoop Dogg: Is it a shame I love this song? I do love PCD’s lead singer, and the beat is outrageous!

Turbo 919 – Sean Garrett: The beat…

Theatrics

Sure, when I attended Bosse High I got almost all the leads in the theatrical productions. I was the best male singer in the whole god-forsaken school, so musicals were a shoe-in. I was the prince in Cinderella, for pumpkin’s sake! I was either lead or lead antagonist (villain) in three straight plays starting fall of my freshman year. I was on top.

I’ve since transferred to Reitz High on the other side of town, where rich [white] kids go; no problem, right? Wrong; some chick’s mom (one of my adoring Bosse fans) did fear I’d get lost in the crowd at Reitz due to the sheer number kids (and possible talent) there. I didn’t heed the warning at first, but I learned rather quickly she was probably right. There’s like twice as many kids at Reitz than Bosse, and i intentionally skipped out on both productions the first year i completed here at Reitz. Now fall has come around again, and wouldn’t you know it, Reitz is having two musicals this year and no play; my time to shine, right? Maybe, but I still had yet to evaluate the male singing talent. Tryouts roll around and I see what I see: lo and behold, I’m still the best male singer at my school, but does that guarantee a part? I’ll know tomorrow apparently. Being the only black male (or person) to try out (as far as i know) for the musicals, I did feel rather at a disadvantage, but I could get over that. I got applause for my singing at the audition even after the director’s express wish that no applause be given (I think she clapped for me too). I made callbacks for both.

THE BAD NEWS: I was trying out for Grease and The Music Man. I was in the latter in middle school, so apparently a black person can be easily cast. Grease, on the other hand (being the fall production of the two, of course), appears to be out of my league. I can sing the pants off anyone in the auditorium, but I can’t do a 1960’s punk white kid accent if my life depended on it; will I be doomed to a part only in the chorus because there’s no room for a black kid (a guy specifically) in a decently major role in a high school rendition of Grease? What a ripoff! I can’t really say I’ve been shafted yet; the cast list isn’t posted until tomorrow, but I did get dismissed early (not necessarily a bad thing, the director pointed out) at the grease callbacks, and that gives me a gut feeling I didn’t impress her with my impromptu “punk accent”. I guess I can’t judge too soon, but boy do I feel like Grease as a musical is a quick way for a black guy to miss out on a major theatrical role. Nuts…

But I did finally get a checking account, resulting in the purchases of a graphing calculator so I don’t fail Pre-Calculus; also, two lanyards (Patriots and New Jersey Nets) so I don’t have to dig in my man-bag to find my car keys every time I leave somewhere and look like a total dweebizoid.

Paycheck…It’s Been a Long Time

So, I found a job at Target after all that mess stewing from my parents
and their obsession with teenage employment. I love the job, 7-hour
days go by like clockwork, and I’m making 50 cents more than I did at
McDonald’s. I worked there last year, and I was lucky to get $75 a
paycheck. On August 8, I will be getting in excess of $200 on one
paycheck. You can’t fathom how elated I am!

I usually went shopping with friends with the direct intent to simply
look and not buy. Why? Because I was biggity-broke. Empty pockets can
make a shopping trip so
depressing. With this week’s check, I plan to open a checking account,
acquiring a debit card in the process, which is an exceedingly simple
pleasure I’m totally looking forward to. I need a new belt, headphones, phone, and memory stick. Guess who’s splurging this summer?

Homelessness…It’s Nice

We all know I needed a job, but who knew I needed one this bad. MY search has been going since about the last week of school. My dad definitely “encouraged” my job search and as of last week, things got out of hand. My father began to demand that I get a job…or else. He said I needed a job by last Saturday, but that didn’t happen, so I continued to search. As I frantically called hiring stores to follow up on applications, my dad continued to lose patience. This escalated into him threatening me that if I didn’t get a job soon, I’d be out in a tent in the back yard. He then declared yesterday morning that my brother (who is also searching) and I are to leave today to find a job, and don’t come home until we have one.

In effect, I was homeless as of this morning around 10:15. My brother is 18, and I’m 16, but thankfully we have divorced parents and can always go to our mom’s house in these exceptionally dire situations; the summer is supposed to be half-and-half between each parent, but now that my older brother and I have ben “evicted”, my two younger siblings remain with him (not of employment age, apparently). So here I am at my mother’s house, wondering how I manged to just get kicked out of my house for not having a job while looking for one. At 16 years of age! I have some good job leads as of now, but I’m still in utter disbelief that my dad is this eccentric about things that have no merit (he makes 70+K per year). My mom, and everyone she’s told across the city think he’s gone stark mad, myself included. This is gonna be one of those summers…sheesh

Make Like the Chinese, and WORK!

Wow. I am consistently broke. I’ve been this way ever since giving up my job at McDonald’s last October (which I don’t at all regret leaving). My Dad is subtly influencing me to go out and get my search on, and I’m almost done with driver’s ed, so I’ll need major moolah for gasoline ($4 a mother-f*ing gallon!) and my wardrobe. I plan to become a completely different dresser over the summer; right now I’m stuck on t-shirts and basketball shorts every weekday, but I plan to move to more Abercrombie-esque shirts and shorts. Yes, I’m becoming white even as we speak.

I’ve applied at Toys R Us, Gap, Old Navy, Finish Line, and planning to do the same at Shoe Carnival and Journeys. Amazingly, all these stores are within 1,000 feet of each other, which will make travel universal depending on whichever (or if any) of them reply to me. I just really need steady income right now if I ever want to sustain a respectable social life, so let’s get things a-goin’!