so far

in history class, we are "learning" about the the taft and wilson administrations. yes, there is a little more than a month left in the school year, and we are still about 100 years in the past. if the subject was taught well, this would be a problem, but considering how it is taught, it's probably better that they don't learn about the recent past. wilson is portrayed as a progressive. what's progressive about him? getting us into world war one? blowing up latin america? segregating all government offices and praising "birth of a nation?" opposing women's suffrage? fuck wilson! he had no will, son.

yeah man, creed is a bitch. "alot of those jazz cats were blind" cats!! and there was no hint that was coming. i love that about the show. stuff just kind of gets thrown at you. good shit.

how could lebron go 2 for 18? come on, beat the c's god damn it!!

i constantly feel that i am in between. i don't want to work but i feel funny not working. i don't like money but i am afraid to live without it. i believe school to be meaningless and yet fought hard to get a's when i was a student. i am a radical who lives a conservative life. i am two. i am the man in the mirror. i am the man in the looking glass.

how could james brown move his feet and legs so quickly?

i am tired of hearing how rappers david "sample" from other songs. from where i come from, that is known as copying. and when did it become all about the producer? "produced by diddy." who gives a shit? does anyone remember that voyle gilmore produced sinatra's albums? do i own "boss tenor" because esmond edwards produced it? when i hear dolphy solo on round midnight, do i think to myself "orrin keepnews produced this?" yes, producers help, but it is the people making the music that count. but of course, we live in an overproduced era, an era of formulaic and generic sounds. people are looking to hear a certain sound, not the mastery of an individual performer. they don't even know what mastery is. produced by...please.

and i'm tired of people blaming the sound system. "yo, we are gonna get started as soon as this sound system starts working." shut up and sing!

the teacher next store gives progress reports where the student is getting 80's on all their work, but is averaging in the 70's for the semester. am i missing something here?

the gay kid i teach is now saying that he is "bisexual." is this something that he is floating by us to see how it goes? no one has the guts to be true to who they really are. and i'm not just talking about sexuality. i don't tell anyone that i think america is a neo-fascist country that needs to be radically changed. i keep my thoughts to myself, join in in stupid conversations, play the everyman to keep from sticking out. i'm just as guilty as all the rest.

at least roger clemens has a good sex life. you've got to give him that.

i miss tom jones already. i especially love it when it looks like his head is about to fall off and his arms are flying all over the place. pinko, for a good laugh check out his 3 and a half minute version of delilah (the two minute version doesn't include the operatic finish) on youtube. the power, the cheese, the laugh. "this is tom jones." i mean, that was actually the name of the show..."this is tom jones." well, who else would it be? it's his show!

the difference? the bad performers of yesterday are often good for a laugh. celine dion has yet to make me smile.

nothing against stevie wonder, but the man really helped to destroy r and b. the over singing, the high pitch, the lack of taste, terrible diction, poor breath control. other than that, the guy was a heck of a singer.

so long friends.

my day

in biology class today, we covered evolution. the teacher was showing slides of old bones, when a student asked "are these bones before christ?" the teacher said yes. the student said "nothing is before christ." well, even using her logic, what about god? to say nothing of mary and joe. this same student has asked repeatedly "isn't it true that scientists hate god?" as if they had a personal relationship with the deity. "oh yeah, god? he's a no good prick!" when you think about it, the science teacher is really up against it, because he or she can't say what they truly feel. and this is in "liberal brookline." christ!!

in the class that i teach today, a girl came in stressed because she had just taken a test in her ap government class. "do you think you passed?" i asked. (i never ask if a student did well, because that doesn't matter to me. what matters to me is that they pass, so they can move on and eventually get the hell out of school. that's about as "well" as it gets.) she shrugged. "well, the sun will rise either way" i offered. "besides, what is there to learn in a class on government?" i continued. "just remember that governments are almost always run by corrupt fools, and you'll be fine." she smiled.

later, the class played jeopardy, because i'm tired of giving out tedious work. so, i thought i'd have them play a tedious game. one of the groups decided they wanted to be called "team 69." i agreed to it, which set off a number of giggles. eventually, a student objected to the name, so i changed the name to "team 96." this seemed to pacify him. a few students didn't know what it meant, and asked questions about its meaning. i stated in mock seriousness that they could find out in their spare time. one student suggested that he would look it up on the computer. i said that i thought this would be ok, as long as the computer didn't have a virus. eventually, the more knowing students said they would inform their ignorant counter parts after class.

not to get too deep about this, but i do think there is a pedagogical issue here. the student likes to throw stuff at the teacher to see how the teacher will react. if the teacher doesn't mind it, plays it off, and even incorporates the silliness into the class, the students are more likely to dig the class and the teacher. in general, you have got to let people express themselves, as long as it is within bounds, and you have got to make those bounds as loose as possible. for when you have done that, then you will be able to express yourself and you will be a little more free. and that's really what it's all about, right?

well, it's got to be about something other than war and hypocrisy.

at least i hope so.

from the headlines

"rice pushes for mideast peace" yeah, by killing all the non-jews.

"food banks struggle with supply, demand" as in, not enough food, too many hungry people.

"black clergy call wright out of step" left unsaid is that to be in step means to kiss the white man's ass.

"porn stars suffer during strikes" yes, their balls are suffering during the strike.

"fat renewal may be key to obesity" ???

"first lady escapes iraq bomb attack" didn't the first lady die hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago? so, how could she escape an attack that just happened?

"yankees cruise, 8-2" well, if they were cruising, how did they find time to play baseball?

carlin on sex..."between aids and herpes, i may never fuck again."

silberg on sex..."only a man who is getting sex would ever say it is overrated. ask a man who hasn't been laid since clinton was in power if sex is overrated."

ran into silberg the other day. the thing is, i never watch where i am going. in any case, we spoke of many things, fools and kings, and this he said to me.

he told me to shut the fuck up.

and so i will

from the paper, slightly altered

marvel turns "i, ron man" into movie gold.

"i, ron man" was pure gold at the box office. the marvel comics adaption, starring the great ronaldo pinko, as the guy in the metal suit, hauled in $100.7 million its opening weekend and $104.2 million since debuting thursday night, the second best premiere ever for a non-sequel, according to studio estimates yesterday.

the film also scored overseas, with $96.7 million in 57 countries where it began opening wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million. over %90 of this $96.7 million was made from the viewership of filipinos, who "flipped" over the film, i mean movie.

the great pinko was humbled by the experience. in fact, to celebrate, he was gonna eat humble pie, but it went against his dietary code. pinko wanted to thank god, but then remembered that he is an atheist. ronaldo stated "that he really felt the character," and that "the character was pinko, down to his underwear." in fact, he felt the character so much, that filming had to be delayed while he fought a her ass meant charge. ronaldo threatened to soccer, for which he later kicked himself after he calmed down.

kobe bryant had 23 foul shots yesterday. i'd be the best player in the world too if i got 23 foul shots in a game.

karen horney was a freudian from the 50's. they used to pronounce her name hornay, but everybody knew the truth, especially after she was charged with masturbating in a pubic place.

what do you think the nba wants to see, lakers-celtics, or utah-orlando? someone is gonna be playing 8 on 5 this spring, and it ain't the lakers or the celtics.

pinko, bruce leroy was actually a black dude. last dragon baby, last dragon. i didn't know dragon would drag-on, but it sure did.

ok, so pat robertson can call for the murder of hugo chavez, and jerry falwell can blame 9/11 on feminists and homosexuals, but rev. wright can't attack racism? mccain curries favor with white, right wing ministers, and no one says a thing, while obama runs scared from the man who presided over his wedding. so basically, if your message is a conservative one, you can say what you want. if you blame the right people, the fidels, the hugos, the feminists, the radicals, you are ok. and it's not just a white/black issue. they have also been attacking obama because he is neighbors wth bill ayers, a guy who in his youth was a leader of the weather underground. ayers is a villian because he is a left wing radical, but robertson is not a villian because he is a right wing radical. imagine if ayers, or anyone else, called for the murder of bush? think there would be repurcussions?

i suppose wright's strongest comment is that hiv was invented by whites to kill blacks. perhaps a bizarre remark, but again, certainly no more bizarre (and certainly more grounded in the historical truth. see harriet jacobs "medical apartheid") than falwell blaming 9/11 on lesbians.

no, it is not extremism that is feared, it's the truth. if someone tries to tell the truth in this country, they get put down and attacked. now, if that truth teller has said some extreme things, they will use that against him, but they are only doing it because they don't like his general message. they use what they want, they quote out of context, they save things for 20 years and then use them when it serves their purpose, they lie and call you a liar.

they start wars and call their opponents murderers.

what else is there to say???

standing pat

with p. p always says that his aide is a black guy, even though his aide is white. so far today, his aide has been leadbelly, robert johnson, sly stone, danny glover, and mos def. two days ago, p randomly mentioned scott joplin. in awe, i uttered "the old piano player?" i went to google images, and got a picture of him. he too became p's aide. to be fair, the aide has also been osama bin laden, ho chi minh, and saddam hussein.

picked up a tom jones dvd from the library. what a laugh! the guy had monster pipes, but there is perhaps no greater waste of a voice in the history of pop music. in any case, he had his own tv show for a few years in the late 60's-early 70's. every body was on it apparently. the dvd has peter sellers, richard pryor, the who janis joplin, aretha franklin, stevie wonder, moody blues, pat paulson, and little richard. jones is a character, a cross between a vegas act, an r and b shouter, and overflowing with an operatic register. his dancing is absolutely horrendous, as is his vocal taste, but there is no denying his presence, charisma, and vocal power. in the end, it is terribly campy and entertaining at the same time.

a word about a young aretha franklin. at her best, she was tough to beat. she wasn't always the lady with four breasts who gets out of breath every time she bends over to tie her shoes. she sang with power, range, and a gospel sensibility that captured the essence of the black musical tradition. she was also a pretty good piano player. her sin? longevity. we remember sam cooke for "a change is gonna come" and aretha as the lady that doesn't fit onto our tv screens. but man, in her day? wow.

peter sellers? a funny man, even though they say he was a real prick. "i suspect everyone, and i suspect no one."

speaking of comedy, carlin's you are all diseased from 99 ranks up there as one of his great performances. i love how he mentions the willy nelson classic "i should have never played the game, i should have fucked oh what's her name." he also reminds us that "colin powell is not openly black. colin powell is openly white. he just happens to be black." great stuff from george. in any case, just remember that he loves you. he loves you and he needs money!!!

does colin powell have the jones to tom, or will he cry uncle before he spots a ray of sunshine?

mos def people didn't hear the dialogue in "be kind rewind." and when jack told me the screen went black, i realized they couldn't see it either.

opening today in theaters nation wide is pinko's debut film. i, ron man, based on the filipino-american comic book character of the same name, is sure to pacquio them in, with manny people expected to attend over the weekend. the film is a marvel with several comic moments of high quality. it is expected to do very well in dc, where i, ron man became famous for protesting the i, mother fucker gatherings in 99. he then boasted "i shook up the world bank, i shook up the world bank!," but sonny, nobody would liston to him. now, he is back. once again, i, ron man has demonstrated his medal

on running into

i was flying down the street in an attempt to catch a bus when i heard a voice holler "mellish!" i turned, and recognized a guy i went to high school with. he's a decent guy, but it sucks just the same, you know? well, we start to rap, but unfortunately, diddy wasn't around to produce it. he asks me "what i'm up to?" i know this is code for "are you making any money? are you a success?" but i play it literally. "i'm just coming from my parents house. i try to get over there a couple of nights a week." he nods, and continues. "besides that, what else are you doing?" i didn't have the heart to tell him "reading, blogging, listening to jazz, rooting against the celtics, and watching porn" so i gave in. "i work at brookline high." he assumed from this that i teach there. he rode me a little for not working in boston. supposedly, i should be "giving something back." well, the fact is, i don't have the slightest idea what i took, so what am i supposed to give back? motherfucker, i live in boston! seriously, the irony of a black guy bagging a jewish guy on "selling out" has a kind of charm, so it didn't really bother me. if i could only sell out for more than 13:40 an hour. in any case, i told him that i tried boston, but that brookline called back, and boston didn't. for his part, he is "going back to school, getting my masters." in an awkward slip of the tongue, i asked "what are you in for?"

his girlfriend showed up, gave me a "who the fuck is this cracker" look, which was one of the highlights of the whole thing. seemed like a nice young woman. than, the obligatory struggle over accepting a ride home. he insisted. i refused. the woman wanted to move on. he persisted further. i held strong. he got my number though. i felt funny giving a fake one. i walked off, the cool air a close friend.

the thing is, he's a good guy. big smile, warm greeting, full of fond memories.

and yet, agony is agony.

"what have i been up to?" trying not to jump, pal.

he probably wouldn't have dug it.

sonny, the pink co. has gone up 23 chers.

i never promised you a vegetable garden, and yet, the beet goes on.

supposedly, roger clemens may have had an affair with a girl when she was 15. he claims there was no sex until she was 18. now, just what does he mean by sex? perhaps the rocket has merely been getting blow jobs for the last three years. they are also saying that roger's son has been using his private plane to pick up girls. now, all of this is certainly tacky, and perhaps even crimial, but isn't the whole point of being rich is that you can act like an arrogant asshole? if we have a problem with that, we should attack it at the martha root.

obama is certainly no shirley chisolm. when asked about the possible negative impact her campaign could get from being supported by the black panthers, she said "the people that are upset at that weren't going to vote for me in the first place." but you see, obama has a chance to win, and that brings out the worst in a person. not that there is much good there to begin with. think about this; the great black men have historically made most white people feel uneasy, even angry. most whites hated malcolm x, huey newton, and many, including the government, detested king. a great black man makes the average white man uneasy, because a great black man tells the truth, and the truth is the last thing a white man wants to hear. at least when it comes to race. obama is not telling the truth about race. perhaps he doesn't know the truth. i don't know which, but the fact is, he is still standing because enough whites have been made to feel good by him. and this is the essential reason why i don't trust him. i know a lot of blacks are supporting him, but a lot of blacks supported jesse jackson too, and he didn't do this well.

obama is in it to win. that's the problem.

i wonder what fidel is up to these days?

went to a may day rally. sad. the same few stalwarts. some bikers, a few anarchists, a guy i knew from college, dan the bagel man. there was a counter demo too, typical shit head racists waiving the american flag. i wanted to kick their ass, but i only win fights in my imagination, so i backed off. left after about 20 minutes. some guy kept coming up to me trying to hand me a communist paper. it must have happened 4 times. every 5 minutes he would return and try to hand it to me. there was a spanish translator on the stage even though there were very few, if any, latinos. reminded me of a woody allen film. the guy was screaming in spanish! luckily, my mom was with me and we had a few good laughs. if only albert parsons was there to share the laugh with us. hey, he would only be about 160.

hooray for the movement. unfortunately, it has become a bowel movement.

why, if only we could build an ass roots bowel movement, we could flush this system down the toilet. instead, it's the same old shit.

and old man river, just keeps blogging along.