I pissed off a friend last night. I was just being honest, but she got pissed off and hung up on me. I feel bad, but she hung up on me dammit!! I think she was intoxicated and she's always sensitive so I realized as soon as I said it that I had pushed a nerve that goes to the core of her being... but I was just being honest.
If someone asks you a question and you think your honesty might offend them, do you still be honest? I'm thinking... you shouldn't have asked the question if you didn't want to hear or might disagree with what I might say... I guess I should learn to hold me tongue...
ok. next time...
~C
CD of the moment: Actually, a web radio station out of Canada www.netmusique.com with three channels to choose from 1. JazzMusique (mostly downtempo), 2. Housemusique (mostly uptempo), and 3. ElectricMusic (electronica ... kinda German if you ask me..)
1.23.2005
testing the photo thing..
testing the photo thing..
Originally uploaded by cinnamon_stick.
lets see if this works....
this is an example of a piece of my mother's jewelry that she makes now that she is retired. But since she has no idea what a blog is and I wouldn't let her know that I have a public domain where I cuss and talk about pussy, she'll never know about this little piece of promotion I'm doing for her...
1.21.2005
MLK DAY FURNITURE SALE!!!
(In my best WWF voice impersonation) “Come celebrate the holiday at your local furniture store!!!” I swear to God I saw this on TV last weekend. The ad was complete with this shotty black and white image of MLK that looked like it was created on a Lite-Brite machine.
I mean damn, people will do anything to get you to come out and spend money. Did they really think that people who truly celebrate MLK Day would be moved enough by this ad and choose to celebrate the great legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by purchasing a new dining room set. I guess MLK liked to eat, but c’mon!….
There is nothing about a couch that represents the legacy of this great man. (Although I’m sure he liked to sit too.)
I decided to go out and get my groove on for MLK day. I figured I would dance and drink to celebrate his legacy… I guess that isn’t any better than buying a couch huh? At least if I bought a couch I would have something to sit on… I much prefer to go out on a Sunday – Thursday because usually there are better parties and you avoid the suburban drunks that invade the city. (it was the same in Chicago.)
Well there is this vertically challenged girl (actually a midget) who frequents the clubs here in DC. Cool chic, everyone knows her she rocks it out on the dance floor and seems like a real cool person, BUT I wouldn’t be trying to hit that. Especially on the big three day weekend Sunday when everybody and their momma is out at the club!! Everyone sees you trying to be all cuddled up with the 3 foot tall chic!!
Well, there was this brothat trying to bang the midget. I understand that sometimes times are tight, but that is what black cheerleaders #469 is for. If you are 6+ feet tall, you have no business trying to get with a 60 pound 3 foot chic. Maybe he is a closet pedophile and this is his way of realizing those dreams legally……..
She creeps me out anyway. I’m not used to being in a packed ass club and having to worry about stepping on somebody. I’m sure she is used to weaving through the club at that level, but it just seems odd. After a while, you just keep on dancing on don’t think about the fact that there is a hobbit dancing nearby.
~C
CD of the moment: Ministry of Sound -"The Chillout Sessions Summer 2004"
1.15.2005
I finally decided to buy some pickles...
PIckles are on of the most underrated luxeries in life.
Whenever I go to the grocery store, it is usually just buy the essentials: meat, fruit, vegetables, seasonings to make it tasty and liquid to wash it all down. I don't spend much time messing around with chips & sals, cookies, etc... I always consider buying pickles, but ultimately I put them back. Sometimes, I even do it as a checkout purge right as I'm placing things on the thingy to check out.
Today on my way to the grocery store, I knew before I even went in that I was going to buy me some pickles. Three day weekend ahead + nothing to do but sit around the house and enjoy me = Curt's buying pickles.
I get to the pickle aisle on the verge of just opening up the jar on the spot. As I examine my choices, it suddenly dawns on me: "Where are the sweet & spicy joints?" .......... aww hell naw!!!! I wanted sweet and spicy spears dammit!!! I start pulling out pickle jars and looking behind the ones in the front.... read all the labels... even considered getting those thin ass sandwich stackers, but they didn't even have THEM in sweet and spicy. The only spicy pickles they had was that 10 pound jar of weird multi-color pickles that when dry look like they would make good Thanksgiving table ornaments...
Alas, I settled in with some dill spears, but feel like I've wasted this bi-annual pickle buying day.
~C
CD of the moment: Jorge Ben Jor - "Samba Esquema Novo"
Whenever I go to the grocery store, it is usually just buy the essentials: meat, fruit, vegetables, seasonings to make it tasty and liquid to wash it all down. I don't spend much time messing around with chips & sals, cookies, etc... I always consider buying pickles, but ultimately I put them back. Sometimes, I even do it as a checkout purge right as I'm placing things on the thingy to check out.
Today on my way to the grocery store, I knew before I even went in that I was going to buy me some pickles. Three day weekend ahead + nothing to do but sit around the house and enjoy me = Curt's buying pickles.
I get to the pickle aisle on the verge of just opening up the jar on the spot. As I examine my choices, it suddenly dawns on me: "Where are the sweet & spicy joints?" .......... aww hell naw!!!! I wanted sweet and spicy spears dammit!!! I start pulling out pickle jars and looking behind the ones in the front.... read all the labels... even considered getting those thin ass sandwich stackers, but they didn't even have THEM in sweet and spicy. The only spicy pickles they had was that 10 pound jar of weird multi-color pickles that when dry look like they would make good Thanksgiving table ornaments...
Alas, I settled in with some dill spears, but feel like I've wasted this bi-annual pickle buying day.
~C
CD of the moment: Jorge Ben Jor - "Samba Esquema Novo"
1.13.2005
Top 10 CD's I purchased this year..
*The following list has been updated with links to the records on Amazon.com and I also had mistyped the title of the Zero 7 record. (Thanks for the correction.) enjoy!
--------------------
The end of the year is also the time to do all those "best of" lists, but we all know they are usually full of a bunch of BS. So I'm going to break it down for you. These were the top 10 CD's that I purchased this year. Some of these may have even been released in 2003. But I didn't know about them until 2004.
These are the best to me for a number of reasons, either I applaud them for their sheer ingenuity in this time of musical blandity or I either simply fell in love with the album for whatever reason and couldn't stop listening to it. That to me is the sign of a good record. It grabs you, it makes you listen over and over and you discover something else with each listen.
As I look back it is also interesting to notice the complete lack of hip-hop that I purchased this year. Even when I did purchase an album it was more than anything to support an artist that I felt was trying to do something different than the everyday radio BS. But more often than not, I listened to it a couple of times, then never picked it up again. I know I'm getting old because 4 of my top 10 were either originally released 20+ years ago or are compilations of songs released 20 years ago.
1. Lizz Wright - "Salt"
Simply amazing. The sheer sensuality and strength and character and love and hapiness that exists in this woman's soul comes through her voice on this album. I tried 4 times to see her live this year and something happened every time preventing it from happening. Then someone I know sees her and said the only two concerts that were better were Nina Simone and Sade. A tremndous album from start to finish fusing jazz, blues and gospel into an unforgettable musical journey.
2. Fertile Ground - "Black Is"
Each Fertile Ground CD gets better and better and more closely resembles their tremendous live show that I first saw while bartending at State of the Union around 1997-98. Powerful vocals with soulful afro-latin rhythms made this a mainstay in my car. Not to mention, they put on one of the most energetic and fun live shows around these days.
3. Miles Davis - "In a Silent Way" (3 CD box set)
- I had the original CD for a few years and occassionally listened to it and felt it was a solid CD, but this release has gorgeous packaging, incredible liner notes that give you great insight into each individual session as well as alternate versions of tracks to give you an idea of what the track could've been, unedited that stretch as long as 20 minutes. These are the real original versions before they would've been edited down to fit on vinyl. This is a tremendous box set that any jazz fan should grab if you can still find it.
4. Jeff Mills - "Choice: A Collection of Classics"
- This CD is great to me for a number of reasons. Here is a guy who was a DJ during the era that I grew up in so he acutely spans the gamut from music my momma used to play (Teddy Pendegrass) to music I loved to hear on the radio from Chicago and St. Louis such as old electronic classics and that early detroit techno sound that I would only hear on mix tapes from someone's older brother that just happen to come back from the 'city' and it's all seamlessly mixed into my personal trip down memory lane. Even though I only really knew about half the songs on the CD, they are all in the spirit of songs I enjoyed while growing up.
5. Amp Fiddler - "Waltz of a Ghetto Fly"
- This album should've received much more press than it did. To me it was much more solid than Donnie's album, more cohesive than Van Hunt and/or Cody Chestnut, not to mention being incredibly funky and it had the ability to stretch into the underground house music scene in ways that others had to show the above mentioned guys how to do. This album is a true R&B album to me and I hope we hear more from him in 2005.
6. Louie Vega - "Elements of Life"
- I love this album so much. I received a couple of promo-vinyl only singles of this album way back and was so excited that I dropped like $30 to buy the Japanese Import of the album 5 months before it came out in the US. Then I purchased each subsequent 12" to receive all of the remixes of the 5 singles that were released off of this album, not to mentioned all of the other tracks released on his record label that I bought, so damn, Louie got a lot of my loot this year. I shouldn't need to give his ass any more props since he got all my money, but he is doing hot hot shit right now and is clearly on top of his game with every release he does and every remix he touches. I guess I haven't even talked about the album yet... umm, latin, house, jazz, funk, soulful, dancefloor, samba, salsa, etc... all in one. AND, they're about to release a remix album of all the alternate versions that were previously only available on vinyl which is probably worth checking out too. It's called "Extensions" you can pre-order it and be the first to check it out allowing you to stay ahead of the curve when people try to tell you about this CD. Isn't nice to be able to say, "But do you have the REMIX album?"
7. Amel Larrieux - "Bravebird"
- Amel has one of the most beautiful voices of our generation and I applaud her for saying screw you to the major labels, releasing her album independently without any press at all, no publicity at all and relying strictly on the strength of the record to move units. Much props and I hope you continue to do the independent thing. This is why I continue to support Ani DiFranco whose albums I can kinda fuck with on a good day, but her conviction alone makes me give everything she does a second look.
8. Zero 7 - "When It Falls"
- Most Sophomore albums aren't that great. D'angelo, Badu, Portishead, and Maxwell are exceptions that come to mind, but Zero 7 stuck to the same no nonsense straightahead downtempo formula and created the best underground lounge sountrack of the year. When you listen to this you can only somehow feel like you are cooler than everyone else around you. The albums is way laid back and is just long enough to not bore you. However, if they come with the same formula for round 3, it would be extremely tired.
9. Dimitri from Paris - "In The House"
The former DJ from Dee-Lite brings us this 2CD set which is a great mix of house music from past and present and contains classic tracks by Lil' Louis, Crystal Waters, The O'Jays and Jestofunk all updated and re-edited as well as understated and not overdone remixes by Blaze, Dubtribe, current hot producer of the moment Rasmus Faber and the Africanist vibes of DJ Gregory. Nice stuff here.
10. Marvin Gaye - "Here My Dear"
Lastly, but not least, I bought the reissued version of this old Marvin Gaye album that I never knew about. He created this to help pay off his divorice debt to his ex-wife. It is an extremely personal manifesto of love, hate, and pain that creates probably the most personal record I've ever heard. From the beginning he states, "here it is, this is what you wanted right?" and it is very clear that the entire album is about the pain of this divorice he's going into and how he realizes he has to make this record with all of the proceeds going to her as part of their settlement. From the metaphoric cover art to the incredible liner notes that talk at length about how he would come in from court pissed off and start singing without knowing what he might say. You can hear the pain in Marvin's voice yet on other tracks you can tell how much he loves his ex-wive Anna. I'm still trying to figure out if this is something I listen to when I'm happy because of the incredible underlying sense of humor he shows or when I'm sad because of the obvious pain and truth that exists between his jokes. Though it was released in 1978 it is still a tremendous album to this day.
--------------------
The end of the year is also the time to do all those "best of" lists, but we all know they are usually full of a bunch of BS. So I'm going to break it down for you. These were the top 10 CD's that I purchased this year. Some of these may have even been released in 2003. But I didn't know about them until 2004.
These are the best to me for a number of reasons, either I applaud them for their sheer ingenuity in this time of musical blandity or I either simply fell in love with the album for whatever reason and couldn't stop listening to it. That to me is the sign of a good record. It grabs you, it makes you listen over and over and you discover something else with each listen.
As I look back it is also interesting to notice the complete lack of hip-hop that I purchased this year. Even when I did purchase an album it was more than anything to support an artist that I felt was trying to do something different than the everyday radio BS. But more often than not, I listened to it a couple of times, then never picked it up again. I know I'm getting old because 4 of my top 10 were either originally released 20+ years ago or are compilations of songs released 20 years ago.
1. Lizz Wright - "Salt"
Simply amazing. The sheer sensuality and strength and character and love and hapiness that exists in this woman's soul comes through her voice on this album. I tried 4 times to see her live this year and something happened every time preventing it from happening. Then someone I know sees her and said the only two concerts that were better were Nina Simone and Sade. A tremndous album from start to finish fusing jazz, blues and gospel into an unforgettable musical journey.
2. Fertile Ground - "Black Is"
Each Fertile Ground CD gets better and better and more closely resembles their tremendous live show that I first saw while bartending at State of the Union around 1997-98. Powerful vocals with soulful afro-latin rhythms made this a mainstay in my car. Not to mention, they put on one of the most energetic and fun live shows around these days.
3. Miles Davis - "In a Silent Way" (3 CD box set)
- I had the original CD for a few years and occassionally listened to it and felt it was a solid CD, but this release has gorgeous packaging, incredible liner notes that give you great insight into each individual session as well as alternate versions of tracks to give you an idea of what the track could've been, unedited that stretch as long as 20 minutes. These are the real original versions before they would've been edited down to fit on vinyl. This is a tremendous box set that any jazz fan should grab if you can still find it.
4. Jeff Mills - "Choice: A Collection of Classics"
- This CD is great to me for a number of reasons. Here is a guy who was a DJ during the era that I grew up in so he acutely spans the gamut from music my momma used to play (Teddy Pendegrass) to music I loved to hear on the radio from Chicago and St. Louis such as old electronic classics and that early detroit techno sound that I would only hear on mix tapes from someone's older brother that just happen to come back from the 'city' and it's all seamlessly mixed into my personal trip down memory lane. Even though I only really knew about half the songs on the CD, they are all in the spirit of songs I enjoyed while growing up.
5. Amp Fiddler - "Waltz of a Ghetto Fly"
- This album should've received much more press than it did. To me it was much more solid than Donnie's album, more cohesive than Van Hunt and/or Cody Chestnut, not to mention being incredibly funky and it had the ability to stretch into the underground house music scene in ways that others had to show the above mentioned guys how to do. This album is a true R&B album to me and I hope we hear more from him in 2005.
6. Louie Vega - "Elements of Life"
- I love this album so much. I received a couple of promo-vinyl only singles of this album way back and was so excited that I dropped like $30 to buy the Japanese Import of the album 5 months before it came out in the US. Then I purchased each subsequent 12" to receive all of the remixes of the 5 singles that were released off of this album, not to mentioned all of the other tracks released on his record label that I bought, so damn, Louie got a lot of my loot this year. I shouldn't need to give his ass any more props since he got all my money, but he is doing hot hot shit right now and is clearly on top of his game with every release he does and every remix he touches. I guess I haven't even talked about the album yet... umm, latin, house, jazz, funk, soulful, dancefloor, samba, salsa, etc... all in one. AND, they're about to release a remix album of all the alternate versions that were previously only available on vinyl which is probably worth checking out too. It's called "Extensions" you can pre-order it and be the first to check it out allowing you to stay ahead of the curve when people try to tell you about this CD. Isn't nice to be able to say, "But do you have the REMIX album?"
7. Amel Larrieux - "Bravebird"
- Amel has one of the most beautiful voices of our generation and I applaud her for saying screw you to the major labels, releasing her album independently without any press at all, no publicity at all and relying strictly on the strength of the record to move units. Much props and I hope you continue to do the independent thing. This is why I continue to support Ani DiFranco whose albums I can kinda fuck with on a good day, but her conviction alone makes me give everything she does a second look.
8. Zero 7 - "When It Falls"
- Most Sophomore albums aren't that great. D'angelo, Badu, Portishead, and Maxwell are exceptions that come to mind, but Zero 7 stuck to the same no nonsense straightahead downtempo formula and created the best underground lounge sountrack of the year. When you listen to this you can only somehow feel like you are cooler than everyone else around you. The albums is way laid back and is just long enough to not bore you. However, if they come with the same formula for round 3, it would be extremely tired.
9. Dimitri from Paris - "In The House"
The former DJ from Dee-Lite brings us this 2CD set which is a great mix of house music from past and present and contains classic tracks by Lil' Louis, Crystal Waters, The O'Jays and Jestofunk all updated and re-edited as well as understated and not overdone remixes by Blaze, Dubtribe, current hot producer of the moment Rasmus Faber and the Africanist vibes of DJ Gregory. Nice stuff here.
10. Marvin Gaye - "Here My Dear"
Lastly, but not least, I bought the reissued version of this old Marvin Gaye album that I never knew about. He created this to help pay off his divorice debt to his ex-wife. It is an extremely personal manifesto of love, hate, and pain that creates probably the most personal record I've ever heard. From the beginning he states, "here it is, this is what you wanted right?" and it is very clear that the entire album is about the pain of this divorice he's going into and how he realizes he has to make this record with all of the proceeds going to her as part of their settlement. From the metaphoric cover art to the incredible liner notes that talk at length about how he would come in from court pissed off and start singing without knowing what he might say. You can hear the pain in Marvin's voice yet on other tracks you can tell how much he loves his ex-wive Anna. I'm still trying to figure out if this is something I listen to when I'm happy because of the incredible underlying sense of humor he shows or when I'm sad because of the obvious pain and truth that exists between his jokes. Though it was released in 1978 it is still a tremendous album to this day.
1.12.2005
The crisis of mediocrity
We have reached a turning point.
Either we move forward, or get left behind.
Accepting mediocrity and living our lives with a lack of concern for our fellow man has to stop.
Since I haven't transferred my Netflix to my new address yet, I was forced to go to Blockbuster for my parent's weekend visit. (that's a whole other chronicle) Although, I doubt my parents would be interested in any of the movies I'd be interested in anyway.
Well, both of the movies were scratched or something and at about the half-way point wouldn't play anymore. Do you know how annoying it is to get half way through a movie and then have it just sit there like theres a ghost in the room playing with the pause button?.... Even a bad movie, once you get half way through it, I usually stick it out and see if it makes a turn around.
I've only walked out of a couple of movies (especially if I paid my money... sheeeiiittt, I'm staying.) I remember some random film festival movie that looked like it was made with a Beta camcorder, and believe it or not, I walked out of Pulp fiction the first time I saw it. However, it was the second movie in a Curtis 2 for 1 early afternoon weekday special. I was out of popcorn and didn't want to risk going out and not getting back in to see the second movie.
I digress...
So when I went to return the movies I walked in and told the guy, neither one of these two movies played all the way through. He said,
"just drop them in there and pick out two new ones.."
I said, "If I drop them in here, then someone else will get these movies, not be able to play them and be pissed off like I am now...."
............... he paused, then said, "well you can just drop it in the box and I'll get it."
He's not going to get it. He had a line of 5-6 people and people coming in behind me dropping off movies in the box so there was no way he would know which two I dropped in there that didn't play!!
So in his efforts to dismiss me, I persist:
"If I drop these into the box with all of the rest of them, how will you know which ones don't play?................ you won't!.......... and someone else is going to get these non-playing movies!.........."
he comes over, takes the movies from me, and drops them in the box himself........... I'm sure he didn't plan on being confronted with his mediocre approach to life and work. I'm sure he didn't give two shits, and that's the problem.
First day of class was yesterday, and I KNOW I'm not that boring of a teacher. I mean it is the first day of class and people were settling way down in their chairs pulling their hats down while we were going over the syllabus!!!???
I mean, damn bro, let's give the class a chance. Your parents pay all this money for you to come into my class and sleep??
I asked the Dean's secretary if I could throw things at people who doze and she told me "No."
I let her know I kicked a guy who was sleeping on the aisle and she informed me I can't kick people either, so I said it was an accident.
I'll give them one more week of that shit, then I'm going to start being an asshole.
~C
CD of the moment: Jazzanova - "the remixes"
Either we move forward, or get left behind.
Accepting mediocrity and living our lives with a lack of concern for our fellow man has to stop.
Since I haven't transferred my Netflix to my new address yet, I was forced to go to Blockbuster for my parent's weekend visit. (that's a whole other chronicle) Although, I doubt my parents would be interested in any of the movies I'd be interested in anyway.
Well, both of the movies were scratched or something and at about the half-way point wouldn't play anymore. Do you know how annoying it is to get half way through a movie and then have it just sit there like theres a ghost in the room playing with the pause button?.... Even a bad movie, once you get half way through it, I usually stick it out and see if it makes a turn around.
I've only walked out of a couple of movies (especially if I paid my money... sheeeiiittt, I'm staying.) I remember some random film festival movie that looked like it was made with a Beta camcorder, and believe it or not, I walked out of Pulp fiction the first time I saw it. However, it was the second movie in a Curtis 2 for 1 early afternoon weekday special. I was out of popcorn and didn't want to risk going out and not getting back in to see the second movie.
I digress...
So when I went to return the movies I walked in and told the guy, neither one of these two movies played all the way through. He said,
"just drop them in there and pick out two new ones.."
I said, "If I drop them in here, then someone else will get these movies, not be able to play them and be pissed off like I am now...."
............... he paused, then said, "well you can just drop it in the box and I'll get it."
He's not going to get it. He had a line of 5-6 people and people coming in behind me dropping off movies in the box so there was no way he would know which two I dropped in there that didn't play!!
So in his efforts to dismiss me, I persist:
"If I drop these into the box with all of the rest of them, how will you know which ones don't play?................ you won't!.......... and someone else is going to get these non-playing movies!.........."
he comes over, takes the movies from me, and drops them in the box himself........... I'm sure he didn't plan on being confronted with his mediocre approach to life and work. I'm sure he didn't give two shits, and that's the problem.
First day of class was yesterday, and I KNOW I'm not that boring of a teacher. I mean it is the first day of class and people were settling way down in their chairs pulling their hats down while we were going over the syllabus!!!???
I mean, damn bro, let's give the class a chance. Your parents pay all this money for you to come into my class and sleep??
I asked the Dean's secretary if I could throw things at people who doze and she told me "No."
I let her know I kicked a guy who was sleeping on the aisle and she informed me I can't kick people either, so I said it was an accident.
I'll give them one more week of that shit, then I'm going to start being an asshole.
~C
CD of the moment: Jazzanova - "the remixes"
1.06.2005
Short guys in trenchcoats
... this just... shouldn't be.
This is a definite fashion faux pas (sp?)
If you are under 5'-5ish... you shouldn't be wearing full length trench coats that touch the ground when you bend over...
you just shouldn't.
On a more serious note, I had no idea of the extent of the devistation of this tsunami until I went to this site: http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/2.html
It isn't anything graphic, just arial photos of the beaches before and after.... this is... just...
no words...
~C
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