Yo, yo!

Su all up in ya grill piece, while Sean wheels and deals

Okay, obviously I'm loving being behind a camera right now. But I recently asked myself:

"Man, what an amazing invention the camera is! Suppose it was never invented? And what are some other amazing inventions that allow for some amazing experiences?"

I came up with two which I feel are boons to man's existence. The first being the paper towel. In the "first world," we live good, don't we? One reason why we do so well, stay so healthy, get so fat is probably because we're more likely to avoid infection and disease. Am I right? And I think that one of the single most important allies to the fight against infirmity would happen to be the disposable paper towel. What do we use to wipe off that salmonella sitting on the counter top after seasoning the chicken for Sunday dinner? How about the implement used to wipe out that filthy mess you made while eating the cooked chicken at the dining table? C'mon people, don't take that Bounty for granted. Appreciate it. Don't waste it! Stay clean, stay healthy.

And then we have the black board! What a novel concept, right? Only, don't we take its invention for granted too? It's the most basic teaching aid that most of us learned off of many years ago. It facilitated class discussions to no end. Think about it, when teachers use overhead projection slides, and PowerPoint presentations, how much room does a teacher have to interact with his/her students? The teacher can't erase and show another, impromptu, example, for instance. Your teacher's visuals had a lot less color, but the interaction was certainly more malleable and conducive to learning. Also, with the blackboard, the teacher was teaching from the start instead of taking material already prepared and just reciting information. The info, via the blackboard, is presented at a more natural pace. It takes time for the teacher to write out everything and with that, the students are absorbing, if even vicariously. Students could actually come up to the blackboard and complete exercises. Can you do that on a new fancy projector. It only makes teaching lazy. If you ask me, this new shit is taking the teach out of teacher. I'm glad I was raised off chalk dust. When I got to college and saw all this fucking equipment in front of me, I got bored and my mind was no longer in the class. The teachers all appeared boring. Their lessons, though way more structured, lacked interaction. I have strong opinions in favor of the blackboard, let me tell you. In fact, I think I may have already done so.

Long live the blackboard dinosaur, cameras, and paper towels.

"...now the police/
got me in the middle of the streets/
tryin' to beat me blue, black and orange/
I'm like 'hold up, who you smackin' on?/
I'm only tryin' to eat what you snackin' on'"
Jay-Z on Hell Yeah remix by Dead Prez

Today I'm feeling:

sanguine

Tell me you don't have a better appreciation for the blackboard today than you did yesterday!

Plain pain

Sean and Jennykins at Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY (pay no mind to drunk Olga in the background)

Is that Jenny or Jolie?!?

I finally took a photo I actually look Black in.

My knee is really in the shitter. Woke up this morning to find that it is in agonizing pain and I've got a big game tonight. I now know that my team is officially going to be gang raped. I don't even see us having enough players and I can't even jump.

Maybe the MacDaddy'll make me?

"...I'm the wrong one to lie to/
Shit, I'm the man who supply, who supply, who supply you..."
Beanie Sigel on Cru Love

Today I'm feeling:

deeply saddened

This life thing is composed of so many facets. A cut and dry situation is a rare find. Emotions have so many levels. Sadness is recurrent, I find, when happiness is visible but not within reach. Sometimes we just do it to ourselves.

Mired in meager misery

It seems my life has gone trotters up. But, I've been contacted to substitute teach this Friday. It won't be fun, but I'll know what it is to have a pay check again, however meager.

The irony of life. I was comfortable in the ignorance of not knowing how much better things have gotten. Sorry for being so vague here. But, now that I learn how new and improved the new and improved has become, I feel spited.

"at your wake as I peek in/
look in your casket, feeling sarcastic/
'look at him, still sleeping'"
Jay Z on 22 2's

Today I'm feeling:

spited

But we all die in the end, don't we?

Parkin' it

Serenity at Washington Sq. Park, NYC

"...I switched my motto, 'stead of saying 'fuck tomorrow'/
that buck that bought a bottle coulda struck the Lotto..."
Nas on Life's a Bitch

"Drawing something is drawing light"
Sukyung Heo, May 2007

Here's Sukyung's (Tiramisu's) philosophy:
There is light in everything. Even the shadows are a result of light. Light is everything. When you draw, you are drawing the light. Every color, everything.

Well put my friend. May your English continue to grow to limitless mastery.

No bar-B-ques, no beach, no anything. But why should I get all up in this Memorial Day action? I don't work. Most use this day as a welcome respite during the season's first really mild weather. But, my whole life is the weekend. And like I give a fuck about soldiers supposedly fighting for some phantom freedom I have in a land far, far away. So, in a matter-of-fact, just another day sort of way, I ain't doing shit.

Today I'm feeling:

lacking in grace

...and substance. Tell me 'bout your days y'all!

After her aperture

Picture in picture

I think I was hit on by a guy today at Bryant Park. I wasn't flattered. And it's obvious that I should NOT be a model. 'Nuff said.

I got ditched again! KFC hasn't called me since she met me that fateful morning. Maybe I was supposed to hold her or something? I don't know, how do you deal with a person who claims she was just assaulted? Yeah, I'm going to stop thinking about these fruitless paths I allow myself down.

Alright, so if I did a LuxembourgLand T-shirts thing at CafePress, how many of you out there would shell out some bread for one?

I's is not the only one.

"Pumpin' sand, gun in hand, Sean the man, told ya/
I stay on point like that Uncle Sam poster"
Sean J of the Field Mob on 229

Today I'm feeling:

Clandestine

I mean seriously, I took a picture of a picture...

"Beyond category"

When interviewed or simply asked about other talented musicians of his day, Duke Ellington was fond of responding "beyond category." For example, you read this blog, and quite regularly I might add. And because you appreciate your minute's worth of reading here, you remark that LuxembourgLand is "beyond category!"

The International Photography Center was goooood! The photos were poignant, immersing, and beyond category. Ironically, photos were not allowed.

Sitting in Union Square Park until morning on a holiday weekend is like life on a kabob. I even saw a group of White people get ticketed by the police for drinking in public. I suppose they were trying to get loosened up before the club. But the highlight of my sitting was being eyed by a hottie who was with another couple and the guy the couple was trying to set her up with... or something. It wasn't just me that felt she was into me, Jenny was right there with me to confirm that she was indeed checking me out. Summer in the city...

"clocks never stop/
it's all a race to the top/
trying to freeze time that's why I iced the face on my watch"
AZ on New Life (Intro)

Today I'm feeling:

greatly tortured

I think it's called eustress. Nothing like ice cream and eustress, right?

Can you hear me now?

My cell phone broke so there'll be no talking to the ladies for me for a while. Alls well though, I hadn't had one for over 2 years until November. Not really tied to it like that. Used to doing without anyways.

Lost my third game of the week. Ridiculous. These are three separate losing teams, and in my defense, it ain't my fault they lose. Tuesday, for example, I couldn't miss for shit. I alone kept us in the game and they still didn't get me the ball. I scored all my points off of broken plays. You see your teammate shooting lights out, why not get him the ball? I'll never understand it.

"They jealous, they wanna step in my spot/
but you could sneeze the rest of your life and won't get the blessings I got"
Sean J of the Field Mob on Smilin'

Ooh, here's a goodie:

"You butter your bread really nice, man. You cover all corners."
That's me paraphrasing my mother's dead ex husband (he was her ex husband long before he was dead, in case you're wondering. They were also divorced long before I came along, so we didn't need Maury to know he's not my father). The only man to call me "Seanie" and make it sound good. He beat the shit out my mother (her account) but he always smiled the good smile. It was no surprise he had a lot of goodies in the quotes department. Here's the breakdown. Say you've got a job, a couple bank accounts, get yourself a nice homestead and a beautiful car. You're all set right? You're happy, no? That's when 'ol Mr. Roy Lee steps in and says "You buttered your bread real nice, man. You covered every corner. Nice, even and smooth." Or some permutation thereof. You get the idea. In other words, you took care of business, didn't put your eggs in one basket, covered all your bases, etc.

So this morning I'm applying the goobers to my toast. As always I do it with precision. All careful-like, you dig? A nice thin layer of goodness. That's sweet, creamy peanut butter and strawberry jam. It goes extremely well with coffee, tea, beer, milkshakes, cheese (for you Leila), ganja, biscuits, fried chicken, pizza, roasted duck in mango salsa with apricot chutney, tacos, chitterlings, gin and juice, you name it! Good stuff. So, my mother whispers to me, all wise-like, you dig? "You butter your bread real nice, man. You cover every corner." Schweet, right? Take that one with you to the bank. Deposit it. Let it garner some fucking interest. Withdraw in about 7 years. Then spring it on your first born. Wait out the chill going down your spine. When your youngster registers it, wink. You dig? All smooth-like.

Today I'm feeling:

Glad my mother is my mother

Good one mama bear. Good one.