Somewhat of a follow up to me being a Rock Band God, my cuz Allen will be excited to hear Rush’s album Moving Pictures will soon be coming to Rock Band. Me, not so excited. The song YYZ will be frustratingly boring to me and I’m just not a huge Rush fan to begin with. In bad news, my mic has a short in it…noooooooo!

Breathe Jamaal, breathe. Ok, moving on. Been watching a lot of Olympics coverage and Usain Bolt of Jamaica is ridiculously fast. That fucker can fly. Won gold easily in the 100 and 200m and broke the world record in both. He won the 200 by like 5 body lengths. It was crazy to see. I’d be embarrassed to come in 2nd.

I watched the woman’s soccer gold medal match this morning and Marta of Brazil has got to be the best woman’s soccer player by far. She was beating double and triple teams consistently all game. So talented. Of course all that talent goes for naught as the U.S. women won in overtime to defend their gold medal from the 2004 games.

That’s really it as far as standout performances. The “Redeem Team” is looking very good but I’ll hold judgment until it’s all over.

I also was shocked to see WALKING is a fuckin’ Olympic sport. Fuckin’ Walking. They was talking about the “competitors” last night and one of the announcers actually said, and I’m paraphrasing “The Russians look really strong. They’ve been walking very well this year.” Are you fuckin’ kidding me!? Really, they’ve been walking well this year? Ridiculous.

In positive news, Tre’ is a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist(my 3rd favorite anime). Which shocked me as there isn’t a whole lot of action. Though it deals a lot with death and morality issues and trying to explain a lot of the things going on to a 5 year old is damn near impossible.

In vacation news, I’m still not looking forward to it. Though it got a little better as we’ll probably take a day trip to Vegas. Little over a 2 hour drive from where we’re staying. Likely check out a couple shows. I’m thinking Blue Man Group. Not big into gambling. Seems like a huge waste of money and time to me.

One last small note.  R.I.P. to Julius Carry III better known to most as Sho Nuff from the movie The Last Dragon.  One of my favorite/fun movies of all time.  Now bow down and kiss his converse!  Rough week for us black folk.  First Bernie Mac, then Isaac Hayes, now Julius Carry III.

And I’m out!

Current Mood: Indifferent

This post is to get all 3 of you who read my blog up to speed with the goings on in between my drama filled life.

Firstly, and most importantly, I am a Rock Band GOD! We bought the game a little over a month ago and I rock the vocals. I’ve spent about 80 bucks on songs with The Who pack easily being my best purchase. I love singing all those songs. The worst purchase easily being David Bowie’s “Heroes”. As a quadriplegic with very little if any diaphragm control, this song kills me. I literally damn near passed out. I had to lay down in the middle of the song while singing it. I haven’t sang it since. Hate that fricken song.

Only other songs I don’t really enjoy singing is “Epic” by Faith No More and “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. Then there’s the songs…well song I can’t sing while anybody(Cody) is in the room cuz he laughs his ass off while I sing it which in effect causes me to laugh thus ruining any chance of a good score. It really is quite comical. Oh the song is Jukebox Hero by Foreigner.

Next up is some celebreality TV. I won’t bore you with details, but right now I’m watching I Love Money and The Two Coreys.

Watched some anime. In particular Captain Herlock(crap), and the first 3 discs of Noir. Herlock was garbage. No redeeming qualities. The jury is still out on Noir. It’s not bad, but the story is taking a loooong time to develop. But it’s interesting enough to keep me…well interested.

In almost anime news, the Avatar wrapped up, and it was sweet! The final fight between Zuko and Azula was fantabulous. Oh I said fantabulous. The music made it even better, epic even. And Azula’s quick descent into madness was great to watch. Very believable. Possibly the greatest character development in an animated series ever. Easily the greatest thing to come out of Nickelodeon.

In related news, I fear for the live action version being directed by M. Night Shyamalamdingdong. Apparently it’s gonna be a trilogy with each movie based on the 3 “books” of Avatar. I hope he(M. Night) can regain his touch from his first few movies. Most would say “what touch?”. Well I personally enjoyed Unbreakable and Signs. Since then, things have gone downhill fast for him.

In semi-related anime news…fuck Keanu Reaves…that is all.

This is already a big post, so I’ll finish it on my next post.

One last note. Thanks to all who sent their prayers, thoughts, and condolences. It really meant a lot. More than you’ll ever know. Again, thank you.

Current Mood: Happy

…so I guess I’ll make a post…about something. Ummm, went and got my ID photo taken. Watching me sign my name was extremely comical. It’s been a long time since I’ve done it. All is now prepared for our trip. Got a TomTom One GPS Friday. My mom’s sense of direction is legendarily bad. Without the GPS we’d likely end up in Florida. Also got about 12 rechargeable batteries so my camera is always functional as well as another 1GB SD card for it. I am set!

While out getting my ID, we of course went to Wal-Mart and I bought my first Blu-ray movie, Hellboy. My original copy went MIA, most likely due to she who shall not be named. Bought another copy of NBA2k8 so Tre could have his own copy and not destroy mine. Drew(cousin) came along and kept me company, so that was nice. Pretty good time.

Finally got my new laptop and it is glorious. It’s incredibly light. Also has vista home, and I gotta say, I’m not dissatisfied with it despite all the horror stories I’ve heard. Only complaint is how the folders are setup. It has a built in webcam and it’s glorious. Of course it’s only use will be to take pictures of my incredibly handsome mug. Not big on the whole conversating thing. I get on messenger about twice a month.

Bought a couple of movies as well. Got Dexter: Season 1, and Flight of the Conchords: Season 1. Lets see, what else? Oh! Got this spiffy little camcorder called the Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder($129.19) It takes 60 minutes of video, and then you just flip out(hence the name) the built in USB connector, plug it into your computer and transfer the file(s). Fuckin’ easy as hell. I’ll put some video samples at the bottom that I just took while making this post.

That’s about it really. She who shall not be named is still a fuckup. Didn’t call the kids once this past week, plus 2 incidents that is firmly placing her among some of the most “brilliant” minds…in her mind. She’s…no need to bring this post down. Comic-Con baby!

And here be the vids…I didn’t edit them at all. Just the raw avi file straight from the camera so they’re a little big. Not too much so. Just click on the picture.
1 of Tay(10.1mb’s), and one of Tre(17.6mb’s).

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Current Mood: Happy

Well things keep getting worse for she who shall not be named and her insignificant other. Had another court date last week. She who shall not be named, was gonna plead not guilty “cuz she don’t have no drug problem.” Then the judge informed her if she was to do that, the prosecutor had the right to add more serious charges to the indictment including like 3 felonies. She plead no contest as did her insignificant other. They go back to court May 1st. Which should be interesting. Why you ask…again, you asked.

Well, they were supposed to have visitation today(mom’s b-day), but due to some unforeseen circumstances…like her vehicle being shot up Tuesday while her insignificant other was illegally driving…again. Nobody was killed, but his little brother got hit in the back(3rd time he’s been shot) and another relative of some sorts was hit in the leg. Of course she who shall not be named lied about it. Thus, why I expect their court date to be very interesting.

On a less absurd and much more positive note, Oogie weighs a whopping 11 and a half pounds or so now. Pictures when I’m done with this here post. I even got to see him laugh finally. I had heard rumors that he wasn’t always disgruntled but I passed those off as hearsay and tall tales. Low and behold, it was true. Even got pictures of it as proof. Much better quality than any Bigfoot or Loch Ness evidence. He’s quite the cutie.

Not much else going on. Gonna go see Iron Man on the 3rd or 4th. Be my gift to myself as my b-day quickly approaches…and anybody else who comes along. Already got Tre’s birthday gift buying done. Thought May might be a financial free month, but now my gotdamn dvd player is dying so gotta get a new one.

Anyway, here’s Oogie hamming it up for the camera…

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Current Mood: Cool

…yeah, I didn’t think so. Anyway, it’s been awhile so figured I’d make an update post. You know, the goings on in my oh so exciting and drama filled existence.

So as you may or may not know, we now have full custody of my sister’s kids. They’re adjusting well. It was made easier since they were living here already anyway.

Tayonna is still bad as hell, but she’s listening to me a little now. I’ve found if I ask her nicely to stop doing something, she listens to me a lot more than when I get loud. So she gets to hang out with me some now.

Tre’s pretty much the same as he’s always been. Oh and he’s much cooler now. Why you ask…trust me, you asked. Well, he really likes the movie Labyrinth. You know. the awesome movie with David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, and the awesomeness of Jim Henson. I LOVED that movie as a kid. The real test of his cool-ocity will come when I introduce him to Dark Crystal.

Little Nevin, now known as Oogie, Yoogie, or Yoogie Bear is doing exceptionally well. Gained quite a bit of weight since we got him. Gaining almost a pound a week. Nearly a pound and a half this past week. There’s recent pics of all 3 of the kids on my myspace. Couldn’t put them on here cuz I don’t have my photo editing software on my mom’s computer.

As for she who shall not be named…I don’t know. I’ve said a total of maybe 10 words to her since shit went down. 5 of those 10 words consist of, “You wanna talk to Tre?” She’s oblivious. She can’t figure out why everyone is so upset with her. It’s a little sad. Makes me wonder sometimes. Anyway, her and her not so significant other must go to rehab. They also must both get jobs(at least 40 hours a week), and a house, by I think it was September. Otherwise they risk losing the kids forever and they’ll go up for adoption. Family gets first crack at them though, so nothing would really change for us thankfully. I couldn’t imagine the kids with some strange family.

On to more lighthearted goings-on. Took Tre to the movies Saturday. Allen, Drew, and Cody also came along for the free ride lol. We went and seen Horton Hears a Who. It was surprisingly good. A good number of laugh out loud moments. I’ll probably buy it when it comes out on DVD…you know, for the kids. Gotta say I was a little annoyed by the religious undertones. I like my mindless, fun, animated movies to be mindless, fun, and entertaining. I’ll go to church if I need a sermon. Or wait for the Mormon’s to show up…though I think me and my cousins chased them off for good. I’m long past being “saved”. Though I guess it fit in with the whole easter weekend.

Went to my grandparents the following day for the the aforementioned Easter. Decent time. Grilled some burgers, Tre and Tay got their easter egg hunt on, and I listened to music. Good day. I’ll get the easter pics up…eventually. Not sure if they’re any good, or how many. I didn’t take any.

As for me. I cope, I adapt, I survive, then I move on. I’m easy that way. If I can say any one thing about my family, it is that we’re survivors. We’ll get past this and soon as we think we’re in the clear, I’m sure something else will come up, and we’ll get past it as well…like we aways have.

Current Mood: Indifferent

…before my laptop implodes…the email address didn’t work.

Current Mood: Indifferent

As mentioned in a previous post(last paragraph) I’ve been talking to my ex-lady friend. Well that came to a sudden stand still as her husband is apparently not happy with her talking to me. What he doesn’t realize is I’m NO threat. Even if by some miracle she wanted to leave her husband for me I’d have to turn her down. Not because I don’t love her, because I do. But I’m not at all in a position to be in any kind of relationship let alone a complicated one with casualties aka kids. I would feel like shit if I was the cause of a broken marriage. Hopefully he comes to his senses and we can also become friends one day. Moving on…

America’s Best Dance Crew was great once again. JabbaWockeeZ continue to kill it. They are unreal. Looooved the ending. Very creative. Fish and Chix still suck and are lucky to still be on the show. Kaba Modern was ok, but nothing like JabbaWockeeZ. Status Quo was much better this week and their big stunt didn’t take 17 days to setup and came off well. Good day for them.

My newest nephew is in the hospital. He has RSV and something else…flu maybe. I don’t recall. He hasn’t gained any weight since coming home and has actually lost weight. He’s gonna be there for atleast one more week. We have “she who shall not be named’s” other two kids. I think Tre’s having a hard time with it. He’s extremely sensitive, and gets sad at the drop of a dime. For example, a couple months ago he heard my mom talking about our Uncle(forget which one) who died a quite awhile ago, like before Tre’ was born, and he came into my room with huge crocodile tears running down his face and with the saddest voice EVER says, “Uncle so and so died”. It was such a sad sight. Yet oddly funny as he had never met the guy or even heard of him. Anyway, he’s been kinda down these last few days since the baby’s been gone. Hopefully, all will be well soon.

Speaking of Tre’, he’s come down with a case of the potty mouth. 2 straight days. Fuck one day, shit the next. So I made a deal with him. If he catches me cussing, I put a quarter in his piggy bank…he’s gonna make a killing on the weekends. Hopefully I can curtail my cussing for his benefit….it’s gonna be so fuckin’ hard lol. He can’t read yet

And finally, my mom has gotten off her butt and began cleaning this funky house. All she has left is her room, and the junk room. Hopefully she sticks with it like she has with her smoking…or lack there of. I’d even say I’m proud of her. Now if only I got out of bed with regularity.

Current Mood: Indifferent

Bought some shit. Mostly stuff to further cement my position as nerd extraordinaire. I bought two anime series. Outlaw Star and Vision of Escaflowne. I also have a framed cel from Outlaw Star. Continuing with the anime theme, I also bought a Vash the Stampede zippo. Also finally completed my Full Metal Alchemist series by buying the last 2 dvd’s in the series.

Bought a spiffy case for it from Paul Champagne. He makes custom DVD cases for movies, TV series, anime, and other stuff. For example, he made me a custom case for all my urban drama DVD’s. It holds Menace II Society, Boyz N the Hood, Juice, New Jack City, South Central, & Fresh. I also bought his Terminator, and Kurosawa case’s awhile back. The Kurosawa one holds Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and Hidden Fortress. I’m trying to get him to make one for the Zatoichi films now.

Continuing with my purchases of nerdocity, I also bought 4 graphic novels. Bought Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Endless Nights, Death: The High Cost of Living, and Death: The Time of Your Life. The fourth GN is a pre-order of The Killing Joke(hard cover) by Alan Moore.

To round out and finish off my purchases, I got Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. 11 - Zatoichi and the
Doomed Man, and Lost: Season 3 on DVD…Allen already hijacked it.

Here’s pics of my Fulmetal Alchemist and Kurosawa cases.

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Current Mood: Rockin’

Hotel registration opened yesterday(and I forgot). So we called today hoping things were still open. We made a reservation in under 5 minutes. We’ll be staying at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort. About 4.1 miles from the Convention Center. Looks like a nice hotel. Nice little trip over the San Diego Bay. Should be a pleasurable trip…positive thinking.

Current Mood: Indifferent & Sick

Finally feeling normal. Got some minor phlegm still, but no choking/gagging. So really just a minor annoyance. So good to feel semi-normal once again.

Got some TV watching in I had been neglecting. And not the Trainwreck TV I had mentioned earlier. But real, honest to goodness TV. That TV…House. Man it was great to watch a show without wanting to scrub yourself with steel wool and turpentine afterwards. I had 2 episodes on my trusty DVR and it was time well spent. I like the dynamic with his new staff. Especially Kal Penn. A number of laugh out loud moments, and a couple genuine sentimental ones as well. It always walks a fine thin line between humor and drama and does so perfectly.

On the family front…who the fuck knows? Not I. We hadn’t heard from Shell in over 3 days. Tre’s missed two days of school, and I’m sure she didn’t call the school. She finally called today and claimed she’d been calling to check in. Lie number 4,096,452,042. I never leave home, she never fuckin called. Doesn’t matter, it’s expected nowadays. There’s a problem when she’s actually fuckin’ honest. Anywaaaay…

Did anybody else wanna see Eli look dead in the camera during one of the many after game appearances and just give a giant(pun intended) “fuck you” to Tiki? He would’ve gotten a free pass from me for life, and that’s a big thing lol. The Super Bowl commercials were hit and miss…mostly miss. Love the Thriller lizards except I can’t recall what the ad was for. And of course the geeky, nerdy, child in me loved the Prince Caspian preview. “You Don‘t Mess with the Zohan” looks sooooooooo bad. I mean Epic Scary Date Movie bad. Which guarantees it’ll do huge box office numbers. Humanity makes me weep for our future. Oh! And the fat dude dancing to jump start the car was pretty fuckin’ funny as well. Again, no idea what it was advertising.

Super Bowl commercial’s

Finally played some games as well. Fuckin’ lost to the Washington Huskies in the Championship game in College Hoops ‘08. I was semi-sad. Only semi, because I was gonna start over anyway what with new patch and all. Also started Mass Effect back up. It still r0×0rs my s0×0rs!

In closing not a bad day considering. Now tomorrow is another matter completely. I expect it to be anything but good.