Finally a new Wes Anderson live action film. I loved the fantastic Mr. Fox and The Darjeerling Limited and pretty much everything else he’s done. I dunno this just looks like a good way to spend two hours. I’m excited. 2012 is shaping up to be a pretty good year for cinema.
This has been on constant loop in my car since I copped it. That real soulful, feel good Hip-Hop stuff. Its a great album to start the New Year off right. Top to bottom I love most of if not all the songs. A small sample is on embed. Give it a listen.
What a year. Here’s a recap of what I feel where my most important moments of 2011. In no certain order here they are.
ROSS AND KAT SAY THEIR GOODBYES TO THE CITY.
Two really good friends made their exit at the beginning of the year and I still miss them. Ross and Kat became a part of my daily life. Grabbing a beer or some food. Chillin out and doing awesome projects. Needlessly to say I’m still finding myself ready to go out and kick it and I have my phone in hand ready to call both of them but…then their not here. (Damn you Boston and Chicago!) I still miss them and no social network can replace that.
EVO 2K11
I entered a fighting game tournament. The biggest fighting game tournament in the world sucka. Now this was an awesome experience. I pay my bills and I do my grind so this was a vacation..or was it? I gotta say a lot of hard work goes into practicing. By my estimation Titus and I spent the weeks leading up to EVO at Southtown Arcade every weekend. Just training, practicing and theorizing. It was as mentally taxing as a video project or B-Boy Jam. I can’t say I did too well but over all I’m pretty happy with the experience. Speaking of Southtown Arcade here’s another moment.
THE HEARTBREAK KID
After one of those practice sessions at the Arcade someone made some kind of offhand comment to Titus. So after our shift at the Arcade we went to Lefty O’Douls’s and got sufficiently trashed. Now the whole story is funny when taken into account with the video. But you’ll have to ask me that another time. But the video..my god the video. I didn’t do many personal video projects this year but this one is too good. Arcade Rage and Alcohol. The Heartbreak Kid.
RIP APO
My Grandmother passed away this year and she was such a firecracker of a woman. She meant a lot to our family and she will be missed. I personally will miss her for her sense of humor because she could say so much by not saying anything at all. Rest in Power.
BAVC CLASSES
Learning more about my craft and my profession. Made me fall back in love with what I do.
DRE AND SONDA GET MARRIED
Watching my brother go down the aisle and marrying his soulmate brought out the sentimentalist in me. I feel like we’ve kinda talked about finding “The One” and how we both kinda envision ourselves as family men since high school it feels like. I’m so happy that he got there first. Just a blessing.
SAME DAY EDIT
This is on here because it was my first same day edit. Just the pressure and the adrenaline that you go through cutting the thing man…I kinda like it haha. It’s almost like diffusing a bomb but you know ..without the exploding in your face part.
THE TRUTH ABOUT “COOL & SWAGGER”
This Cornell West Video really hit home with me. Just be yourself. Find yourself. Be the architect of your own cool. Easier said then done but…very very true.
THE GIANT RACE
Right off the bat beginning this year I wasn’t the healthiest person in the world. The food I ate, the fact that I was a smoker and my lack of exercise didn’t help either. So I quite smoking and I started exercising more. This culminated in my 5K run during the Giant race. The race was a means to an end. Now I know what it feels like to be at prime fighting weight physically. I mean a 5K isn’t much but I would have never imagined myself doing this a year ago. Now running is a part of my routine and I’m gearing up for a 10K next year. Finishing at AT &T park was just a bonus for me.
BREAKERS @ WAR
My B-Boy crew ain’t no picnic. I love them and we are family. But when you raise your hand and say yo I want compete then the pressure is on. If you rarely battle and all of a sudden you volunteer yourself for a jam then you are under scrutiny from the jump, and it’s warranted. Now all the folks in my crew are way more dynamic then me… what can I say my crew is talented. So I felt the pressure in competing from both them and myself. All I could do was settle myself down, put in the work, and have faith in myself. Am I entirely happy with my performance? No of course not. But did I do bad? No. I proved something to myself and I guess that’s what this whole year was about for me.
It sounds sentimental and kinda corny but it doesn’t make it any less true but This year was about laying out challenges to myself in different forms and having faith that I would get through them. My way. And with that I look forward to the challenges of 2012. I look forward to finishing a certain B-Boy Project at Night and Fighting the Zombie/Alien War. Bring it on.
I’ve always liked Wale. His mixtape with 9th Wonder ” Back to the Feature” is my personal favorite alongside his other mixtapes like “1000 Miles and Running” and “More about Nothing”. I personally did not like his first studio album cause I’ve felt that it lost a lot of what made his mixtapes dope. I was hesitant to give his sophomore album a try because it was associated with Rick Ross and I don’t really feel his music but after a run through and a recommendation from my cousin… it ain’t bad. Actually I like it a lot. Give the song below a listen then go do some research for yourself. The song is a lil Drakey talking about girls and stuff but hey…Rappers need love too. And someone..for the love of God get Wale some cough drops.
I had fun. It was great seeing the guys. I mean haha what else can I say? Fun times like clockwork. We had our own red carpet, a pull up contest, a wrestling match and of course the white elephant exchange. Once again my luck veered to the worst present ever. A body condom. Till next year guys. Y’all are the best.
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