Yo yo yo…just when you thought that I went permanently AWOL….I’M BACK!!!

I was able to miraculously avoid posting a unsavory squadoosh in the post department last month (I somehow ended up writing 1 post).  December was quite a hectic couple of fortnights.  I broke my pledge of allegiance to this blog.  I neglected it…but hopefully…I can somehow remedy that in the coming months.

By the way, I can’t believe I am actually admitting this…but…I’m watching “A Double Shot At Love” on MTV…and it’s quite entertaining.  It’s the 2nd time I’ve seen this show and it isn’t half bad.  Will I keep up with this show?  Probably not (especially considering that 24 is starting this coming Sunday).  I’m not too keen (or dedicated) on keeping up with shows, but 24 seems to be the exception – at least it has been in the past.  I may even get around to keeping up with the 2nd most GENIUS syndicated show on TV:  Scrubs.   Lord knows that I stay tuned in to the 7pm re-runs on Comedy Central.  Although…I have to say that I got a legitimate beef with TBS.  They moved Seinfeld re-runs to 7pm.  How dare they make me choose between Seinfeld and Scrubs!  The audacity!  Have they no shame or dignity?  Is it not enough that I had to go months without being able to see “Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares” on BBC America during the 6pm afternoon slot?  But…that issue has been rectified because I am back to my FTA bootleggin’ ways!  Glory be to bootlegging!  I swear to you, if a politician’s candidacy and platform was entirely centered around bootlegging (and the support of it), I’d get in line at 2 am to vote for their ass.  Please believe.

Anyways, there were so many things that I wanted to write about the past month.  From watching Slumdog Millionaire (which did live up to the hype) to my birthday celebration to the New Year’s Eve festivities.  Ideally, I wanted to write an individual post for each one, but my lethargic and negligent ways have performed a literary cock-block maneuver on that…but…worry not my devout readers…I will paraphrase as best possible in this post.

Slumdog Millionaire was a great movie.  I didn’t think that it would live up to the locomotive of positive publicity that it rode in on to the mean streets of the A…but…it did.  I loved how they showed the “other” side of India…the real side of India:  the slums.  If you ever go to India, you may be shocked by the ubiquitous poverty that surrounds you at seemingly every turn.  Anyways, almost every Indian movie focuses on the affluent and privileged.  India is theatrically portrayed almost as if there was scant poverty.  But, Slumdog Millionaire opens a narrow peephole into the world of those who live in decrepitly meager and humble circumstances.   But, of course, like all Indian movies, the core plot of this movie centers around love and the insatiable quest for it.  The plot deals with a kid from the slums (Jamal Malik) who somehow finds his way on the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and facing the million dollar question.  When the show breaks for the evening, the police abduct Jamal and accuse him of cheating.  The story of his life is intertwined with every question he answers on the show.  It’s a pretty damn charming movie.  I can especially see why Westerners have been so favorable towards this movie so far.  India is an extremely intriguing country – and this movie exemplifies the chasm between the rich and the poor; between the privileged and the disenfranchised.  It is definitely a must-see.  It has been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture and will probably get an Oscar nod for Best Picture.  I wish I could write a more detailed review of this movie, but this terse summary should suffice for those considering watching the movie.

By the way, this “Gran Torino” movie seems pretty good.  I don’t exactly know what it’s about, except that Clint Eastwood is supposed to be a pretty flagrant racist (which always has the potential for being an entertaining movie).  As shitty as racism is, it makes for intriguing theater.  Admit it.  Either way, Clint Eastwood is the rare director whose movies rarely disappoint.

Apparently, there has been quite the response to a post I wrote a while back telling Dane Cook and others to “Stop Making Movies!“.  There is quite an abundance of support…and hate…for Dane Cook.  Even though I implored others to abstain from producing shit flick after shit flick, folks seem to cling on to my comments pertaining to Dane Cook.  I can’t believe there were so many folks who disagreed with me…and actually thought that Dane Cook was a legitimate actor.  You have got to be kidding me.  His putrid acting reeks worse than month old tofu!  Anyways, if you’re interested in viewing the post and maybe dropping your own two cents, then click here.

All I gots to say about New Year’s Eve was that it FAR exceeded my expectations.  We paid for a 3-hour top shelf open bar – but were expecting to officially get “chopped and screwed“, but..we didn’t.  This was one of the very few times where we actually didn’t get our proverbial shit pushed in.  That sound you hear is me swiping my hand across my forehead and letting out a sigh of relief.  The open bar was legit.  We’re talking Crown, Patron, Henny, and Goose – and absolutely NO waiting in line!  You have got to be kidding me!  That definitely saved the beginning of the evening.  I say saved because when we arrived at the Westin Hotel in Perimeter, we felt as though we were misplaced into some antique roadshow.  The party seemed to be inundated with geriatric 30 and 40 year olds.  I mean, I know I’m an old ass man, but I felt like friggin’ jailbait at the beginning of the evening!  We couldn’t stop laughing when we arrived.  We were anticipating a wiggity wiggity party filled with folks sneaking in flasks of metamucil and poppin’ Levitra with their champagne toasts…but as the evening progressed (and the drinks kept flowing), the party started to get pretty dope.  By midnight, the place was packed and everyone was dancing and having a good time.  My crew and I had a great time.  I didn’t think we could top our experience at The Fox last year, but we did.  Big ups and mad kudos to the folks who threw the NYE party at the Westin.  It was another wise decision to stay in the A for New Year’s again.

A double fist tap to my friends for buying me a platform bed frame from IKEA for my birthday.  You know, I’ve never been too keen on celebrating my birthday, buy my friends always insist on doing so – and I am grateful for that.  I am very fortunate to have the people that I do in my life.  Regardless, we always have each others’ back – and when push comes to shove, we will be there for another.  It is a profound feeling to receive everything when you perpetually insist on wanting nothing.  Again, double fist tap for all who made my birthday memorable.  A tip of the hat to my my moms and grandma (both affectionately known by me as “mami” and “daadi” – pronounced “mum-mi” and “dah-di”) who cooked me a delicious homemade bday dinner of kofta and batura.  Mmmmm…..They were even swell enough to pack some in a tiffin for me to take home.  I’d say that dinner went over rather swimmingly.

I am inching closer to completing furnishing my joint.  I am done in terms of furniture and now want to set my focus on accents, lighting, and artwork.  Hopefully I can furnish my joint in a manner which screams “me” at the top of its lungs.

Time to enumerate Z’s.

First off, I’m gonna apologize for my Larry King-esque lack of commitment to my blog recently.  I’ve been about as prolific as Jesse Jackson is in praising white folks.

I guess I’ve been a bit out of the loop.  I’ve been meaning for a minute to jot down some irreverent ruminations, but just haven’t gotten around to it.  It seems like the endless list of things to do has been just that over the past few weeks.  And…I still got a Mt. Fiji worth of things to purchase for this haphazard shack I call a joint.  I know that I said that I didn’t want to rush into buying anything just to populate the crib…but this is getting ridiculous.  Inspiration has evaded me.  Hopefully, in the next few weeks or so, I can add a few pieces here and there.  That Grilled Cheese and Wine party seems like an unattainable island hidden miles away.

My company is having its annual holiday party this coming Saturday, so I’m intrigued to see how that will be.  This will be my 1st Xmas with this company, and the 1st Xmas I’ve ever experienced with a larger company, so it should be interesting to see the chasm of differences between my former employer and current.  There will be free food and they’ll be handing out gifts to some folks too – so that in itself is enough reason to go.  I’ll be taking my Asian Persuasion Sensation Fascination former co-worker.  It should be good times.  I hope I win the 42″ Plasma TV they’re giving away.  You may or may not see that on Craigslist the following day (ya never know!).

So, a friend of mine who shall remain proper name-less (The Hamster) made privy to me a new hack for the iPhone.  There is a hack called hackulous (click on link to view video showing how to install Hackulous on your JAILBROKEN iPhone) that allows you to download any paid application (from the App store) for FREE.  So, while thousands of dumbfucks…err…I mean…misguided folks are throwing away their paychecks at mindlessly irrelevant apps, we can download them for FREE!  And so can you…if you jailbreak your iPhone.

If you can somehow pilfer a legitimate justification as to how this is NOT genius, then “call me when you’re on my block…I’ll be in my tuxedo…waiting on my bride!” They actually sell iPhone apps that are priced over $30!  And…oddly enough…most of those are religious-oriented apps (Quran, Bible…etc.).  Gives whole new meaning to the phrase “Get Religion”, no?  Get religion?  For a $30 pricetag?  I pass.  But for free?  “This changes everything!”

I’m gonna go watch “Slumdog Millionaire” tomorrow.  I’ve heard quite a bit of hype regarding this movie.  The basic premise is that a kid from the slums in India makes it to the final question on an Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”.  Before he can answer the final question, the police take him into questioning accusing him of cheating.  They’re wondering how a kid from the slums could have made it further than anyone in the history of the show.  It’s an independent movie that’s built quite a head of publicized steam for it’s theatrical locomotive.  It wasn’t even playing in Atlanta until last week.  Apparently, we DID get the memo…albeit a bit late.

I’ll let you cool cats know how the movie is (I’m thinking that it won’t live up to the hype).  I guess that’s just the pessimist in me.

I was considering going to The Fat Apple for Christmas, but that doesn’t seem as likely now.  Tickets are a bit pricier than I’d prefer and I may just stay here and relax my time off (a PAID week off!!! – hip hip…Hoo-freakin’-RAY!!!).  On a comparative side note, my cousin in Brooklyn (“I was born in Brooklyn!!!”) Sagar Desai Never Lies has decided to move back to Atlanta after residing in the hipster borough for only a few months.  Good to have him back.  Maybe he missed Waffle House too much?  Shit…the things we do for a plate of Cheese ‘N Eggs.  Can you honestly say that you blame him?

Pulp Fiction is on the telly.  Good movie.  Excellent dialogue.  The part where John Travolta jams a needle in Uma Thurman’s heart to resuscitate her from her apparent overdose.  Classic part in a classic movie.

I’m gonna try to dot my i’s, cross my t’s, and stay on my p’s and q’s a bit more consistently in regards to this blog.

Por fin.

After 7 LONG years of suffering heartbreaking after mindnumbing loss after one another, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team finally beat the University of Georgia (45-42 this past Saturday in Athens).  Tech never beat UGA in my years there, so this win was especially bittersweet.  What made it even more gratifying was that we defeated a school defined (for the most part) by obnoxiously biased fans.  For whatever reason, UGA fans (and in general, SEC fans) are the most biased college football fans in the country.  Not only do they bitch and complain about how often their school or conference is overlooked, but they annoyingly chastise and berate their competition.

They overvalue their athletic programs and fail to be realistic with their expectations and evaluations.  Plus, when they beat you, they are despicably obnoxious.  They will continue to rub it in your face and remind you of their supposed dominance.   I was sick and tired of hearing about how great UGA is.  They need to know their place in the grand scheme of things…and now…maybe they do.  Then again, they are, after all biased, obnoxious, and unrealistic – so they probably think they deserve a bid in the BCS title game over other worthy and far superior teams.

Every so often, someone smacks the brash, opressive bully in the mouth – and that’s exactly what we did this past Saturday.  Their star running back (Knowshown Moreno) had the audacity to disrespect Georgia Tech’s Johnathan Dwyer by saying, “Who?” when asked about Tech’s lead running back.  BIG MISTAKE.  HUGE MISTAKE.

We effectively told him (and the rest of the UGA squad) to “shut your face”.  From preseason no. 1 to getting their tails handed to them at home on Senior Day by an archrival (in addition to handing them their 3rd loss).  I’d confidently classify that as a “damn homey” moment.

Absolute kudos goes to Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson.  In his 1st year, he’s equaled Chan Gailey’s maximum win total (9 – with a bowl game still to go) and has done something Gailey never did:  beat Georgia.  This Johnson guy seems like he’s the truth…but I’ll reserve absolute judgment until after next year.  We’ll see if he can maintain this type of success.  Regardless, that triple option had the UGA defenders on their heels the entire second half.  Like I predicted at the beginning of the season, they didn’t know where the ball was going.  Left right left right…he gone!  That’s how the entire second half went.

Finally, the Ball-Gailey (as in Reggie Ball and Chan Gailey) curse has been lifted.  Consistency is all I’ve asked for the past 5 years…and it finally seems as we’ve gotten that.  Thank you Paul Johnson for a memorable season so far.  Maybe this fancy-boy triple option actually can work in a “big boy” conference.

Also, as much as the ACC has been diminished and dissed this past year (and probably rightfully so), they went 3-1 against the supposed powerhouse SEC this past weekend.  We will probably also send 10 teams to bowl games.  So, while the ACC still has a ways to go in terms of competing for BCS bowls and title games, they seem to be headed in the right direction.

I will savor this victory for a while.

GT 45 – UGA 42.  ‘Nuff said.

So…I’ve had a few weeks to let it marinate (no pun intended).  We’ve elected the 1st black man to serve as the leader of the free world.  I’ve thought a lot about what this means in terms of racial and social progress in this country.  I’ve thought a lot about what this may mean for the direction of the country.

First off, I want to tell those America homers to shush.  Honestly.  Enough with the “only in America” remarks.  I will admit that America is one of the most progressive and open-minded nations, but it isn’t as though we’ve somehow treaded new ground just because we elected a black man to serve as president.  India elected a female Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) over 40 years ago (and she served four terms).  In 2006, Evo Morales was the first person of indigenous descent in Bolivia to be elected president.  And what about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia?  She is the first woman to be elected head of state in Africa.  I’m sure there are many other stories of people  who’ve conquered longstanding oppression to ascent to heights once thought unreachable, but the ones I mentioned are ones that stick out in my mind.

So…my point is, while it is a magnanimous and historical feat that we achieved two weeks ago, it is by no means unprecedented.  With that being said, none of the luster or historical perspective should be diminished from what occurred a fortnight ago.  America banded together and decided that it was time to free themselves from the shackles of ignorance that our minds have so long been enslaved in.

This has be to an extremely bittersweet and emotional moment for black people all over this country.  It especially has to feel surreal to those who lived and were raised in the civil rights era; for those that were belittled and neglected solely based on the color of their skin.  There is absolutely no way that I can empathize with those that suffered through the racially motivated societal atrocities of the 50′s and 60′s.  But…I can sympathize with them.

I’m not taking anything away from the black youth, but they can’t possibly know how bad it was.  They have an idea, but they haven’t lived through it like their parents and grandparents have.  In some ways, it is a testament to our progress as a society.  Many of the black youth have grown up in a more progressive and accepting society, so they cannot completely identify with the struggles their predecessors faced. But, when I saw images of the elder members of the black community break down after the election, it touched me.  I cannot even begin to imagine the despicable hatred they faced on a daily basis.  For them, November 4th had to be an emotionally overwhelming day.  Imagine the emotional (and physical) scars they carry with them.  Many of their demons were exorcised on November 4.

Will the results of this past election accelerate understanding and eradicate ignorance in our country?  I don’t think so.  True progress takes time – and can only be achieved gradually.  Are we getting closer?  Yes.  Will we ever get there?  I don’t know…and…it may not matter.  Eradicating hatred and ignorance is a nearly impossible task, but if we can get to a point where we can minimize the amount of people who are prevented from optimizing their capabilities because of their ethnicity and/or background, then that would prove sufficient.  Are we there yet?  No.  Are we getting closer?  Definitely.

I will say with though, that even with all the racial progress we’ve made in this country, there seemed to be a slight chasm between some white folks and black folks.  Some black voters looked at this as an opportunity to “stick it to the man” – as a form of reparation for all that had been done wrong to them.  I’m sure there were more than a few white voters who viewed this election as an opportunity to vote forgiveness for their “white guilt”.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all voters were motivated in this way, just a discernible amount.  We do not live in a perfect world where everyone does everything the right way.  Everyone has their own bias, motivations, and personal preferences – even if they aren’t always rational.

As a minority, I am proud to see another member of a minority reach the pinnacle of their career.  It has further jarred the door open for the rest of us minorities.

I don’t think anyone can really put this into perspective just yet.  In time, we will be able to better understand how far we’ve come in such a short time.

I’m chilling here in Maysville, Kentucky having just finished a reasonably satisifying bean burrito and bean soft taco from Taco Bell.  Here is one of the shittier things about life on the road:  As a vegetarian, there are very limited dining options.  Especially in indiscriminate towns like this.  So, even when I attempt to eat healthy, I can’t find anything nutritious anywhere.  I am normally forced to rotate Subway and Taco Bell throughout the duration of my trips.  I can’t believe I’m saying this…but…I’m feening for a soup and salad combo.  Mmmmm…I’m sure I can finagle myself one tomorrow from somewhere.

Manchester, Ohio is actually located on the Ohio-Kentucky border on the Ohio River.   Since there wasn’t a hotel within 15 miles of the plant, I had to stay across the river in Maysville, Kentucky.  The weather here has been a bit odd and funky.  When I left the plant this afternoon, it started snowing. After driving another 5 miles or so in light snowfall, the frozen precipitation stopped.  I then drove another few miles and it started snowing again.  Then, after leaving to grab some grub from my hotel, I noticed that everything outside had been coated with a light layer of snow.  Odd.  It snows one instant, then stops, then starts again – all in different areas.

Once again, I’ve been thrown onto a project of which I did no work on.  So, usually, the first day or day and a half, I have to familiarize myself with the project.  It probably makes me look like I have “shit for brains” in the clients’ minds, but it’s the process of spontaneous learning I’ve become accustomed to.  We have one guy in our office that almost exclusively does nothing but travel.  90% of the time, he is on the road.  Therefore, he never actually creates any of the projects that he goes on-site to start up.  He simply gets there and assists in startups.  Much of what he learns about the project is done on the fly.  And…he has been doing this for a lot of years for a lot of different companies.  How he does that is beyond me.  But, thanks for folks like him, the rest of us peasants don’t have to travel as often.

I’m hoping that things go smooth-ish this week.  I am scheduled to return back to the A on Friday, so hopefully, nothing holds me back over here.  If things go rather swimmingly, then there is an outside possibility that I’ll be able to return on Thursday – but I highly doubt that.  The minute I even entertain the idea of coming back early, something will inevitably go wrong and I’ll face the possibly prospect of returning later than planned.

The ATL airport has gotten exceptionally efficient over the past few years. I arrived at the airport at 7:20 AM for an 8:30 AM flight and got out of the security check at 7:35 AM. From entering the airport to getting my boarding pass to going through security – it took all of 15 minutes. As recently as six months ago, I’d have to wait over an hour for the entire process. They’re doing something right over here.

Off to Dayton, Ohio I go. I’ve never been to Ohio, so this’ll be another insignificant notch in my bumblefuck belt. From the Dayton airport, I have to drive 2 hours to Manchester, OH (that’s where the client site is located). This was another one of those “we ain’t got any damn body else” trips. I just found out last Thursday that they wanted me to fly out here for the week. I’m not too keen on the way they spring these last minute trips on me, but what are ya gonna do, right? Just take your check at the end of the month, grab ya ankles, and keep bendin’ over, no? I’m just being facetious – please believe, I know how good I got it. I know damn well it could be worse…so ain’t really no friction between me and The Bergemann. I can’t imagine how frustrating this must be for married couples. For me, it ain’t so bad – I ain’t go no one missing (or needing) my grill at home. Most folks in this industry have families. How these folks have managed to balance their professional and domestic lives is beyond me. A lot of folks that do this have gone through divorces. I can definitely see how this could take a toll on a family.

Anyways, enough with the sensitive and sentimental.

I’m a BIG Airtran guy. Love flying with them. They’re cheap, fly to a lot of indistinct locations, and have a pretty solid rewards program. And, they’ve yet to conform to the new fees and stipulations that most airline carriers have begun to enforce over the past year.

Anyways, they’re probably about to come by and wag their finger at me for whispering sweet nothings to my ladyfriend. Talk about hate! I’m PDA as hell with my PDA…I got no shame and very little dignity.

I’m gonna choose to ignore mentioning the fact that we could’ve possibly made somewhere between a $40-$50 profit off of our tickets if we would’ve sold them on the day of the concert.

Anyways, we went to the concert last weekend at The Variety Playhouse in Little 5.  First off, the venue itself was pretty dope.  I thought it would be an infested hole-in-the-wall joint that didn’t quite live up to its billing.  I was wrong.  The Playhouse was actually pretty decent.  Well kept up and a great place for concerts.  It wasn’t a huge venue, but it was large enough that it felt spacious, but small enough that it felt intimate.  A pretty dope venue.

Anyways, as far as the concert…it was good.  Great?  Ahhh…I don’t know.  I was expecting a little more interaction from Matisyahu and a little more excitement.  I know that his music is more chill than crunk, but I guess I expected it to be a little more hyped.  He wasn’t exactly the most personable performer either.  He came out, did his songs, and said a little bit at the end – but that was it.  He didn’t pause between songs much to interact with the crowd or explain his inspiration for certain songs or anything.  But…the guy performed for 2 hours…so he definitely gave us our dinero’s worth.  I swear to you though, I’ve never seen an artist spit so much jibberish and work so little on stage – and be able to pull it off.   This guy was sitting on speakers with his legs crossed and spitting hot fire.  I swear to you, this man would perform an entire song and only say, “obayo….wohbayo….wohbayo…”.  It was like this man was harmonically whining.  But…it was good stuff.

I’m not normally much of a concert-goer, but I think I will frequent a few more concerts than I have in the past (which is to say almost none). Especially now with my heightened (and temporary?) interest in indie rock and less mainstream music. Lord knows it’ll be a lot cheaper to watch the Cold War Kids in concert than it would be to watch Coldplay or U2.

Here are some videos I took from the concert:

Matisyahu beatboxing (I didn’t even know he could do this)

Matisyahu performing “King Without a Crown” after we called him out for an encore

I’m here with my cousin (Anjal aka Jungle) in the Cabbagetown area of Atlanta (Inman Park, Kiirkwood, Edgewood, etc.). I got my go-to “down with brown” outfit on as I sit on the grass sipping a Sweetwater Blue cheering on the I-don’t-even-know-their-name family band (not their actual name).

There was a 5k run and a chili cook-off earlier today. Sadly, we missed that (and the veggie corndogs which sold out!). I am REALLY feeling this Cabbagetown area. It has a Brooklyn feel to it. Wow…I’m sure the houses are beacoup caro…but I would LOVE to be a newlywed couple living here. You can get flipped, take your dog for a walk, head to a local bar, and walk back home. Absolutely THE glamour life.

This cook-off/Cabbagetown festival has been good times. Looks like a great place for malnutritioned artists. How can you NOT love this area. Places like this reinforce in my mind how great of a city Atlanta is.

We just got done watching a folk band that the inebriated audience (that would include me) clamored for an encore…TWICE! And they came back out…TWICE! Mad respect.

And now we sit at Krog Bar on Krog St in Cabbagetown. It is a “wine and cheese” themed joint – a bit pricy, but an excellent place to cake. I got my girl (my iPhone) and my cuz, so what else do I really need? I treat my ladyfriend to the finer things in life. Cake! Cake! Cake!

Nice little joint here though. I ordered a basil and tetilla (cheese made from cow’s milk) tramezzini (finger sandwiches). Overpriced…but delish.

They didn’t have the huevos to steal my wine and grilled cheese idea. Oh, please believe…they knew better…

Affluent Anglosaxons know how to live the good life.

Jungle just ordered a Schlitz – which the waitress described as a high-end PBR…and he still ordered one! This guy…this guy!!! Please believe, I will pilfer and plunder a sip of that.

The line at my poll location in Lawrenceville, GA

It’s 7:24 am and I’m in the line to vote in the good ol’ city of L’ville…and the line to vote has way too damn much curvature for me to feel confident in getting to work in time.

But…it’s moving at a decent speed…so, maybe only a hour wait or so? At this point, I’d be satisfied with that. Folks have definitely come out to have their voice heard (or disenfranchised – either or I suppose……I kid…I kid). And this is probably McCain country, so imagine the polls in the predominantly Obama areas. I saw on the news that some folks had started to show up at polls as early as 3am…3 am?!?! This ain’t no Black (no pun intended) Friday! Unless your ass is giving away 50″ flat screen tellies por gratis, my ass will be counting sheep and enumerating Z’s. But again, it’s good to see people showing out. I’m thinking it may be a record turnout, and for Obama’s sake, it may have to be (even though pundits have him lambasting that veteran tail). Has Bush not taught us anything? Some elections defy reason, expectations, and prognostications. Like my boy the Hamster says, “Polls don’t lie…people do.” Don’t know if I’m in total agreement with that, but I could see some truth in that. I’m an Obama guy, but think the USA will be in good hands either way.

Not too many young folks are here in line, but that probably has more to do with this area’s demographic. I’m hosting a watch party tonight that will likely be predominantly attended by pro-Obama folks…who, at least some, are an undergarment toss toward the political stump away from being groupies. Giggity, giggity!

Let me reiterate, HE AIN’T GOD! Although the t-shirt of his head perched atop Shiva’s body on sale in Union Square in The Fat Apple would beg to differ. I’m just looking for that boost to the economy he should provide if elected. Hopefully, controversy can be avoided this election. Hopefully, not too many voters will be disenfranchised.

I’m wondering how much of the black vote Obama will get. I’m predicting 95%+. It’s like you’re an Uncle Tom if you’re black and DON’T vote for Obama – like my boy The Hamster who is voting for McCain. He has endorsed McCain since the beginning of the primary season…and been roasted, flipped, grilled, turned, marinated, rotated, and lambasted enough to even make ME cringe (and I am enamored with roasting!) Yet, he has stayed true to his endorsement. No defection or okie doke…well…not yet at least. Ya never know! At least he’ll be voting for the leading vote getter and overall winner…in the state of GA.

McCain looks like he’ll win in GA, but we’ll see. Yellow dog democrats seem to be an artifact of distant memory.

Been waiting 30+ minutes and have moved about a quarter of the way. Not good…at least I got my girl to play with…

Now, if only “my girl got a girlfriend”. Now, I’m not a ménage guy, but where do I sign up for that? Maybe AppleFriendFinder.com? If only my honeybunny could cook and clean for me too!

If only…

UPDATE (9:28am): I just cast my ballot. The entire process took a little over 2 hours. About what I anticipated.

Ray LaMontagne, or Rey de La Montana (as I like to call him), is some new music I was exposed to last weekend on my visit to my cousin Sagar Desai Never Lies in Brooklyn.  My cousin is into folk rock – and he mentioned Ray LaMontagne as an artist that exemplifies the type of music he’s into.

So, I downloaded and copped a listen to his “Trouble” song…and was blown away.  He has a soulful and raspy voice – it sounds like a hybrid of soul/folk/jazz/blues.  This is the kind of music I like swivel my head to.  It’s funny how I’ve transitioned from Rap/R&B/Reggaeton to Indie Rock/Folk/Ambient.  From T.I. and UGK to Trentemoller and Ray LaMontagne.  But…that new T.I. (Paper Trail) is pretty dope.  I’d say it’s his best album since Trap Muzik – but it still can’t touch I’m Serious.

But, yet again, I digress.  Ray LaMontange is good stuff – absolutely worth a listen.  So, in lieu of my newfound appreciation for El Rey da La Montana, I figured I’d tried to give him some pub and blow him up on my site.  Below are two of his songs that I’ve been jamming to since I’ve gotten back from The Fat Apple.  Take a listen below (click on the links to listen to the songs).

Trouble

Hold You In My Arms