Maybe it's the time of year, winter having long worn out its welcome while spring remains little more than a distant hope. The mixed emotions of the holidays are long past and the bills are almost, but not quite, paid off. The memory of old hurts are as faded as those of recent highs. A palpable lull, easily interpreted as smooth sailing or the calm before the storm. My head is in a million places these days, unable to focus on anything specific, for better or worse. Work is in limbo as I await my one-year review, pretty sure it…

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Kerry = Gore: Reloaded

Don't let anyone spin it otherwise. Raw numbers aside, John Kerry - the presumptive nominee that by all 'indicators' should have won in a landslide - lost tonight's Wisconsin primary and the next 7 days will determine whether or not John Edwards can capitalize on that fact and snag the nomination outright. I think he will. Is there anyone out there that can honestly say they like John Kerry? That they find him inspiring? Contrasting his post-primary speech tonight with Edwards' and Dean's, it's a telling sign that he can't get much more than a spirited golf clap from a…

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Return to the Nuyorican Poets Café

Hello Guy,

Here is your Free Daily Horoscope Service for today, Feb 17.

You might need to connect with Mother Earth, Guy. Lately, you’ve been feeling less than grounded. You might have the sensation that your mind is drifting somewhere above your body. If your work is mostly of the mental variety, and if you spend a lot of time on your computer, you might experience some feelings of disconnection from your body. Correct this by going for a long walk in a park, or sit by the ocean or other body of water.

Amen to that as I’ve been feeling totally disconnected for the past few days. Between the impending one-year anniversary on the job I no longer love but don’t quite hate, the weird night hosting at the Nuyorican, and the future homesteading question – I’m in a mild state of confusion.

Last week’s return to the Nuyorican Poets Café was significant, for me, for several reasons, not the least of which was that it was my first time on that stage since that fateful night in December 1998 that led to an ugly 1999 and me being banned for a couple of years beyond that. While I did read at Felice Belle’s farewell at the end of 2002, that felt very different as it was one quick poem and I’d been completely off the scene for a year at that point. Hosting Encomium was a much bigger deal – even bigger than I initially realized as my presence apparently had to be cleared through Carmen Pietri-Diaz, the Café’s Executive Director. If true, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t, I imagine it came about solely as a result of my co-hosting the Rev. Pedro Pietri benefit at the Bowery last month. It does present an interesting question, though: with Keith Roach long gone from the Café, and he and I having pretty much buried the hatchet, who’s still holding a grudge?

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There are many reasons I hate the mainstream media in this country and this is an example of one of them that always gets me heated: "First Dates" Valentine Hit by Bridget Byrne, E! News Online ...Its arrival clipped last weekend's top movie Barbershop 2: Back in Business way back to second. Remaining in 2,711 sites the sassy mouthed comedy was shorn 36 percent earning only $15.6 million from a $5,754 per screen averaged. The sequel's two week total gross is now $44 million. As box office receipts go, a 36% drop in the second weekend is a pretty strong…

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Random rambling for no particular reason other than to kill the last 15 minutes between Shrek finishing and the kids getting in bed. Isaac's in a trance in front of the TV; India's wandering back and forth between rooms, not particularly impressed; Salomé's cranky from what feels like a longer day than possible, and I'd be in the same place if not for having the latest Presidential debate to give me something else to be cranky about. John Kerry's the kind of candidate that makes voting inconvenient. He makes Howard Dean palatable. Dear Wisconsin: Please derail the bandwagon. I don't…

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Barbershop 2: Reconciling desire & familiarity, ideals & expectations

There's only been a handful of "black" movies that have struck me as having that certain something at their core that expressed a sincere love for the people it presented, warts and all, and this is one of them. The first Barbershop, Waiting to Exhale, Boyz N the Hood and Rosewood are some of the others that come to mind. There's an emotional honesty to each of them that transcends the archetypes they employ to tell their stories. Of course, that's all debatable but, in this instance, it's not the point.

Continue ReadingBarbershop 2: Reconciling desire & familiarity, ideals & expectations

Just to get it out there so it's not an issue when I run for President somewhere down the road, I admit to being AWOL from the New Jersey National Guard quite frequently during my enlistment from 1993-1999. Of the 5-1/2 years I served, only two of them were counted as "good years," and that was probably more generous than I deserved. It wasn't always hangovers or laziness that kept me away, either. In particular, the drills I missed in 1997-98 were all poetry-related - I was hosting the Open Room and usually wouldn't get home before 4am, making the…

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