Guy LeCharles Gonzalez (aka glecharles) (aka loudpoet)

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Just wanted to elaborate on a little something I touched on in the previous entry which was initially sparked by a discussion on Phil West's LiveJournal earlier this week: the question of emotion vs. polish or, a bit more esoterically, authentic vs. reflexive. In the simpler of the two debates, emotion vs. polish, I typically lean towards preferring emotion. Polish - especially taken in the context of whom Phil was having the initial discussion with - is often used as a euphemism for "better," with the inherent implication that emotional work is less-polished and, as a result not as good.…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Like slipping the medicine in with the ice cream

Oneonta turned out to be a lot of fun. It was weird in the beginning as I realized about 20 minutes before the show started that it was my first solo college appearance and I was all alone! Other than Robb Thibault, who was busy getting things organized, I had no one there with me. The nerves were a’jangling!

They had a great turnout for their first show of the year – 180 people, the most ever! (Coincidentally, it was their 13th show overall!) After a brief open mic, I went up for a 30-minute set, dropping Reality, Manifesto, The Long Walk Home, Prodigal Son, The View From Airplanes and Other Leaps of Faith, Mozer, Betha and I, and Breathless. After the slam, Robb brought me back for one more piece so I went with the energy and did 33-1/3 Revolutions Per Minute (Post 9/11 Remix).

While the whole night went well, it was that last piece that got the best response, driving home a point I’d come to accept long ago. People appreciate the well-written narrative stuff but they love the high-energy, easy-to-grasp, pop culture stuff the most. Even when it’s antagonistic and self-critical, like 33-1/3.

The trick is to be able to give them both, kind of like slipping the medicine in with the ice cream.

(more…)

Continue ReadingLike slipping the medicine in with the ice cream
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Today’s going to be a good one.

Mr. Lawnge's remix of Queen's Flash Gordon Theme is playing on my Launch station as I start writing this. :-) A busy week ahead as I'm taking two days off work to head up to SUNY-Oneonta for a feature on Wednesday night. Robb Thibault - Fargo, 1998 - runs the Student Union and invited me to open their slam season. Have a full 30-40 minutes so I'm looking forward to stretching my legs and doing some pieces I haven't done in awhile. Getting paid nicely, too, which is always a good thing! Hung out with Phil West on Friday night,…

Continue ReadingToday’s going to be a good one.
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Keep Your Head Up

On my generation’s equivalent of Pearl Harbor Day, another tragedy weighs equally heavy in my thoughts. It’s been 7 years since Tupac Amaru Shakur’s murder and, sadly, not much seems to have changed.

Not in hip-hop, or the world in general, for that matter.

We’re no more or less safe today than we were on February 26, 1993 or April 19, 1995 or September 8, 1996 or March 9, 1997 or September 11, 2001.

Hopefully, we’re a little more aware of our place in the world and that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction and that every cause has an effect and that there is rarely such thing as truly innocent bystanders. Our lives today are the result of our [in]decisions yesterday and the day before that, etc, etc, ad naseum.

None of us are innocent bystanders. At best, we might claim feeling helpless and be honest about that feeling being rooted in complacency.

Anyway, I’m feeling a little melancholy and disconnected today and I dug up something I originally wrote for my zine, zuzu’s petals, back in the fall of 1996.

(more…)

Continue ReadingKeep Your Head Up
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Polls, for the most part, can be twisted to say whatever the poller wants, but I'll take some small glimmer of hope from this one: Bush Rating At 2-Year Low Wed Sep 10,10:24 AM ET By Joseph Guinto And Sean Higgins All three of the Presidential Leadership Index's components fell in September. -Bush's presidential favorability rating dropped 2.4 points to 54.0. -His job approval rating dived 5.8 points, or 10.1%, to 51.9. -His leadership rating dipped 3.8 points to 55.9. The favorability and leadership ratings, like the overall index, are post-9-11 lows for Bush. The job approval rating is the…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

It's rant time. The whole home ownership aspect of the "American Dream" escapes me. A couple of years ago, four or five months after Isaac was born, the combination of frustration over being unable to find a decent apartment to rent and the lure of owning our own place, led us to look into buying a condo. Salomé had not returned to work yet so we applied for a mortgage based only on my income and were surprised by how much they felt we could afford. In the end, the whole process nearly drove me crazy, literally, as the road…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

"Stupid risks make life worth living." You love adventure. You're quite spontaneous, and will do anything for a little thrill. You're certainly not boring. However, sometimes you get a bit carried away, and could wind up doing something incredibly stupid and die. Tone it down a bit. Which Advice Quote said by Homer Simpson are You? brought to you by Quizilla

Continue Reading
Newer Posts
Older Posts