Cause I can't feel the field n!ggas chains
Though I covered mine, so I uncovered mine in bling
Then I bumped into a bum and covered mine in shame
Then I bumped into a hon and uncovered mine again

Somehow I have managed to do come out decently financially onsidering the money management training and upbringing and childhood that I had. I think back to the days of Durant Ave and that corner store I spent many dollar bills on chips, honey buns, and soda. You know, your regular ho-hum, junk food staples. Somehow, I managed to take the bad examples I had about savings and leveraged that into a thirst for not repeating the cycle of poverty. And I'm still not quit there yet, because my a$s is straight up on the cusp; barely with my head above water due to some unfortunate outcomes, but it's whatever. At least I am not living check-to-check....yet.

It's harder than sitting with a blind man and trying to describe yellow
-Lupe Fiasco, "Theme Music to a Drive-By"

I am proud of what I have been able to do thus far. Paid for seven years of school myself and ended up with less student loan debt than I had feared. Had (not the as tense) paid off all the credit card bills. Just copped the 2nd crib less than three years after graduating. Balling on a budget as usual. Well, more like scrimmaging. I cannot stomach too much flossing for fun. So anyways, I do recognize that I still have much to learn and there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of my financial acumen. I used to have a subscripion to Money magazine and always found each issue to be great. Speaking of which, I think my Black Enterprise subscription also expired. Hmm. Wonder how and when that happened? Oh well. Time to get the game face on and pick up the pace. I copped a couple of books to read to help get me on the right track (hopefully). Plus, the student loan debt does hurt, but I would love to accelerate the pace at which I get rid of it. At one point, I had a pretty good system and plan in place. I need to get back to that and then not only stick with it, but also enhance it. Things have gotten serisouly awry lately. Thus, while I'm gettin my shT togeher I think I'm going to share whatever joints I come across that I feel were worth my time. Starting with these three:

Don't chase equity with a pricey automobile
by Michelle Singletary

Even in sky-high market, buying beats renting
by Scott Burns

Lessons kids can take to the bank
by Michelle Singletary

felt the need to share this. i may have to read it at some open mic. it's not my own, but speaks to me. feeling it immensely. your thoughts?

In Self-Defense of Hip Hop: Reaiming Rutger's Rifle

Come evening, lonely gunmen wander cracked out concrete streets
prowling empty back alleys and hallways
for prey to satisfy their lust for profit.
It drips liquid cyanide
onto childhood veins;
god be we with those who cross their path
they will turn a women's womb into wishbone
broken
They are trained to pimp pre-pubescence into adolescent strawberries
carve child soldiers out of orphans
like these government giving children guns
and telling them to play god
scenario replayed at checkpoint and
our hoods when we pulled over
and over.
It is no wonder we wander ebony nights
hoodies pulled over our head
hiding our face from the shame ingrained in us at birth
for daring to be beautiful in such an ugly environment.

We of the darker melanin do here by proclaim
we must stop pointing fingers
stop pointing guns
stop pulling triggers
and stop blaming hip-hop for everything.
For any microphones check will reflect
from murder to mayhem
that when it comes to violence on the block
Hip Hop never bombed Beirut or Iraq.
Who built n'orleans and watts
who were the cops who shot Biggie and Pac
Fred Hampton as he slept, Malcolm X in his chest
who designed the tech nine?
whose next in the specs of their Virginia Tech mind?
That may seem politically incorrect
but anger manifests when told to check tongue
yet no one checks textbooks.
For last I looked
Columbus was riding dirty
with thirty conquistadores
way before this art form was ever born.
calling Tainas nappy headed hoes
way before any Imis radio shows
way before any hip hop radio flows
and the only way I know this
is it inscribe onto the inside of the souls that we speak.
Young Afro-Indigenous drum tongue
metamorphous musical Morse code
that we beat through the soles of our feet
cuz we creative like that.
What's your worth?
We are audio Aztec sacrifice in reverse
giving birth to heart beats.
Why you think we dance so well;
every movement
a prayer for serenity
ever rhyme a
teardrop to the divine
to remind us
that life is more
than icing your wrist
more than slicing your wrists.

There is a rift in our consciousness
like continental divide
and conquer
we caught up in chaotic remix
between Columbines and concubines
Wounded Knee and Palestine
blaming the rhyme of an mc
who make the crowd move so well
while the police move to the beat of a beatdown that
Sean Bell knows so well
little Pena knows so well
my brother knows violence so well
it leaves swelling bruises every time baton finds
luck slipping
when he's sleeping in the park
5.0's flows beat him down like breaking bones
and he doesn't even listen to hip hop
he listens to rock

that other art form cursed like
Black Sabbath blamed for Black Sunday
Led Zeppelin and John Lenin
are searching for heaven
as Pink Floyd writes manifestos to
graffiti and future
for the Writings on the Wall

It states:
there is a day coming
beyond migrant fields and mortuaries
when my tongues gun will not again be necessary
to speak in self defense
of our turquoise reality
sunflowers will grow at our feet
the hearts rhythm the only beating we know
our women's names will spoken like divinity
infinity multiplied like timetables
n turntable
I don't want to turn back
tables of time
and bring the old days of hip hop back
but move our people forward
till the only needles and cutting our children know
Are the needles cutting into the grooves of an lp at a dj show
and the violence will finally stop echoing
like shellshock bass from bombs in this Middle East L.A.
stretching from Watts to Iraq
and on that day
we of the darker melanin
will once again be,
like these hip hop streets
like these old school hip hop beats
creative, beautiful
and violence free

m.gonzales- Human Writes Project- Copyright 2007

Follow me home
better have a full tank, money for shoes
What you fools think
-Peedi Crakk, Freeway, Young Chris, Beanie Siegel, "One For"

Found myself reading about Philly's recent violence and drawing my own parallels between what's happening down (shouts to hot chocolatathoughts for the link) there with what's been going on in Boston (and around the country). They had 100 homicides before April. That is nuts. It's odd how if subconsciously we equate crime with reality. Contrasting similar situations serves to validate or null some arguments just because things may pale in comparison. A dozen murders in a month may see an outcry in the Bean, but it could be a typical weekend in the D. Somebody might say, "oh my." I said might.

I did find it ironic that former Philly City Councilor Michael Nutter is calling for Mayor Street to declare a state of emergency. My local heads will recall that Reverend Bruce Wall has been pushing for Mayor Menino to do the very same thing here (and Bob Donovan in Milwaukee). And to top it off, both of them are considering a run for mayor in the next election against the current incumbent. But I have found Wall's posturing to be more about himself in the grander scheme of things. I have seen his passion firsthand and wouldn't want to detract from that community activism, but even the whole notion of being mad because the police commissioner won't meet with him seemed absurd to me. Go where he'll be and say whattup, is the thought that came to me upon first hearing that nonsense.

Someone asked me not long ago when I was going to run for office. I laughed it off. They knew I was working on the homie's campaign and figured they'd put it out there. Not to mention my moms is nuts and she once left a rambling voice mail message saying something to the effect of, "you need to run for office and I'll do all the cooking until you get married." That lady is hilarious. I might have to post a stream of one of her messages. They are cult classics. Just not for the faint of heart though. So anyways, I've been messing with a few people's heads and no when asked that question, I respond by saying that i am going to run for mayor if no one steps up to oppose Menino in the next race. It'll be fun. I think I'm going to have to keep toying with that one for a little bit. Konichiwa, b!tches.

all of the debate and commentary and the presidential race got me to thinking about this gem Wyclef dropped a while back. Simply beautiful.

Wyclef Jean, "If I Was President"

If I was President
I'd get elected on Friday
Assassinated on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
If I was president,
If I was president

An old man told me
Instead of spending
Billions on the war
We can use some of that money
In the ghetto
I know some so poor
When it rains that's when they shower
Screaming fight the power
That's when the vulture devours

If I was President
I'd get elected on Friday
Assassinated on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
If I was president,
If I was president,
If I was president,
If I was president

But the radio won't play this
They call it rebel music,
How can you refuse it?,
Children of Moses

If I was President
I'd get elected on Friday
Assassinated on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
If I was president,
If I was president,

Tell the children the truth, the truth
Christopher Columbus didn't discover America
Tell them the truth,
The truth, Yeah
Tell them about Marcus Garvey
Tell the children the truth, yeah
The Truth
Tell them about Martin Luther King
Tell them the truth
The truth
Tell them about JFK

If I was President,
If I was President
I'd get elected on Friday
Assassinated on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
If I was president,
If I was president

"The quickest way to effect social change is to make it economically painful for the oppression to continue."

Homegirl sent in a Letter to the Editor and it was published in today's Bay State Banner. The Imus debate continues to rage on, but what she said was on-point and it also led me to think of the following equation for all my math heads out there.

guilty white man + innocent black women = guilty black men

you do the math.

Here is the article/letter in its entirety.

Rethinking racism and activism after the Imus incident

Let’s face it: People like Don Imus, his producer Bernard McGuirk and the high-level executives at MSNBC will never understand that African Americans are people too and that women are human beings.

You cannot change the mind of a racist. It’s like an illness: the core beliefs are ingrained, inbred and passed down generation to generation. You would think after the extreme negative attention given to Michael Richards, Mel Gibson and even Isaiah Washington, Imus would know better — and that if he didn’t, he’d be able to rein himself in long enough to finish the broadcast.

You cannot change people’s beliefs. You can, however, change their behavior, by restricting their freedom (criminal proceeding, jail) and/or their income (termination, unpaid suspension, civil judgment). Some people will never understand why their actions were wrong, but they can be made to understand that they will suffer consequences if they decide to do it again.

Lawsuits, workplace sanctions, termination, threats of bodily harm, sensitivity training — I don’t care why the cab driver stops for me in downtown Boston, so long as he does so, uses the meter and drives me directly to where I tell him to go. At this time, in the United States, this is the best we can hope for.

As for the misogynous language issue: I believe in free speech, but I also believe in free trade. I love rap music, and the foul language in rap music isn’t going to end tomorrow. But I also understand that the record labels are making billions when they sign, promote and make videos for the most violent and misogynous music, while giving short shrift to neo-soul, female, religious and conscious hip-hop.

It’s up to consumers of all races, genders and ages to stop patronizing what offends us. But it doesn’t stop there. We need to actively support the local, independent, conscious and female artists that we do enjoy. Buy their CDs, go to the concert when they come to your area, talk them up on your blog. Positive messengers should eat too.

Also, I couldn’t help but notice that “The Today Show” aired live interviews with Coach C. Vivian Stringer and guard Essence Carson of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team; President Beverly Tatum of Spellman College; Rev. DeForest B. Soaries Jr.; Spike Lee; Whoopi Goldberg; Cornel West and Tavis Smiley. And that was BEFORE Imus was fired.

There were more African American guests on “The Today Show” in one week than there have been all year. Network NBC was clearly trying to separate itself from cable counterpart MSNBC and Imus’ impending fall.

Many of the African American “Today Show” guests spoke of decency, hurt feelings and the history of hate speech against African American women. But Imus would still be on the air if the advertisers hadn’t pulled out. It simply cost too much money for NBC and CBS to not fire him.

Let this be a lesson to all you social activists out there: The quickest way to effect social change is to make it economically painful for the oppression to continue.

Nina Simone's live performance

Gist The Essence

Word.

Sorry, no jokes or videos today, kids. Daniel Beaty's Knock, Knock has me buzzing. I'm interested in breaking bread with any of fellas that have kids. I don't really know any in my peer group, so if you are one or know of one and think we'd vibe, holla. It can be just to shoot the breeze, pick each other's brains, share stories, etc. I just want to connect with other fathers and hear from them. I have found that there isn't much in the way of fatherhood resources. Different perspectives help diversify the brain. This is my attempt to build a support network. I have one underway, but could use some more feedback.

This is a very moving piece. And he has strong stage presence as well. Dumb powerful.
Shouts to Black Male Appreciation for the link.

Them goons was hot on ya
MOP, "On The Front Line"

Played a little basketball and football this weekend. Even managed to break my index finger on Saturday. The discoloration is a bit nauseating though. The left one is almost twice the size of the right one. But my keyboarding doesn't seem to be too adversely affected. For now.

If you like music, please check out Choklate. Homegirl does her thing. I am in love with one joint in particular, "Dedicated To Music." Got to see, hear, and witness her perform for the second time in just over a month. Bona fide delight.

The city is proposing new gun legislation that would impose licensing restrictions on gun offenders. drug offenders have such sanctions in place, but i don't see this having any real, tangible impact of violence. half the cats toting probably already have suspended licenses. it's a cotton Flintstones band-aid on a bloody elephant.

Apparently, some professor at sis' alma mater decided to re-enact the Virginia Tech incident as his way of engaging students in debate. The school took issue and dropped him. Now he has a video (is that really a surprise?) up on youtube defending his actions.

And lastly, with all this talk about Imus, am I the only one who read this phrase with an arch in my brow? "Is there still...Southie Pride, given the arrival of ethnically challenged gentry?" Or am I jumping ahead of the game here? Gotta love the Boston Herald.

ups and downs.

highs and lows.

the ebb and flow of life's joys and pain causes many a smile.

or smirk.

whatever your potion, take time to enjoy the little things.

N!ggas count they [their] ones, but never they [their] blessings.
-Styles P

how are you feeling?

eerie: from the harrowing first-hand account of Garret Evans, who was wounded in the leg

dismay: Jason Whitlock thinks Imus isn't the real bad guy. He seems to hate hip-hop and blame it for everything wrong, yet 4 mafia gangster flicks top his favorite movies list. Yeah, aiight.

delight: Jarrett Carter offers some great commentary On Wit Lost.

amusement: Just Blaze versus Jean Nelson is straight comedy. JustBlazeTV has more so you can see the evolution of the joke.

pride: Saigon continues to do his thing with Abandoned Nation with an open house in Harlem tonight.

focus: came across a video about Project Think Different produced by Presspass TV, both of which are great local youth programs. Which reminds me, somebody better had registered for that GED class before I come a-knocking.

annoyance: i went ahead and requested an extension for my taxes around 11pm last night. and to think, i actually tried to take care of it early this year. But my January plans didn't work out so of course I let ride until now. all my fault though. ugh!

gratitude: shout-out to High School Renewal, the Cloud Place, and the Boston CyberArts Festival.

We keep growing like hair when you die
Black butterfly on the rose that's preparing to fly
I paint a picture and the color of the orchid is vivid
Whatever, kid, I talk it, I spit it, I walk it, I live it
-Zion I & Talib Kweli, "Temperature"

Temperature is a funky track with the starting refrain, "keep your head up." This week, it's quite appropriate. From the madness that was Virginia Tech massacre. To the monsoon formerly known as the Boston Marathon. And it's only Wednesday. My city has been relatively quiet lately. Quite a few heads have made note of the decrease in crime although the number of homicides has eclipsed recent years past. The Don Imus incident has evolved into a critical analysis of hip-hop music. And I think it is warranted and welcomed. Because this time, it will not be a blind-sided attack on the music with generalities. But that comes with a calculated risk. It's just a microcosm of the local debate with some local heads I've hopped in and out of regarding the inequity between Imus' words and describing him as a cracker. This was after I asked if Lil Wayne gets a pass because he's Black. The other weird thing that I've noticed is how when incidents such as these happen, the proliferation of the original phrase is tossed around a helluva lot; almost too much. Some artists have been saying the right thing all along, and still continue to go unheard, unrecognized, and unheralded. The bad guy gets the girl. Sounds familiar. That's the best quick-and-dirty analogy that came to mind to describe the context. But riddle me this batman; are we going to rope actors, TV shows, movies, and comedians into this debate as well? Doubt it. How'd that old Digital Underground joint go? All the around the world, same song.

You paid your dues, refuse to lose in this scenario
The rep grows bigga, you're a legend and a hero
-Gangstarr, "The Rep Grows Bigga"

I took this picture last year and came across it tonight. It just had a feel to it that captured my immediate mood so I decided to share. The look on that kid's face was remarkably calm and anxious at once. We often may find ourselves feeling like we're just leaves blowing in the wind, but like that MJ song, you are not alone. Even in the midst of a crowd, we go through daily stress-inducing rituals and challenges that make us stronger. And surprisingly, it's the realization of the power of the outcome of those challenges that takes the most out of us. If only there were a dealing with stress for dummies book out...

The network is real. I spent some quality time chilling with and catching up with several friends this past. Shared meals, movies, memories, jokes, goals, and daily banter. definitely a good time.

If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain
-Morpheus

i've known about the Darfur situation for a while now, but now that I have seen Darfur Diaries I think I am going to take a more actively engaged and invested interest on keeping track of ongoing development. Plus, there is a campaign to get my alma mater to divest. Something I might have to get down with. Makes me think of elementary school and the apartheid divestment and ANC news that I followed closely at the time. Deja vu?

Three cuts in your eyebrows trying to wild out
The game is ours, we'll never foul out
Y'all just better hope we gracefully bow out
-Jay-Z, Amil, Beanie Siegel, "Do It Again"

if you have a drink in your hand right now, please put it down. and swallow. because if you don't you run the risk of spewing whatever it is that you are drinking onto your monitor. you have been warned....

I gotta give props to the heads at OhWord because this is classic stuff right here. You can peep their original post, but I decided to go ahead and keep the party going by downloading the images myself and sharing them with you. No further explanation necessary. Enjoy.

The Official Rhyme Book of Killa Cam’ron Giles

But yet we always romance the street
And fall in love with the hood 'til somebody come blast the heat
Always up to no good, so all of my fam could eat
See in the hood we hungry ... we playing for keeps

since this spot is called Pops' Thoughts, I figured I'd get back into the swing of things by letting you know what's on my mind as of late. in no specific order...

I don't even watch TV or even check for any alternative comedy, but I think I'm going to try and peep the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. I think the urban legend has rendered it a cult classic already. I'll be sure to bump my MF Doom mixtape on the way there.

Speaking of brouhaha, the Duke case is in the news but very under the radar compared to its media heyday. All charges got dropped and the dust has settled. So was justice served or not? Will we ever know if homegirl cried wolf or if those dudes really ill out on her? We'll never know, but it just goes to show you that no matter the new season, the legacy of Jim Crow still remains. That case - and many other recent ones like it - were indicative of the pervasive history of discrimination, bias, and inequity in this country. The same type of behavior and sentiment that Don Imus has shared with us all for many years, yet for which he is only now getting in hot water.

Imus is a douchebag. I'd be a bit more descriptive and demeaning, but why waste my breath. MSNBC dropped the simulcast. CBS is suspending him (but only after he does some fundraising). Mad sponsors are bouncing. Next! However, I did pose a question on a message board today whether Lil Wayne should get a pass for saying just about the same thing. Food for thought. When will people realize the power of their words?

Mitt Romney is a moron and Mayor earned a big-up from me for sticking it to him. I understand you gotta do what you gotta do to drum up support, but don't sell your soul, fam. Just because the guy had an NRA hat on, you mean to tell me you're going to all-of-a-sudden switch up your story and claim to be a lifelong hunter and avid gun proponent? Especially in light of the plain and painful reality that the capitol city of the state you used to "govern" (from afar) is awash in bloodshed? And has been so for the past three years! And on top of it all, you actually bragged that you used a fucking semiautomatic gun to shoot a muthafuqing rabbit?! Get a life, duke.

My man A sent along this article entitled, Abandoned Homefront, to the crew yesterday and it struck a chord. On one hand, it appears that more and more people are catching on to Chuck Turner's reasoning behind the impact the Iraq occupation has had on municipal budgets. It did make Menino out to be more of a patron saint than I think he deserves, but it does spell out some interesting facts and figures regarding comparative dollar values. Talk about stretch your money. But I'm going to need homeboy to write about walking in these neighborhoods without the mayor. Just sounds like a written photo-op to me.

I see the way we rep the hood, gotta love me
You can take me out the ghetto, but you can't take it from me
-Busta Rhymes, "In The Ghetto"

just got back from Columbus and caught up on my daily reads. And tears well in my eyes.

five shootings since Wednesday.

it's almost like a video game. the boston edition of grand theft auto with bodies pilling up like sand bags in advance of a hurricane.

on tuesday, i went to visit a potential client. 3 days later as i ate shrimp cocktails in the confines of hospitality suites, another black male teen lost his life to these streets of no remorse, nor discourse. how do you just shoot someone in the head on a crowded bus and look at yourself in the mirror? back in my slim pocket days, i used to ride the #23 bus route from my crib to school daily. that eerie feeling of numbness keeps lingering.

people say don't talk about it; be about it. but what more marching is going to help. what else is a pep rally going to do? it's approaching a point where even the cats around the way who hold it down and keep it moving are becoming more hesitant and cautious of their surroundings. makes me want to almost pack it up myself and move back home. take the midget away from this land of opportunity, because there's no telling when he gets older if someone will think it is opportune to take his life as well. it's a thought i'd rather not ever have to consider. but i cannot help it. and it is starting to consume my daily thoughts; affecting everything else.

the hood is a tragedy. and the remedy has yet to be figured out.

i'll just try to continue doing the little things i think might help.