Amadeo Sogni

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
George Santayana (1863 - 1952), Soliloquies in England, 1922, “War Shrines”

Before I go start this post I want to show ya’ll what was emailed to me…here. Of course it’s just some wack way to get you to sign up for porn, but I thought it was kinda funny.

Anyway I’m twenty seven today and only slightly despondant because once again you have all been deprived of what should be a national holiday. I would recommend that you all take a day off today…but it’s after 7pm so forget it. I’ve been through intro/retro and all other types of ’spection that you can go through. Now I just want to enjoy myself.

Regret:
My lack of coupledom means I’m not assured birthday coitus, but you never know.

The first version of this post didn’t make it…damn windows shutting down.

Otherwise:
I’m feeling good, I plan to drink. I plan to have fun. I plan to get attention. A friend has prompted the get together which will take place saturday after another event. Tonight I go to the local open mic to…get attention. Perhaps I’ll do some flirting, even if that opportunity doesn’t come. I’ll get to perform and make fun of Olu’s outfit…did I mention that I make fun of the hosts outfits everytime I go here…I get a little mad when she wears regular gear. I would say more but I’m about to go exert my influence on the town. Plus I really just wanted to post so Beloved won’t drop out of a tree and spit razor blades at me.

“Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh lord, why don’t we?”
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

In these times of turbulence I find it’s always good to look and see the beautiful things. That’s right folks racial tolerance in all it’s glory. Ebony and Ivory. I can’t say the rainbow cause that would involve someone being gay and that would make it different post. So here are my favorite Ebony and Ivory Duos.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon:
Watching these guys get along, trash each other and trash other people is wonderful statement. Once you respect each other than you start calling each other dopes for having stupid opinions. The fact that Wilbon advocates beatdowns and Kornheiser has the best usage of slang by a white guy.

Stuart Scott and John Madden:
Nothing gives me more laughs than watching Scott and Madden interact on Monday Night Countdown. Madden is the straight laced old school ball coach. Scott is the articulate brother who can code switch like a con man. The best part is Scott always throws some slick slang in the mix to break up Maddens stiffness and Madden seems to get a kick out of it. “Look kids I’m talking to the black guy who’s using slang!”

Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder:
Both were funny in different ways, but when they got together they were hilarious. I can’t think of a movie they both starred in that I did not like. I’m not sure that I can name a favorite out of their movies either. Maybe “See No Evil, Hear No Evil”. It doesn’t matter though I’ll take any of them.

Honorable Mention:

Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams:
Although these two didn’t team up outside of Star Wars I loved the combo. The rough smuggler and the smooth hustler. These two deserve their own movie. I can imagine them taking off slimy gangsters and stealing aliens panties all over the galaxy. Plus the Chasing Amy reference adds to my sentiment. As a matter of fact check it out:

Hooper: For years in this industry, whenever an African American character, hero or villain, was introduced - usually by white artists and writers - they got slapped with racist names that singled them out as Negroes. Now, my book, “White-Hating Coon,” don’t have none of that bullshit. The hero’s name is Maleekwa, and he’s descended from the black tribe that established the first society on the planet, while all you European motherfuckers were hiding out in caves and shit, all terrified of the sun. He’s a strong role model that a young black reader can look up to. Cause I’m here to tell you, the chickens is coming home to roost, y’all. The black man’s no longer gonna play the minstrel in the realm of comics and sci-fi fantasy. We keepin it real, and we gonna get respect by any means necessary.
Holden: Ah, come on, that’s a bunch of horse shit! Lando Calrissian was a black guy. You know, and he got to fly the Millennium Falcon, what’s the matter with you?
Hooper: Who said that?
Holden: I did! Lando Calrissian is a strong role-model in the realm of science fiction/fantasy.
Hooper: Fuck Lando Calrissian! Uncle-Tom nigger!

Got any favorites?

Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because youth is sweet and they are growing.
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Next tuesday I’ll be…27. Every year around this time I reflect and think about the future as well. I ponder where I am and where I would like to be. I understand more fully every year a scene in Fight Club. In the scene Edward Norton mentions that he feels like a 30 year old boy. I’m not saying I don’t feel mature, but I remember thinking that everything would seem so much different when I became an adult. The only thing that’s really different is what I know and how I look at things. The world hasn’t changed at all. At least the way it is. I never imagined I’d be walking around with my phone in my pocket or that I’d have been on stages with people I respect. I would not have thought that younger people would look to me. Yet all these things have come to pass. Time is funny when you think in increments…I remember telling my man that when the time that passed since we graduted from high school passe again we’d be thirty. Now thirty is three years away. Just think, in another 27 years I’ll be 54. Right now 10 years is more than a third of my life. When I’m 54 it’ll just be another period like High School is to me now. I don’t regret my age in the least. It’s just funny sometimes. I remember being the youngest amongst a group…often times I’m one of the oldest now and if I’m not we’re talking about people with children a few years younger than me. My improvements now come with action I take. Not just because I’ll get taller (though I am still waiting for my beard to connect) or my voice will get deeper. My growth now is a choice that I must follow through on. It’s really the antithesis to being young. Things are in my hands now. No one can force me, if people chastise me it’s my choice on how to feel about it. No one can make me stay anywhere and they can’t force me to leave. My legend roams about crafted by my actions and the perceptions of others…or their misconceptions. I can change my image in the eyes of others…if I care to. The most important thing now is it’s my choice. How will I mold my present and my future?

My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

I am right. Once again my ability for group dynamics has struck true. This experiment of a youth program moving in with an adult program is a bad idea. The worst problem is that the youth program is going to suffer. We are being told to change our style and the way we deal with young people. Someone *cough* E.D. *cough*…thinks we are not professional enough. She says we have inappropriate conversations with the young people. What she fails to realize is that we do not just have business relationships. There ARE personal factors going on. When a young person’s parents can’t get enthusiastic about them getting their GED or finding a job that has them making at 18 what I made at 22, they tend to want to see you. When you show an interest in someones life it draws them in. For “official” purposes I get my numbers and they get someone who cares about what’s going on with them. When you’ve helped someone do everthing from find work to take care of their education to show them how to parallel park and get their license it tends to form a bond. Another thing people forget is that I don’t work with adults who just need help finding a job…I deal with teenagers who don’t always know who they are yet. In order for me to do my job I have to help them find at least parts of themselves so we can work together. Some people just don’t understand it. When I look at people in my field there are always strong client/case manager relationships because of some of the things you’ve seen them through at a critical time in their life. When alot of my clients come in we aren’t just talking about their job or education…we’re talking about their life and no matter what my intention, I’m playing a role in it. That makes me more than just a tie behind a desk and I will not revert to being one.

“Bob Porter: Looks like you’ve been missing a lot of work lately.
Peter Gibbons: I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it, Bob!”

Here are some suggestion for making the work day world a little more fun. These may just be rantings from a delusional man who can’t find the screws for the partition in front of me…but enjoy them anyway.

*Let’s get Darwinian: I say that only the strong survive. So if you can beat a co-worker you get to take their lunch hour in addition to yours. There is no limit to how many co-workers you can take out either. Just to be clear, this isn’t just a physical contest. If you bring a stun gun to work and take out 7 people than you earned yourself a 8 hour lunch. This may turn into something real interesting so for those who want to sit back and watch you can just throw a token in a pot and witness others fight over it.

*Fifteen Minute Rule: Like when I was in college if the boss doesn’t get to class within 15 minutes of the start time everyone can leave…with pay. This also applies to traffic jams…if you’ll be 15 minutes late you can go home.

*Coffee Fling: Sometimes you get a bad pot of coffee (if you’re a snob like me and the office uses Maxwell House than that’s everyday). I propose that if the coffee is not up to snuff you have one of two choices: Fling the pot against the wall while shouting, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” or Reserve the pot for flinging at the next person to say something stupid…your choice.

*Might makes Right: If you deal with people (customers) you know that alot of time they can suck. From things like insisting to see the manager because their hamburger only had two pickles on it to acting like their expenditure of $3.45 gives them the right to dig all in you. I say you can meet any complaint with a physical challenge like that old show Double Dare (singles or teams). If you can beat them then they have to shut up. The nature of the physical challenge is up to the one who issues it.

*Phrase Wars:Just like the movie Office Space, alot of people spew stupid office catch phrases. I say that the rule is if you say it you must pay for it. Throwing staplers, phones or any other office supply at the offender is acceptable. You can also take it back to grade school and give them a swirly or something of that nature. However Friday Phrases are allowed. By the end of the week you may be so fried that all you can do is spew over used mantras about the relief provided by an upcoming weekend…the exception is T.G.I.F. it’s just to corny - unless you’re at a middle-american conservative christian day camp or something.

*Demolition Derby: As opposed to calling a repairman, you are allowed to smash any malfunction equipment. If a fit of rage overtakes you, you can also smash any other equipment in a 6 foot radius of the aforementioned equipment. Smashy, smashy.

*E-mail protocols: I have noticed at my job that people don’t understand certain protocols like: typing in all caps is yelling or not to keep replying to a listserve when you’re talking to one person on it and the original email has an attachment that’s 500kb. So when you are faced with such stupidity you are allowed to travel to the office of the person in question and urinate all over their computer. If you’re not comfortable with this (or just don’t have to pee) you can just smash their PC.

*Fire Good: When you no longer have to use an annoying form, manual or program it is acceptable to gather all of these items into a pile and burn them. If a manager asks you to speed it up or says anything you must burn them in effigy while mugging them down.

*Flirting Rules: When in the office if there is someone worthy of flirting with than that takes precedent. Moreso if you get a good exchange going. Saying I need to get back to work can only be used as a cop out if you can’t think of a snappy comeback. Also anyone who tries to disturb you can be smacked with whatever is handy at the time.

*Wanderlust: If you are out to lunch and come across an old friend or an event or anything that captures your attention than you are allowed to devote yourself to it. You do not have to return to work and you do not have to call and explain where you are. Vauge answers the next day are acceptable. (flirting rule applies here as well despite the lack of another co-worker)

Enjoy and don’t thank me for making the world a better place…just send cash.

“SAMO as an alternative 2 playing art with the ‘radical chic’ sect on Daddy’s $ funds.”
SAMO (Jean Michel Basquiat)

“You see them? Their tags are little black letters on little white cards of paper. My tags are running in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens right now, in every burrough, on every line. It’s eight feet high and it’s beautiful.”Ramo

I really miss Graffiti. I see it all the time, but I miss feeling like I’m really apart of it. I still can decipher the words and I count the strokes. I admire the skills and depth. It’s not the same as when I did it. When I sunk low in the seats of the bus and signed off, or checked out the driver in the mirror while I defaced the window. The ultimate thrill, leaving the house with a backpack full of paints and my caps stored away in the smaller pocket as we walked toward a predetermined location to carve out our niche. I’m like an old man who used to play ball. I recognize some of the players and their skills, but I always have a little dream in the corner of my mind about “I if I had hit that spot”. I don’t hang out in the same way I used to and that makes actually doing it harder. When you’re “in” the streets most of the time it’s easy to get up. I won’t blame working though. One of the best artists in this city would go to work to support his family then at night go out and wreak havoc. He was older than I am now when I was barely twenty. I miss it. I used to draw and practice in my rhyme book and on flat surfaces in my room. I used to scan drawings into computers to see what I could do with them on whatever image program that computer boasted. I guess I’m reminded of this by the sprite wall thing. It seems kind of lame, but looking at some of the other examples people had done it let me know that certain skills were still automatic to me. Where some people just threw things up I had layers, a color scheme and even a signature. I still use my skills but mostly in doing flyers for work or in my bored time when to much “white space” is in front of me. I have to consider the fact that while I may not get up like I used to (not that I was ever known), perhaps my white train is my life. My expedition, to find where I can bring color and style to my world and then sign off with a flair. Since I go through more metal detectors than I used to carrying around a big metal marker wouldn’t really work out as well anyway. Not that I couldn’t…or won’t. Until then my hand written notes and signature will just have to confuse the uninitiated and bring smiles to the faces of those familiar with that aerosol smell and memories of “getting up”.

“I’m going sane the world is crazy”

Here are the top 10 reasons that I am not actually crazy yet.

1) Xbox - If I couldn’t go home and kill digital people I would begin to do it for real. While I love killing the digital figures I really enjoy the joints that have substance and a good story.

2) Working Out - I’m getting to the point where people are asking me to lift things and are amazed that it doesn’t seem that heavy to me. Instead of dreading hitting the weights or running I’m a little upset if I don’t get to. Plus I was banging out in the Y… Flirty, flirty.

3) Star Wars Episode III. I’m in little nerd boy heaven right now and I love it to death. You were the Chosen One!

4) Speaking in a cockney accent. What can I say it just does it for me. Added to the fact that I’m trying to stop cursing it makes the world a little easier.

5) Arizona Iced tea (tall can) This is one of the greatest pleasures of my week. I discovered this awhile ago and recently realized that I’m hooked. If I go into a store and they don’t have it I’m almost angry with them. For one thing this joint is 23.5 ounces of plea-zah. Then it’s only 99 cents. Cheaper than all the smaller bottles of tea or anything else. I dig the Grean tea with plum, but there’s something to be said for the Raspberry tea as well.

6)Making fun of the offices mates. Smart aleck comments fly through the air. Zingers and one liners abound. It is glorious.

7) The sprite refreshing wall website despite the fact that I laughed at it when I found it, it has helped me kill some time in the office without a doubt.

8) Searching for a new pen. I have a thing about pens, being that I write, I dig a certain kind of pen (previously a uniball Vision Elite - Bold) I also don’t like to let people hold my pen. I’ll often keep a pen I won’t use on me to give to people who ask to hold one. Well, I’m currently on the look out for a fountain pen to call my own. Something that will keep my Calligraphy skills up would be great…plus other people would have too hard a time using it to really bother asking. It’s my lightsaber. However I don’t want to spend this much.

9) Keeping up with the outcomes that would leave a mathematical possiblity of the Ravens being able to make the playoffs. Unless they move to the NFC North soon I’ll have to scratch this off the list.

10) Finding ways to tell where the E.D. is in the building and where she is moving to. This wouldn’t be a problem if she always wore heels and no other ladies. I could go by scent, but that’s not a scent I want to know.

This isn’t really a post…just showing you guys how I killed time today…If I could only make it my backround.

“You can do it.”

So as I’ve stated I have alot of crap to deal with these days. So this is how I am dealing with it.

1) I keep listening to this audio file that my mother sent me. Email me if you want to hear. This joint is hilarious…pluse I find it killer that my mother sent it to me. It has now been passed to almost everyone in the office.

2) I’ve watched Episode III twice in the last two days. I keep telling people I have the high ground. Not to mention the fact that I have been analyzing that joint for the last few. TO GUNNER: No I didn’t wait in line…I just muscled some underfed geeks to claim a spot…when I was running an errand for work no less.

3) When the cat is away the mice get down! Never I have I found this more true than in this office. People gather out front while keeping a watch out the window. Lunch time is serious…people take that hour. I’m used to eating and still working. Not in this camp. People leave their office and sit down with food.

4) Lovely Young Interns…unlike my center the interns do not come from the client base, they come from the local university. There is flirting to be had!!! I swear having someone to flirt with sure can make the day go by quicker…now if they were here everyday.

5) Young people have been cracking jokes on this office and situation all week. I almost died in my cubicle yesterday listening to some of their comments.

6) Testosterone. I am back in the mixed crowd. Instead of being the only man I now have support. Ah yes it feels good. Someone to feel my pain.

7) Better parking. One thing that always sucked about the last space was the fact that we were in an area of permit and metered parking. The type of area where you’d be willing to throw hands over a parking space. All this week I have virtually parked in the same space everyday. It does feel good.

8)See #4

9) More things to crack jokes on. The E.D. may not like it alot, however, she is usually the subject of them so piss on her.

10) Rolling my Dollar Coin down the fingers of my left hand. It builds some dexterity, but it also annoys folks when it hits the desk. I love it.

I remain open to suggestions.