Amadeo Sogni

“The only thing made for black men in America is jail, fronts and spinners.”
Amadeo

I often speak about how perceptions affect people, and how you judge others. Watch this video and see who lends a hand.

“Yo, aiyyo I got to serve them my way, move give me room
Holdin up your saloon, clean sweep, like a broom
Full moons make me howl like a wolf outta breath…”
Ghostface

Since I’m outta the loop I found out yesterday that my man’s new effort came out…yesterday. I haven’t heard anything from it but I went to Amazon and ordered it (symptom of a working man who should’ve went to Soundgarden). Since they came out Ghostface has been one of my favorite members of the Wu-Tang and since they started doing solo albums he has risen to the top. I will say that Gza is probably the most lyrically talented, but Ghost paints pictures. Plus he uses so much old soul music as samples that it gives him a unique feel. He does more touching songs than I have heard from most emceses, for example…

Stay still Son, don’t move, just think about Keeba
She’ll be three in January, your young God needs you
The ambulance is taking too long
Everybody get the f**k back, excuse me bitch, gimme your jack
One, seven one eight, nine one one, low battery, damn
Blood comin out his mouth, he bleedin badly
Nahhh Jamie, don’t start that shit
Keep your head up, if you escape hell we gettin f**ked up
When we was eight, we went to Bat Day to see the Yanks
In Sixty-Nine, his father and mines, they robbed banks
He pointed to the charm on his neck
With his last bit of energy left, told me rock it with respect
I opened it, seen the God holdin his kids
Photogenic, tears just burst out my wig
exerpt from Impossible

It’s these type of verses that make me have to hear more Ghostface. Though I have a disdain for too much crime type stories, I find that Ghost tells me a story in that environment and doesn’t make it all about the environment, but this particular thing he wants to touch on. Most clearly seen in “Run”. When I hear this song I think if the cops pull up on me I could black out and Run. More than saying, “we getting money” or anything you always hear, he says this is the situation and this is what you better do. All of this cats solo albums were solid productions. He has his own feel and he can easily transport me to another place. The most important thing is that while I know he exists in the now, his samples and some of his references remind me that he came from there…his peoples were playing those records just like ours were and that is a part of him. That’s Hip - Hop.

“With silence favor me.”
(Favete Linguis)
Horace (65 BC - 8 BC)

So much noise. The incessant, unneeded speaking is driving me up a wall. Now I’m a good conversationalist and I enjoy listening, but not to garbage. Currently alot of diatribes I am forced to sit through could only be described as craptacular. That said I have an all staff meeting next week that will be an 2 1/2 hours of listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher. I say hit the main point and if you could have said it in an email than do so. You know I used to always hate when teachers would say I was on their time. Hell-to-the-naw. This is our time and don’t waste on nonsense, besides they were getting paid to be there. If I didn’t go then they send my mother bad letters in the mail. This is doubly true with college professors. Not only are you paid to be here, but I am paying to listen to you…be more user friendly. So here is a list of some of the things that go through my mind at an all staff meeting.

* Is Trey (my man from High School and beyond) listening to this, hell naw he probably thinking how can he get some more money coming in.

*I have to remember to get my moms to Tivo The Boondocks, she gotta see it at least once.

*I need to polish my shoes, gotta keep the Clarks up.

*Oh God, Mr. Banks has to talk, this will be interesting let’s see who he blames. (The Teflon Don - nothing sticks to him no matter how much he screws up)

*What am I going to eat when I leave here.

*We need more Starbucks close to the hood. I’m tired of driving far for a Mocha fix.

*More white girls have butts now, I wonder what’s going on.

*If I start speaking with a Cockeny accent what will these people think?

*What language will I use to greet everyone before my presentation, I haven’t used Swahili.

*Sade is fine as hell.

*I should start writing in graffitti again, that’ll learn em.

*I don’t ever wanna feeeeeeeel, like I did that day…

*I hate parking meters.

*Frank Sinatra wouldn’t sit through this.

*“Is it raining, is it snowing is a Hurricane a blowing…Willa Wonka is on acid.

*I need to memorize “Ne Me Quitte Pas” it sounds sexy when you sing it.

*I wonder what the name of the knot I use in my tie is called, I don’t think it’s a Windsor.

*Jon Stewart is funny.

*I could probably kill 3 people in the room before anyone does anything.

*Is the Executive director wearing supportive stockings like my grandmother has or is that some kinky cross dressing thing?

*I wonder how long I can be out before they think I need to return to the office.

*I hope I present soon then I can spend 20 mins in the bathroom. After that I can pretend someone important is calling me.

*I wonder how many dead trees they’ve given me today. they should just email this stuff.

*The Executive Director needs to take a public speaking course.

*He just said irregardless.

*I should own more artwork.

*Why do people go to the Inner Harbor when the water is so dirty. I know places that aren’t tourist attractions that are much cleaner.

*My brain hurts.

“DIGITAL THUG - one who attacks or aggressively expresses their point in internet chat rooms and message boards. These individuals will curse, type in all caps, randomly insult and do various things they do not have the cajones (balls, minerals) to do in person. Most of these individuals will not address things in any fashion in person.”
excerpt from the A.Slim dictionary

I am having issues with Digital Thugs. Since the Feds only deal with online sexual predators. I have been thinking of some ways to combat this issue and I would like to share them.

Image Recognition - Computers should be built with image recognition technology. They should recognize chumps and throw up firewalls to prevent out of character remarks. Instead of just blocking the remark a warning should come up that says - Sorry your lack of balls prevents you from posting this…grow some.

Shock Therapy - We’ll have people who personally know (and are not friends with) the perpetrator press a button that sends a few jolts of electricity into the chair of the digital thug in question.

Tattletale -detailed reports will be sent to the parents of these thugs showing logs of all the digital thugery they have engaged in. Attached to this will also be listings of any nude photos or pornsites they have visited at anytime.

Boston Noose - This is where we put the perpetrator in a room wearing a Yankees hat, a I Heart Bill Buckner T-shirt and 20 drunk Red - Sox fans with baseball bats. They’ll hit him wicked hard.

Chicago Variation - Basically the same as above except we dress him up like Steve Bartman and tell 20 drunken Cubs fans that he thinks Ditka is gay.

Jay and Silent Bob’s final solution - Airlines will be required to give free airfare to anyone who uses the I.P. address to track down a digital thug in order to go to their home and physically pound them.

I don’t like digital thugery.

“The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Since we love awards so much I have some more to give out. Let’s call these the STFU awards (geek inside). These are for those people I just need to stop hearing say things. You talk to much and make little sense. Everyone here is dumber for having listened you receive no points be seated and may GOD have mercy on your soul.
B.T.W. President Bush automatically wins and I’m just to tired to talk about him.

Mr. Cheney is the first on the list. Not just because he will raw out on someone. Not just because if I shoot someone in the face by accident I’ll be in handcuffs quicker than…well no one get’s locked up quicker than young black men. Most especially this award goes to Cheney because his Vice Presidential Rider demands that all T.V.’s in his room be on and tuned to Fox news. That’s like be demanding that all T.V.’s must show porno’s starring me serving well!

This award was really given out already by Nicholas Kristof. He and Bill O’Reilly were feuding and Kristof is big on the things going on in Darfur. Kristof suggested that O’Reilly come to Darfur with him and see what’s going on. O’Rielly said, of course, he couldn’t cause he had to do his show. Well Kristof said he’d pledge the first $1000 in an effort to raise money to take O’Reilly and get him satellite phones and everything so he could still do his show. To date Kristof has raised $727,568 to take O’Reilly to Africa. A warm cup of STFU for Bill paid for by Mr. Kristof.

If your not from Baltimore or Maryland this guy may not be familiar to you. If you have family from here ask them. This dude has made inappropriate comments about immigrants, women and just about anyone or anything else you can imagine. The worst part is he has been in some for of office since I was a child, Mayor, Governer, Comptroller. He has sexually harrassed women and the worst part about it is…He’s gay. My grandmother and anyone over 65 can tell you that. My granny told me all about his “beard” and everything. The funny thing is my office used to be a bathhouse and it’s dedicated to him. STFU!

“Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.”
Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Of course my never ending quest to find concentrated pockets of intelligence are coming up short. Perhaps I’m watching the news too much. I have a sudden yearning to stick my thumb out and hitch a ride on the closest UFO available.

That reminds me piss on the folks who didn’t want Mos Def to play Ford…you tossers. Anyway the country is stupid. Our leaders are stupid. We had a discussion in the office about who could step up to be the next great leader. Since politics are slimy and you need people with money to back you, any politician is out. I can’t name a strong black leader who is gaining momentum. So we figured the person has to be rich. Atheletes tend to slip into leadership roles easily, but this is where people have been knocked off:

Magic:
The country has a hard enough time voting for someone who’s single, but a black man with H.I.V. it won’t happen.

Jordan:
Jordan could have done it except for the gambling and infidelity. Now follow me on this…I don’t have a big problem with these. I find it hard to expect someone who people have looked at as money in the bank since college or high school to really be faithful. I mean most star athletes marry someone right away cause after the money is coming in it’s hard to trust people you meet. Alot of times even those marriages are like political ones. The gambling. If I made millions a year it wouldn’t mean much to me to bet 20k on something random. Hell I figure if Jordan bet you 20k he’s being nice to you by not jumping out of your range. However the hint of scandal is worse than actual scandal, speaking of which…

Kobe:
Kobe had a good chance…until his scandal. I’m not a fan, but I don’t hate him. I don’t believe he did anything wrong, but the hint of scandal. He actually had to go to court. Now he’s lucky to have a new commercial out. Some say his infidelity is his downfall, but once again…when he was a senior in high school the whole country knew about him. He got married then got drafted I expect some extra-curricular git down. Now he’s tainted. No leadership for Kobe.

Shaq:
Shaq has the best chance out of all these guys. No scandal, championships, he is an honorary cop. The only things that go against him are as follows: Shaq-Fu, Kazaam, Steel, and any other multimedia venture. I think people can’t take Shaq seriously.

I won’t put any football players on the list because in the NFL you get fined for wearing the wrong color socks so those cats are conditioned and anyone who doesn’t fit the mold is demonized. I don’t like baseball and most of the stars are from another country anyway. So here it is my #1 choice for who could be the next big leader…

Oprah:
She’s got the money and the influence. I mean if I write a book and she says it’s good I’m rich. If she brings me on and I make her unhappy the country hates me. She can do it. The problem is I know she won’t. I’m not just saying that because I don’t like the fact that she’s always on the cover of her magazines…which I hate. Give someone a chance dammit! Like the man said she gives away cars to make sure they don’t come down on her. So everyone go home tonight and pray for Oprah to go Angela Davis on America. She could have white suburban house wives wearing black leather and berets. Maybe I’m just a dreamer though. Oprah’s revolution will be televised!!!!

“Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.”
Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805)

Coffee0072 asked:
Can I copy this idea, using a slightly different format? I think this is a great idea. Also, if you could have one moment in space and time, to do anything… with anyone (whether it be good, naughty, or downright evil)… What would you do, and who to or with?

Feel free this isn’t a paid idea anyway, but steal my show idea and my lawyers will eat you.

This is easy…I would lay next my wife with the knowledge that the kid’s were at grandma’s and as she slept I would plan some wonderful trip that we could all go on, secure in the knowledge that my business would maintain itself and I could get some writing done as we traveled.

The problem is I’m still casting for the female lead.

“Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without…”
Tears for Fears

I am having some issues and like Frank Costanza on Festivus now you people are going to hear about it. The pic is like the Chewbacca Defense. “Look at the angry kitty.”

U.S.A
So every country thinks they’re the greatest and has faith, that’s fine with me. The problem is just because you invent something doesn’t mean you’ll crush people at it. Especially when many of the stars in our league are named as follows: Martinez, Rodriegez, Ortiz, Matsui…you feel me. If half your roster comes from another country this means you’re probably not the best in the world. This goes double for Hockey. They should just do a coin toss and give the medals to either Canada or a slavic country.

The Prez needs rest
I don’t want to hear anything about the President being tired. He has a staff bigger than my caseload and he has had more vacation time in a year than I have throughout my career. I don’t want to hear any whining about, “He’s tired” do what I do for my salary and then complain. Hell eat lunch with me for a week. I wish I could say somethings parallel to his words. Imagine me in a meeting, “I don’t let my managers opinion affect my decision making.”

Gangsta
People have to find new ways to define themselves. One more time folks: gangsters usually sit in an office directing criminal activites and collecting money. They don’t do drive-bys, they don’t stand on the corner hustling. Thugs do all that and for real who really wants to be a thug. As I tell my clients when you watch an action movie, say one starring Bruce Lee. Thugs are the 50 people he beats in three kicks without any trouble. Thugs are the people Chow Yun Fat drops with his first 6 clips of ammo. All thugs do is die so the real boss can get away. Even when the real boss can fight he throws 100 thugs at the hero to tire him out. You aren’t gangsters and you don’t really wanna be a thug. Get a new hustle…like three card monty.

Reality Shows
I am tired of reality shows. We all know the basic format now so I figure just have a show where you tape people backstabbing, fighting, having sex, and ripping on each other. The only show I will watch at all is The Real World. That’s only cause I have a game. Find the black person, find the people who are going to fight and find the crazy person. I just hope they aren’t the same person. The main reason I continue watching is to see what happens to the black person. This season seems like it might not count since there’s a mixed girl and a latino dude…I’m not sure who to root for. I did find the crazy person in the first episode though.

Reload asks:
Why have you moved me to the absolute last spot on your blogrolling list? Have I done something to make you displeased with my blog? Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely honored to be here and would rather be last than none at all.
Also, you have Dallas Pen/Dallas Penn twice on your list. Will you consider deleting one of them?
Finally, what have your housemates been up to lately? I always find their antics outrageous.

I didn’t move you to the last spot, my blogrolling account is formatted to a diamond shape and I noticed that it flips. Usually this happens when I’m going down the list reading people’s blogs by the time I get near the bottom the list has flipped so I have to go to the top to finish. If it makes you feel better normally you’re at the top. You’ve done nothing wrong continue writing. I actually forgot I added Dallas Penn already so thanks for pointing it out. In regards to the Housemates…that will have to be a post in itself, it could be a book.

Coffee0072 asked:
What if you just let yourself NOT ponder the trials and tribulations of life, and you spent 2 hours (or even a day off) doing anything and nothing… do you think you’d find joy in the mundane? Or would you feel guilty for allowing yourself one moment to experience being epicurean?

I do find joy in the mundane and I will take a day off and do nothing with a quickness. My problem is being able to maintain that. I’m like Ellen Ripley, when the aliens show up I can stay calm and kill them and survive. When they leave though I start thinking about their nature and find it hard to stop. Breif respites are easy it’s maintaining it that’s hard.

Billy Sunday asked:
Did you collect comic books when you were coming up? who was your favorite character? who was your favorite artist?

when you get a chance would you mind adding another ‘n’ to your link for Dallas Penn?

I did have a comic collection and I actually still have it to this day I’m just not adding on to it. Wolverine was/is my favorite character. Despite the fact that he could heal he took alot of punishment. The older I grow I identify with Spiderman - how will I save the world, get the girl and keep my bills paid?
Hell yeah I’ll add a link Dallas Penn is dope ya’ll.

Nikki asked:
What is the most important intangible gift you wish to give to kids?

The will to follow a dream. I wrote once: Working for years out to get this gold parachute/ the children can fly we be teaching them how to paratroop I think we ground our children too hard and prevent them from pursuing what we think is impossible dooming them to mundane billpaying lives.

Brother Omi asked:
When you coming down to Hampton Roads?

I planned to come down last month and didn’t. I’ll probably end up down there on the humble…keep posting them events I won’t be able to fight it long….beside ya’ll had the Dri Fish down there and I can’t let his Dishiki thongs and Coofi condoms represent for us.

Keep asking folks this gives me time to come up with ideas for original posts.