Music Lover's Lament

There's a reason why I shrug my shoulders a lot. I like - better yet - I thrive on spontaneity. But with that impulsive planning comes pitfalls. Sadly, I will yet again miss Black August. As much time as I spent making sure everything was all set and that all of the logistical puzzle pieces fell into their proper spots, my dumb ass forgot to actually buy tickets online early. So goes my life story. Ok, well not really, but in terms of music, there has been a lot of missed opportunities. The amount of anticipation had commited to being in attendance at the show - which should be pretty damn hype at this very moment I'm writing this - was ridiculous. But alas, I goofed on the one ounce of preparation that mattered.

On to other matters...

I'm feeling the RoxVote purpose. The site is not live yet, but there's a
Globe article talking about the voter registration effort in Roxbury. Maybe I should I volunteer.

But the better article is one on Omekongo Dibinga. I remember seeing him perform back in the day when I used to frequent the Boston spoken word scene. Glad to see the brother is doing his thing. And yet, I still have not made any headway or made any moves to get back on stage. Lament, lament, lament. Anyways, I need to get back to writing my daily to-do lists to keep focused. He taught a class at Renaissance and is doing a doctoral program. Sound vaguely familiar? Yup...that was supposed to be part of the plan. Gotta regain my focus...

And in yet other news, I don't know Bruce Wall, but I like his style. I know of his technology labs, but the small, yet meaningful efforts and attention he has drawn to youth violence is admirable. I need to get more involved. Lament, lament. But the mention of Grove Hall in that article did kindle an encounter from earlier today. As I'm about to make a left off Blue Hill onto Warren, who else did I see but two NOI brothers shopping the Final Call. One of whom I am pretty sure was Minister Rodney Muhammad himself. He gave me the real deal speech and I still turned him down. In retrospect, I should have hit him off. While I am not necessarily a fan of selling newspapers on the corner, he did specifically say that "we're trying to make a difference and stop all of the shootings and killing that have been going on." I think I kept it moving because in my mind, I said to myself, 'how in the hell is selling these papers gonna accomplish that?' But apparently, the aditional presence they provide in Grove Hall has been a factor in stemming an drama in that particular part of town. So I need to make sure I go find Brother Rodney and hit him off proper.

And who knew that the simple poster that hangs in the midget's room was conceived by a Bostonian and even has an organization (World Unity Inc.) behind it.