Random Musings on Saturn in Scorpio and Mercury Retrograde

                                                                                        

A few days  before Mercury Retrograde even began, I left home one afternoon and ran into 2 former formers--One psycho I'd hope to never see again and the other I think the Universe keeps sending me to him because he has to make right with the situation (He's a Taurus). I'm even more determined to finally use the money saved up for my divorce to file and finalize (ex husband is a Taurus too). Time to end that chapter.

People are lifting themselves right out of my space and some I'm hitting the delete button on emphatically. I've always been pretty good at setting boundaries, putting myself first, not overextending myself to emotional leeches, XYZ, so I'll make sure to continue to do that while I go through this "growth spurt".

Creatively, I've gone back to some old stories. One will remain on the shelf. Not ready yet. I looked it over and... meh. The other one I'm excited to get back to. I'm excited for the adventure my character is going to be on. I'll be including old characters from old work to tell the back story of the characters. Retrograde to move forward indeed. You will love it.

Django Unchained (2012)

 

I finally saw Django Unchained (it opened Christmas Day 2012). I enjoyed the movie. It was entertainment. It's a movie I could (and probably will) watch again. It was your typical man-seeks-vengeance, save-the-princess buddy movie with comedic and psuedo-superhero elements. What's not to love? Men on horses, men shooting guns, witty one-liners -- works for me.

Django (Jamie Foxx) and Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in Django Unchained

NY Post "Subway Death Cover" Should Not Have Been Published

My first thought upon seeing the cover of the NY Post on December 4 was "whoa". I peered deeper at the image trying to get a look at the face of the train operator, physically empathizing for what Ki Suk Han must've been feeling, wishing it were merely a scene from a movie in which at the last second the man would hoist himself up on the tracks narrowly missing his real fate.


And I was disturbed that the NY Post chose to publish that image on it's cover (not to mention it's choice of headline). R. Umar Abbasi, freelance photographer, took the photo. I heard the story on WCBS 880 yesterday before I saw the image -- onlookers screamed and ran from the scene as the photographer tried to use his camera flash to warn the train operator. I can see the logic behind his decision -- a split second panic-driven decision perhaps (Malcolm Gladwell explains this well in blink). But what remains is that photo ended up on the cover of the NY Post.

Giving Thanks

What are you thankful for?

The 5, 6, 7 dishes you get to choose from for dinner today? The egg nog? The pie? Maybe you're thankful for the opportunity to put your feet up and order Chinese food.

Working today? Be thankful for the job and the double or triple overtime pay. I've gone from no job to the choice of 3. I'm thankful.

Be thankful for the big and the little things. Great and small. Expressing joy and gratitude attracts more to be joyous and grateful for.

Random Communications During Hurricane Sandy

Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY, October 30, 2012, the morning after Hurricane Sandy

On Monday, October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. The  post-tropical superstorm (it was no longer a hurricane at that point) had joined forces with a Nor'easter and was generating blizzards, torrential downfalls, winds up to 100 miles per hour and very impressive and destructive storm surges, which were made even worse by the full moon, along the Eastern seaboard of the US.

Black, White and Grey

 

Not shying away from race, we sat in an Italian gelateria and openly discussed black and white. He's from the Midwest and feels at home when he visits NY. He's accepted here for being himself, regardless of his skin color or race that he identifies with.

He broke it down for me. Where he's from there's only black and white. Racially, but also where you live and how you act. The white people who act "black" are called "wiggers". The black people who act white are "Uncle Toms". I was familiar with the terminology although I don't hear them much in my circle. "So you're either black or white, but you, you're grey."

There are stereotypes and generalizations that persist; certain actions, behaviors and mannerisms are assigned to certain groups of people. Certain beliefs and ideologies are considered "normal" for one group and not the other. In his city of 297,000 he's considered weird because of his style of dress and lifestyle. His take? I'd be considered weird too.



In a world of black and white, I'm grey. That's one of the best compliments I've ever received.

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Random Musings on Partialism

Guy A:

It was all about me for the first 30 minutes or so. No complaints there. Then he asked if I wanted to "do more" or "keep going". Sure, I thought. I was attracted to him and still in the mood. I returned the oral favor; he stopped me and commented on my skill level. Ok, we get to it and early on he asked me to squeeze his nipples. All right. Tweak tweak. But when I moved my hands he demanded that I squeeze his nipples again. What does Abigail do? She hooks up with him 2 more times after that.

Race Relations in Motor City (Bar)

Last night, I ended up at Motor City Bar. I like that the vibe there is never pretentious, it's a great mix of clientele and it'll be the setting for my upcoming photo shoot (see: Graffiti Butt)

I had conversations with interesting men at the bar -- maybe because we didn't know one another we were more direct, more quickly. The underlying theme of our conversations: race.

"So whereabouts in Brooklyn are you from?"

I answered his question but later it hit me -- I didn't tell this man I was from Brooklyn. I asked how he knew I was "from Brooklyn" and he said he's been in NY for 25 years and has learned to "just tell". Moments before that, I tried to pinpoint the origin of his brogue. I guessed Ireland, he's Scottish.

Whitney, Religion and the GOP

I didn't watch Whitney Houston's funeral. I didn't have access to a feed. Over lunch, I checked my Twitter feed on my phone and saw tweets extolling on how beautiful the service was (in real-time of course), how they were being taken to "black church", how glad they were that CNN was broadcasting the service, a religious service, and that that was a good thing. Even some tweeters were pleased to the point of pissing in their pants that Jews and Muslims were being shown the ceremony and that made it a "great day for the world".


Not taking anything away from Whitney Houston's career and accolades, I understand the outpouring of affection and reverence. But it made me think about separation of church and state. There's already way too much religion in this election. The same religion that was broadcast by CNN is the same religion of Santorum. I listened to the simulcast of Face the Nation last week and was in shock at what that man was spewing. But his ideologies are the same of the church that so many on Twitter, so many Blacks, were praising. I've never quite understood Black Christians (my family included). Knowing the origin of why Blacks are Christian makes it hard for me to accept that religion as my own. Many accept it as the religion. That's their choice. I don't like it shoved down my throat.

Where's George Money Trail

Chasing the all-mighty dollar.

That's the one dollar bill I received as change for my umbrella purchase on Valentine's Day (before I came face to face with Bruno). The dollar itself was actually very crisp, but it "vandalized". When I looked closer, I noticed the statement: Fishbone Was Here! in the familiar Andy font. I also noticed the request to track the bill at Where's George?®

Yeah, it took me a while, but I finally got around to finding out where George had been...

Open Your Legs, Ladies

Madonna is always opening her legs.



During a conversation in which a friend gave me the play-by-play of the Grammy's (I didn't watch), it segued to Glen Campbell being one of the best performances of the night. I chalk that up to him being from an era where you had to perform and entertain the crowd with talent. This led us to Madonna. I said my last memory of an awards show is Madonna performing "Vogue" and the moment she lifted the bottom of her Victorian gown to "bump and grind it".


I grew excited talking about her "Don't Tell Me" video (male dancers and crotch-watching opportunities) and of course, "Human Nature". That scene where she sits with her legs open and slowly slides her thighs together and snaps them shut. Love it (not to mention the entire video and the message of the song).


Express yourself, don't repress yourself

That's when I made the statement, "Madonna is always opening her legs."



I do too. It's such a comfortable posture. It provides stability. It can be sensual and sexual, depending on context.


And it's frowned upon.

Greendale Community College

I had been slowly falling out of love with Community. I didn't know what was going on this season (and the latter part of Season 2). The episodes just weren't the same. It was as though they felt they had to place the characters in outrageous or "meta" situations to keep the show interesting.


In my opinion, what works for a television show about a study group in community college is to keep the cast and storylines in the community college. I thought we were going back to that formula at the beginning of Season 3 with the introduction of the new Bio professor, Professor Kane (Michael K. Williams from Boardwalk Empire) who merely wanted to know what happened to Lego people while he was in prison.


The first season (and part of the second season) worked because we saw characters go through their arcs in various episodes, dynamic relationships were developed, opponents were revealed...and the episodes were on campus; new characters were introduced to add to the group dynamic (Jack Black harmonizing cracks me up every time), the school dances were perfect for getting all the characters together and working out subplots or having more hilarity ensue, I still sing "Getting rid of Brita" and "Pierce, you're a B", paintball was classic, Halloween, the blanket fort, debate ("Man is evil!"), pottery class, the chicken finger "family", the game of strip pool, Dungeons and Dragons, the STD fair, the Human Being was born then all of a sudden Pierce became a crotchety evil genius, Abed made eye contact and Troy seemed to gain all this life insight; what the hell?

Occupy Wall Street - My Two Cents

I'm reporting to you live from home. Not from Zuccotti Park or Washington Square Park or a holding cell. I haven't been down to the protest site. Me, Miss Rebel Rouser. I most certainly have reason to. I am part of the 99%. Don't have a job to call out from to join Occupy Wall Street (one of the reasons I'm in the 99%). Yet, the protest, the movement, doesn't feel organic. Would I be more inclined to participate if there was tear gas involved? If I had the opportunity to hold hands with Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson? If they were burning effigies? For a protest, there seems to be a lot of rules and regulations and scheduling. Are they simply trying to bait the NYPD into committing brutality?


When they said Occupy Wall Street, that's what I thought they'd do. Block entrances to buildings, camp out in the lobby of 60 Pine Street, clog the Wall Street subway stations. Granted, many of the workers on Wall Street can work from home but maneuvers like that would make the "corporate bigwigs" think twice about coming to work. The protesters are in a park providing walking lanes for commuters. I've read their "list of demands"; there's that tiny sliver of haves that need to realize that the have-nots are pissed. We need to go Robin Hood on them. As result, I haven't ventured to Occupy Wall Street. I've viewed some photos online. Barely sat through 30 seconds of coverage on livestream.


I guess I expected more of this:

Instead of this:

Photo Credit: Ijeoma D. Iheanacho

Those are my current feelings. They are subject to change.

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Frasier Meets 3rd Rock From The Sun

I would love to see Dick Solomon (John Lithgow, 3rd Rock from the Sun) and Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer, Frasier) meet one another. I think their character dynamic would be very entertaining and competitive. Just imagine all the polysyllabic chest-pounding!


Setting:
Seattle, Washington circa 1999


Premise:
Dick Solomon and his family, Sally, Harry and Tommy are new tenants in the Elliot Bay Towers. But how/why do they meet? Dick is a new member or Frasier's wine club, or Frasier is giving a psychiatry talk at the same university Dick where teaches.


Character Dynamics:

Both Frasier and Dick are pompous, multilingual and intelligent but Dick's naivete about Earth and total lack of respect for personal space would become glaringly obvious to Frasier. He interprets it as some sort of psychiatric problem that he must diagnose and treat. Dick mistakes Frasier's interest as friendship but when Frasier begins to label him and insist something is wrong with him, Dick is offended (Nothing is wrong with my brain! My brain is far superior to yours!) and the competitive nature of their relationship begins.

It's A Small WWE Universe

The WWE Universe is vast yet small. Especially to a die hard fan and in New York. On Sunday morning, September 11, on my way home from my doggy weekend, I boarded a bus. I noticed a man sitting in the back. He had a very familiar face. I stole glances and got caught looking several times. I was trying to figure out where I knew him from. My initial thought was his name was Vladimir. I remember him from the 1980's and 1990's--he was always at ringside at all the then-WWF PPV's and house shows at Madison Square Garden. I learned his name when he was featured in the then-WWF magazine.

Music, Inspiration And "Too Much Boogie"

I received goodies in the mail last week -- two erotic short story collections. I just finished reading one of them, Too Much Boogie: Erotic Remixes of the Dirty Blues by Cole Riley.

After looking over the "track list" on the back cover I immediately turned to "Effects of Moonshine" by Dorla Moorehouse. Due to recent happenings in my own life after drinking actual moonshine, I had to read this story. I wasn't disappointed. The heat, the dancing, the bodies...

Planet Of The Apes Meets Jurassic Park

"Caesar, we found an island for you. It's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 
off the coast of Costa Rica. I think you'll really like it." 
"Caesar will go. No more stupid humans."

I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon watching a Jurassic Park marathon. I'm a sucker for a good creature feature. In the third installment of the Jurassic Park (2001) franchise, part of the storyline is the Velociraptors (raptor) are intelligent and can communicate with one another with specialized calls. That aids them in hunting and they can also call one another for help. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) gives a lecture in which he theorizes that had it not been for the cataclysmic event that wiped out all dinosaurs, raptors could have become the dominate species on earth.

Hmm...

In come the apes. 

One intelligent species against another.

Mixers And The Single Woman

Recently I found out about a mixer/meet-up. I emailed the invite to a few friends to see who'd be interested in going. Geraldine and I decided to venture to the Empire Hotel on a Friday night.


I rarely go to mixers. Well, mixers that are advertised as mixers. I attended one earlier this year hosted by WTF Is Up With My Love Life. The object was to find new members for your gaggle. Admittedly, I was more interested in boosting my career.

Cyber Contact And Communication

Before the internet, there's no doubt people were curious about how their exes, one-night stands, could-have-beens or former friends were doing after they'd come and gone from their lives but they didn't have the means to find out without hiring a PI or asking a friend of a friend. There wasn't instant access to someone's day-to-day life. Nowadays, there's frequent trolling of someone's Facebook page, Twitter stream or coincidentally running into someone at the location they just checked-in on Foursquare (that last part is their own fault). I even know folks who get somewhat irritated or annoyed if they log-on to check-up on a former down-low and there are no recent posts; there's an expectation that the "ex" will keep them in the loop with updates. Then the freak out begins: What's up? They not using Facebook anymore? What are they doing? Who are they with?

Can't Afford Free

Photo credit: Fred Guenther

As I sat in the corner two-seater of the Q train, under the refreshing air conditioner blast, two men boarded the train at DeKalb Ave. I went back to my reading until one of the men  began to fill the car with the sounds of his accordion. Girl you look so sharp every time you pass in dem pum pum shorts It was an unconscious distraction as I sang along to the familiar melody in my head.


My phone rang indicating I had a text message. I joined many of the other straphangers in checking our phones while we had service above ground. Halfway across the bridge, I decided to put away my book; I was getting off at the next stop.