It’s all fun and games until someone gets food poisoning…

Company parties are fun in theory.  You schmooze a bit, you get free food and alcohol.  There’s a plethora of awkward interactions amongst colleagues who otherwise have little in common.  But all in all it’s a win-win situation.  My company tends to congregate at a spot where they serve the most superb appetizers.  I love this spot because I’m convinced it has the best fried calamari in Boston.  (And that’s saying a lot: I consider myself a ‘calamari connoisseur’ of sorts.)  This particular kind is perfectly fried (the breadcrumbs are ever so golden brown), doused in a honey-glaze sauce, and mixed with a pepper/mango chutney-ish mix.  It’s simply divine.  And once word got out that it was my favorite the boss ever-so-kindly ordered more batches.  I indulged of course.  And indulged some more.  I dabbled with the fried mozzarella, even the chicken drumsticks, but I pretty much inhaled as much calamari as possible.  Add two margaritas to the mix.  Later that night I’m involved in a late night phone convo and feeling a little strange.  “I’m exhausted, ate tons…it’s probably just my body’s natural adjustment,” I thought.  But as I started to fall asleep,  I began tossing and turning in pain.  Half asleep I realized something was seriously wrong.  I felt as though I got hit by a buss and just took a ride on some very unsafe amusement ride.  And then it hit me, in a few ways.  The culprit: food poisoning.  This was my first experience with it and it hit me hard.  My calamari had betrayed me in the worst way.  I’m worried this experience will turn my obsession into repulsion, but that is to be determined.  Gluttony and greed are both amongst the seven deadly sins.  I can only imagine this was God’s way of showing me humility.  And I definitely got the memo.

transnational.soul

Happy Independence Day to the motherland, Honduras!

carseats

 

Well if you’re interested, heard this again the other night with a friend in the car.  Dedicating this post to those seats.  They have defined the last year for me.  Seats in vehicles parked, front and back.  Sipping, eating, kissing, clouds made making.  And if you have a good sound system we’ll make it better, funner.  We don’t even make it to the party because the moment we created here is much better.  We get to know each other here.  And we forget where we’re going.

aRoundTown: Boston Artists Spotlight

ThinkForward Media linked up with Justin Springer to bring a night of music to Boston that took place at the Hard Rock Café on July 28th.  Catch up with some of the featured artists and follow the new wave in music on the Boston Scene.

Lance Hayes discusses finding an outlet through music, rap influences, being a ‘regular guy,’ and making you reach that  ‘O.’  Joy Daniels explores redefining the image of the female performer, the “Boston scene,” being a kid again, and how she prophesied her own breakup.  International Show discusses rock influences in his hip-hop, winning IStandard, how traveling overseas got him his name, and why you might see him on your college campus.  Terrence Lomax and Marquis Short discuss capitalizing on video production in the digital age, branching out to new genres, collaborations with Miley Cyrus, and bringing new ideas to your brand – whatever your budget.

See full interviews, music, website links, and photo gallery…

Thanks to MrRizzMeister for all photos!

my sentiments exactly..

Rationality squeezes out much that is rich and juicy and fascinating.

~Anne Lamott

aRoundTown

Scenes from the Concrete Jungle/Annie Mulz store on Newbury St./ Black El “100 Miles” Video Release Party/CaptainDurk/BeyondMeasureProductions produced video. (any more shoutouts need to be added?)

#colorcommentary #what’syourfavoritecolor?

(peep me around 2:28)

deFINition: ambiguous

According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

ambiguous

am·big·u·ous

adj \am-ˈbi-gyə-wəs\

1.         a : doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness

b : inexplicable

2 : capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways

— am·big·u·ous·ly adverb

— am·big·u·ous·ness noun

Latin ambiguus, from ambigere to be undecided, from ambi- + agere to drive — more at agent

First Known Use: 1528

 

Or maybe that’s why I haven’t read my horoscopes like I used to.  They too….  Maybe like that time we stopped talking, but never finished…General responses to friendship and ‘I love you’… Killing time because you don’t know where the present stands… Existing in a perpetual something that keeps you mounted, stagnant… But also relying on endless possibility, future… Responses that are more theoretical than they are asked… Requests that are received but never given… Seeing where there is not, and not seeing where there is… Light sensors that deceive… Elusive qualities that don’t ever let up, you are always just out of reach…

S.M.

BLAck & mILD

I never did see his face.

Or maybe I kind of did.  Maybe I caught a glimpse of the crescent side, underneath the streetlight brilliant shadowy awning.

And maybe I thought, “that silhouette is kinda nice.”  smile to myself with a thought….”my type.”

We came up on him rushing back to the house.  Martha’s Vineyard right after dusk.

We were walking fast as usual.  I don’t think I have the capacity to walk slow.

The scent carried first: a strong, rich, but distinct smell.

The image carried second: He was slim, but everything was cut perfectly.  He slowly strode.  Fitted, sleeveless shirt, shorts, high socks, and Chucks.  I can’t remember but there may have been braids peaking out from the back of his fitted.

Anyways, I mostly saw the back.

The enigma came from the walk, that walk that was to me so defiant.  How could he so eagerly and honestly mess with the flow of progression.  Pace was too confident.

You can tell a lot by how a man walks.  No walk had ever captured me like that.

He stopped his pace when he heard us coming his way.  Turned: “Go ahead ladies.”

iSwoon.

But we passed by at fast pace with a ‘thank-you’ smile and kept on our way.

Crescent silhouette.  Built structure.  Chivalry.  Sigh.

When I looked back he was back at his original pace again.  Like he had nowhere to be.

We were somehow rushing back to fun.  But flashbacks to a style I hadn’t really experienced, and don’t even know I can quite articulate here.

Upright, but loose.  Solid, but flexible. Stern, but nurturing.  Confident, but intraverted.

How can someone you don’t know steal your air like that?  Soulsmokeclouds.  I inhaled his refurbished oxygenated tobacco essence and breathed him in.

Held in too long, the essence created a memory in each one of my body’s sensors.

I know nothing about dude, and yet, the image of him walking in summer Massachusetts darkness runs through my head from time to time.

Maybe the high socks.

…or That walk; that movement.

I remember he smoked

a

black & mild.

S.M.

Right under the beat is soul

Recently, I’ve come across some great hiphop tracks that use a soul voice (particularly female) to serve as the background.  This is nothing new, of course: this technique has been used for years.  But the following two tracks in particular feature vocals from one of my FAVORITE singers, Adele, from her album 19.  (She’s classified by Wikipedia as “an English singer-songwriter.”)  I’ve been a huge Adele fan for years, and I’m glad that over time Adele’s talents have permeated the American soundwaves, simply because well, she’s the real deal.  She has one of the most powerful voices I’ve had the pleasure of hearing.  And I’m really feeling the way the samples are transformed.

Remember back to my post on Childish Gambino’s “Do Ya Like” track?

Most recently I got Big Sean’s highly anticipated mixtape Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG and heard “Home Town,” which uses a sample from Adele’s “Hometown Glory,” but with an interesting manipulation to her voice.

#lupelyrics

they path is not of this earth;

the street that they walk,

they just trying to meet the boss.

Homie that might not be looking good to you,

but they ain’t looking good for you.

They looking good for due,

who’s the most good looking,

‘specially when they looking to.

So me, and you homie they looking through.

Lupe Fiasco – “Dedicated”

Full Track Here.  M put me onto this, many thx.