I'll Take You There

Hotep! All my former BSU members may remember that greeting from our leather Africa necklace wearing fight the powers that be heyday. Its Friday and a long weekend for some of us, so whats not to love about today? Not much. MLK day is being celebrated on Monday and if you are looking for a place to honor the memory of MLK, you'll find some useful information here to let you know where to get your service on. I can still remember my fifth grade speech in front of the class about Martin Luther King. (You know it was in February too, but thats another story) For a little extra added oomph, at the end of my presentation I read his 'I Have A Dream' speech. Perhaps I was channeling MLK with my voice because the spirit of his words moved me so that my voice cracked and I started to cry. What a great man. Not a perfect man, but a great man. I wish he were here to address this mess. Maybe Sharpton will jump on it because Tiger Woods has already said its all good.

TLA has been biz-zy with the writing as of late. I've still got two pieces to put to bed and another lined up to complete on Monday. A few people have been wondering about the topic of my piece for the City Paper. Well believe it or not I stayed the weekend at a homeless shelter. They wanted me to write a piece on my experience and any connections I may have made while there. You will have to wait until publication to read all the details, but I can say that it was one of my most humbling experiences. I had a lot of time on my hands since I made a commitment to spend as much time inside the shelter as I possibly could. I finished Walter Mosley's latest in between scribing over 20 pages of hand written notes. It's going to make a good read for sure.

I'm set to make my radio debut tomorrow between 11 and 12 noon. I'm going to confirm my appearance tonight, so if you are in the listening area, tune in and check me out. Lots of horehound tea for me tonight to try and rid myself of this lingering cough. Can't clear scratchy throats live on air. The Hot Boyz showed me that.

Has everyone seen Steve Harvey's new look yet? I don't know if he was really rocking an Afro wig or what, but I think the new look does him some justice. What do you think?

I caught No Country For Old Men recently which I highly recommend. Javier Bardem, who won a best supporting actor Golden Globe earlier this week, was the highlight of the film. Next on the list is Atonement and There Will Be Blood. I may have to see Atonement sans my #1 muse, but he's always down for a Daniel Day-Lewis flick.

I copped Raheem Devaughn's new CD this week. I haven't given it a full listen yet, but what I've heard so far I like. I have a couple of his mix CD's and his first disc, which grew on me immediately. I love his voice so I'll give his latest time to get under my skin. Lyrically, he doesn't tend to be overt with his sexy red light bulb lyrics which I appreciate as a lover of lyrical subtlety.

Positive quotes are posted around my desk to keep my mind right so that I don't let evil TLA creep out on the some of these folks I come in contact at the day gig. Someone almost tried to take me there today, but Rev. Run's words calmed me. What did he say to me you ask? He said, "Patience, humility, and the willingness to eliminate what isn't really working will always free you up." Stay willing.