2008

Its crazy how so many people had a pretty sorry 2008 and cant wait for 2009. So let me say in my usually dramatic fashion that 2008 was the all-time worst! With such dissonance and disarray its ironic that 2008 carries so much weight and importance. I'm seeing that the universe has a way of balancing itself out. With that being the case 2009 is going to be the greatest of all time...

Department of Transportation

I wont be taking driving for granted for a while. This past weekend i found out that my license is suspended, and has been so for the last 6 months. Apparently i'm an irresponsible dude. Last february i http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwent to NC to visit my family for a weekend and to get away from my roommate who was bothering me. On the way back i got pulled over for going 5 MPH over the speed limit. (as i mentioned in a post in February) In the midst of traveling and training and working and having too much fun i forgot all about this stinkin ticket. As it turns out, that was a costly mistake. I'm sure sometime in the last few months i thought about paying it but it just wasn't a high priority for me. Not such a good idea either. When you don't pay tickets, they don't just go away like i originally thought. So now instead of a $125 ticket, i have a $251 citation. I think they taxed that extra dollar at the end to mess with me. But thats not really the problem, the issue is i have to either mail the check to the court and they'll get back to me whenever they feel like it, and THEN i can get my license reinstated. or i have to drive to a place called mecklenburg North Carolina and pay it in person. I may not be driving until thanksgiving if this is the case. Moral of the story: pay your tickets, especially when out of state.

Katy Perry Remix

***May not be suitable for minors***

Check out my remix. And Of course i did the budget visuals for it. Hold your applause!

THE RNC (YEEEE HAAAAW)

I've been delinquent in my bloggery. I've been remiss in not commenting on how proud i am of "obiden" and the dnc. But what better time to write than the start of the RNC. Its old, its raggedy, its curmudgeonly, and its the rally for the retards and for whatever reason i'm gonna watch the majority of it. Already in the 1st two nights it lacks luster, but i guess the conventions have never been about excitement rather a platform to restate policies and agendas. But with Obama on the other side, and a woman with whom controversy follows, its become very entertaining. It is sort of a circus. Something the tabloids will get a hold of. Im sure Palin is gonna be on those crappy magazines you see at the grocery check-out lines for months to come. Needless to say, im voting for Obama. He's Black, i'm Black...thats good enough for me. But seriously, like a good friend of mine said to me on the phone the other day "you'd be crazy to not vote for Barck O if you want something better for this country." I agree. These folks giving their speeches at the RNC have this convoluted quote stating its not about the party its about the country. I thought thats what it was always supposed to be about.
The Repubs keep bringing up "keeping the country safe" and 9/11 no doubt was the catalyst for it all; putting fear in the heart of your enemies is a good tactic on most levels....So lets look at this thing objectively, no one fears McCain, i mean, look at him. And if he is no longer able to perform his presidential duties (smart money is betting on it) Palin will have her finger on the button? Word? You tell me what "our" enemies will think then. Not a good look. But for the next two days let the idiocy continue.

Not Broadcasting Coloreds

1st off let me state that i'm a fan of michael phelps and think what he did was amazing and we probably wont see anything like it ever again, hopefully...The news media is having way too much fun with the story. Phelps this, Phelps that, look at michael phelps mom and sisters. Its the kind of sensationalizing I would love if i had any prior interest in these people. But see the thing is the united states is only interested in such athletes every four years, and only if the 42 year old soccer mom would approve. I'd hate to think its a racial thing.
NBC did a few segments on his mom preceding his races and it quickly turned into over kill. Then came Dara Torres and Misty May-Treanor and a bunch of other stories that all superceded any track events. They let you know well ahead of time that they were showing Dara Torres at 10:37 PM and Michael Phelps was 7 minutes after that. That left me sitting there for 3 plus hours wondering when the hell are they going to show the 100 meter final? I'd like to get on with my life. I guess theres no intrigue in the 100 meters anymore since we're all on that stuff. Or is there no intrigue becuase usian bolt isnt a figure that white americans can embrace? I'm sure that's part of the equation. All i know is beach volleyball, while mildly entertaining, should never under any circumstance get more air time than track and field. And Michael Phelps mom doesn't deserve more camera time than David Oliver or Lauryn Williams.

Thank You For Smoking!

Why do people smoke? I've been trying to figure this out for the past 2 weeks. Weed, crack, blacks, black and milds, i hates it all! I go to the club and catch the back draft of a smoker or i'll talk to a girl and she'll decide to light one up mid-conversation, it aint nothin nice. I've had the experience of smoking back in the earlier years and it was work. I felt a lil sick, i smelled like trash. Not a good look. For those who have never smoked a cigarette, try it, see how it is. You'll see that it must have taken an incredible amount of tolerating such an unpleasantry for an extended period of time to become a person who "needs" a smoke. On second thought, bravo for the commitment! Bravo...

A Bolt Past the World Record

I tried my best to come up with one of those corny headlines sports writers always use, i think i did pretty good. Usian Bolt broke the world record saturday night and beat tyson gay in the process. Tyson Gay being the world champion in the 100 and 200 in 2007...Thats pretty big if you ask me. It is likely that running against Tyson will scare you into running faster but he probably was going to break it soon anyway. The best part of it was, it was on national TV in NY city where people who dont really care about track (92.4% of americans) could actually see it or at least hear about it. Congrats to the Bolt.
NOW...The worst part of it is, it was on national TV in NYC where every track cynic can see or hear about it. It wasnt just people who dont follow the sport, it was people who are knee deep in it too that started the negativity. Being that its an olympic year they decide they want more track to come through your television set and with that ESPN is showing Golden League meetings in europe and where ever else. So the day after Bolt broke the record the Istaf meeting in Berlin came on ESPN2. They also ran the 100, but the winning time was "only" a 10.07 by my man Nesta Carter. So dwight stones gets on the mic and says "thats his all time best time...not really impressive after what we saw in NY last night...usain bolt, what a star hes going to be." My opinion is that track is suffering in the states and dwight stones, who covers pretty much all major track events, shouldn't be shooting other athletes down like that if we're trying to get people interested in it again. Way to go Stones!
#2. I turn on Pardon the Interruption yesterday to see if they'd talk about it and sure enough they did. I was thinking man, this is great, track is getting some media attention. They finally get to talking about it and the 1st thing they say is they dont think its a legitimate record. Stating that either the timing was off or that he's on some magic pills. I mean, why it gotta be all that? I guess you're just damned if you do in track. The 1st thing you think when anyone does and thing remarkable is that they're on that stuff. I sure hope he isnt, but im not gonna bedowngrade the man for running that fast. I hope he breaks it again...actually i hope asafa breaks it. Im out...

ProTools 7.3

IM SICED!!! We have the new studio and as of last night it is fully functional and ready to go. We're about to run a well oiled operation here. So wack Rappers and Singers, get at me...i can even make your $#!T tighter!

Train Harder...Run Slower

...And we're back!
I'm pretty new to this whole track thing, especially the international competition aspect of it. Compared to other people on the circuit i'm a virgin. But who cares? The whole point of training the way i have been is to be able to lay it down and perform well under any circumstance anywhere in the world. Thus far it has not been the case. After last season i knew the 2008 season would be one of historical improvement. I ran world class times with half-assed training (i'd give it a 5.4 on a scale of 10 in terms of difficulty and amount of focus i had) a crazy party life and a couple of jobs on top of it all. Oh, by the way, i didnt go to the weight room once in 2007. So i figured i'd do damage with more intense training (including weights) better supplementation, and no partying and drinking until 6 am and then practicing at 10. With all that going for me i'd surely run a personal best or better yet a 9. I'm a solid 10.40 sprinter every time out. Tailwind, headwind, 103 degrees, freezing cold, it doesnt matter you're going to get a 10.40 out of me. I'm starting to think that maybe my body doesnt respond to the high intensity training and that i need to get rest more than i would have expected. Truth be told, i dont really have a coach, and the coaching i have been getting hasnt put me in a place to be successful. So for the rest of the season i'm just going to write my own workouts, tape myself and study my weaknesses. I did it last year and it worked and they say a broken clock is right twice a day. I just need it to be right once in this year.

I no longer give compliments

Usually before i write something i think about it for a couple of days so i dont come off all emotional like but this one is something else. i´ve been in brazil for what seems like three months but really is only 2.5 weeks. Everybody talks about how brazil got the greatest women and you´re gonna fall in love and not come back and so forth. That aint the case. Dont get me wrong, there are some that i wanna bring back, but just as i suspected some aint gettin it done.
So after each meet to get paid you go down to the secretary´s office and they make a copy of your passport, you sign some paper and they give you cash in exchange. Well at this particular meet there was this FIRE brazilian girl working there who gave me my money and spoke okay english so i figured i´d say something on the way out the door.

"you´re absolutely beautiful."

she replies

"No, thanks"

What? I was confused. It took me a second to even realize what just went on. I´m not even sure what the tone was, it was sorta sheepish but also a little disgusted that i even spoke. It wasnt the 1st time i´ve told a girl that but it was the 1st time i´ve been shot down. I thought it was pretty innocuous. I guess in giving a compliment she thought i was trying to get at her. I cant say that i wasnt trying to, but i certainly didnt give her the full court press. So as every tick of the clock passes i get more and more hot. I walk up to big aubs room and tell him about it and he had the same reaction i had. He turned out to be more hot than i was and he´s still indignant like 3 days later. One bad apple spoils the bunch. From now on, i say nothing. Also, i´m taking the D.O. approach. If you talk to me and i act stuck up or like youre not on my level it´s probably because youre not

TIMES IS HARD!

Something about downtown Atlanta is special. Since i've moved into the new condo about a week and some days ago i've gotten to see a lot more of the actual downtown area as opposed to the midtown area. Unlike midtown, downtown atlanta has yet to be fully gentrified and the result is more crackheads in a concentrated area. I gotta tell you, the atlanta crackhead is unlike any other. They're jive ruthless and overbearing but sometimes they're even comical. But lately it seems like everybody is on that stuff. A while ago a dude in a suit smoking a cigarette asked me for some change, i guess he was the sophisticated bum. Then you got your bum crackheads that always wanna get a quick ride down to the local wal-mart, and this always amazed me. Its happened 3 times this year that i can distinctly remember. I think they figure since they aint got nothing to do that i aint got nothing to do. Then last and most disturbing you have your ol' lady bum. She looked like the church lady in the 1st row with the fruit basket on her head who drives the old cutlass. She was backing out the parking lot yesterday and saw me, stopped and asked "excuse me, can you help me get a gallon of gas?" She really didn't look too safe but for some reason i felt bad for her situation. I'm like damn i know the gas is high but is this how you gotta pay for it? I cant call it but something aint right out here. Obama for prez

Kobe or Lebron (A Debate...)

First thing you should know about me is that i'm 100% a kobe hater. Obviously im proud of that. But you know something, coming in at a close second is LeBron James. I love the wizards (its probably hard for some people to understand) and as usual the wizards play the cavaliers in the 1st round. Somehow fate is just working for this matchup to happen annually. So with that, i've gotten to see a lot of the cavs over the last 3 years and that means "king" james as well. Im not sure if thats blasphemy or what but i guess since him and Jay-Hova are boys he figures thats whats up. If you have watched at all then you've heard about this lil beef or whatever between bron bron and deshawn stevenson. Deshawn called lebron overrated, lebron calls deshawn soulja boy (i'd say deshawn is more rick ross, but thats just me) thus the rivalry begins. Somewhere in the middle of all this soulja boy shows up at a wizards game wearing a deshawn stevenson jersey and then jay-z amazingly takes the time to make a song about deshawn stevenson. Worse yet, some disloyal ass DJ in DC is bumpin this song while caron n nem are there. I hope this was lebrons personal DJ and not some dude who was happy to get an exclusive. Anyway, it got a lil chippy out there on the court and it looked like lebron and deshawn were about to throw punches. Kinda funny seein bron ball up his fists like hes about to fight but whines when he doesnt get a foul called. But the genius Charles Barkley said it best "nba players cant fight, they just wanna look like it." Take Kobe and Chris Childs for instance...Im just sayin

Music

Titled plainly enough, i just thought i'd ramble on about music for a paragraph or two. As i've been on the road for the last month or so i've kind of been off of my musical grind. Actually i've been completely off. I havent called any of my contacts, i havent come up with many melodies or hooks. I have more or less retired from it, for a lack of better words. I think i needed it because when i moved out of the old apartment, i was wild frustrated son! I hated the thought of dealing with the crap for another day, so i just said "im out!" But as usual, i've gotten the itch back to come up with something and i really cant wait to get in the lab. When i take a break from it i usually come back better than when i left. Hopefully the same thing happens again.
Why when i tell most people i know that i like Maroon 5, Kenna, Paramore and other artists that are lesser known to the typical black person am i looked at with a bit of disgust and confusion? I mean cant i like something other than rap? I try to listen to everything and i try to get inspiration from anybody anywhere, and it really helps me with ideas when hearing other genres. Basically i've noticed my taste in music is nothing like the mainstreams tatse in music. Its a bit of a problem when trying to go mainstream with my own work. It IS somewhat possible that i can use my very discriminating ear to my advantage when im in creative mode. Not that im trying to puff my chest out but people who dont make music wont truly understand it even though they may nod their head in agreement.

"The Olympics is Just Another Track Meet"

Every now and then you hear something that you just cant believe and it would take a personal experience to either confirm or deny. The other day me and an olympic athlete were having a discussion about competition abroad and traveling and a whole lot of other track related stuff. Somewhere along the way he pauses and says "dre, honestly, the olympics is just another track meet." I was almost offended. He offered his reasons why, stating that television makes it look all big and glamorous and the most prestigious thing you could ever be a part of. He says its all of the same athletes as any other track meet he goes to; a lot of the people hes competing against are people he lives with, trains with, knew from college etc. Initially it sounded crazy but as im in more and more meets with olympians and world champions and their ilk, it does start becoming the same and i can imagine how it just doesnt have as much luster as you'd expect. So with that said, i need to find out for myself.

Yall Be Good Now Hear?!

Im gonna keep this short and sweet becuase i dont want this post to be morbid or depressing, but monday morning my grandma florine passed away after a bout with cancer. I love you grandma. Rest in Peace

PHX & BEYOND!!!

Jacksonville to Atlanta to Phoenix to Los Angeles to Atlanta to Jacksonville...Got it? Remember that...Thats the general travel itinerary for the next 10 days. Im goin out to the PHX for the arizona state sun angel invitational/classic or whatever its called and im sort of amped! I've never actually been to phoenix and dont know who or what is out there except the Suns and the hot; not to mention i was giving the gainesville folk the business in the starts yesterday. I think im going to run something pretty good out there. I'm guessing i'll stay out there in phoenix for a week before we go to Mt. SAC relays where it seems like EVERYBODY and their sister is going to. I cant wait!!!
Aight, so yo, i didnt really want to drive up to jacksonville, i'd prefer to just leave gainesville the night earlier and fly out of atlanta to catch the connector straight out to phoenix. Mainly I dont want to leave my car at some extended economy parking lot for 10 days and pay like 10 bux a day. But they aint havin that. Even though the connector is out of atlanta, its gonna cost me an extra 320 bux just to leave straight out of atlanta and skip the jacksonville part. It doesnt make sense, and it seems rather ridiculous. Anything to get their stinkin money.

UGH YOUNG!

gainesville: florida relays: the 100...its about time i ran a real race. Ive been down here since early tuesday morning and have felt pretty tired since. truth be told i didnt know what to expect as far as times go and maybe i shouldnt be too upset that i ran what i did. Its always funny to me how i practice a few block starts on race day and feel like a beast and i think im gonna run a 9.something and it turns out to be some trash. Then the days where i feel like theres an ape on my back before i the gun goes off and i'll hit something tolerable. OH, i ran a 10.43 with a +2.5 on the wind, thats where the "ugh young" comes in to play. Pretty damn terrible but not as bad as that 1st race of last season.
Yesterday i was doing block starts with rashaad and bernard and on start number two i felt a click in my neck. Oh Gawd, i know what that means. IT means im gonna be walking around with my head turned to the side for the next 3 days. Some people call it having a crook in their neck. I was able to pull of a couple more starts before the actual pain kicked in and i was running pretty well, although i felt like i was workng really hard just to get rolling. i packed it up and rolled back to the palace that is the exteneded stay of gainesville where the pain kicked in. Lets just say i didnt enjoy the rest of the night...
Anyway, there was nothing really to speak of about the actual race other than it seemed long and it was the opener. Doyle says hes pleased with where i am at the moment and the times will come. Its hard to take because the times at the moment suck! But hey, maybe i'll take another sixty six hundredths of a second off of this 10.43 and take tysons job...

Precarious Living

I make beats...Usually not for the fun of it, at least not anymore. And really the fun has been sucked out of it by the powers that be, so all im trying to do these days is get paid for my services. Not to mention i need the money...So check this out, a guy i gave some tracks to (we'll call him "yung rapper") owes me about 3 stacks. (three thousand dollars for those that dont know) He put my music on his mixtape and myspace page and blah blah blah. Well, come to find out young rapper died this weekend...

What am i supposed to do now?

Words of advice from the people would be greatly appreciated

Workin On Some Things

'Yeah im tryna get in pocket, im gettin some things together...I'm just really makin sure everything is everything.' Its been a rough stretch the last 2 weeks or so. The finances aint financing. And in turn the computer aint puting, and the internet aint nettin, and so on and so forth. In a couple of days i'll be saying goodbye to GA and hello to FLOrida. Im actually looking forward to gotdamn getting out of "the A" and getting around more, dare i say, conservative people...if you know what I mean. Training has been going okay. My back is probably just gonna be on and off for the rest of the season so i'll just have to deal with it.
Making music is hit and miss as usual, but there are some big things in the works if we decide to not fumble at the goal line. If you havent noticed im not speaking in specifics for the sake of diplomacy, also for the sake of overly sensitive people. For a business thats so fickle and based on other peoples opinion im really surprised there are so many hypersensitive ego-maniacs in it. I dont like it, and I hope i never become one of them. You really cant get to big for your britches cuz in urban music you're lucky to get a 18 month shelf life before you become radioactive. But pray for me, its probably only gonna get worse before it becomes great. And for all those people who complain about me not updating my blog regularly but then dont post a comment, you can step off...

Sherquatta (Jenkins...probably)

Well, this actually happened about a week ago but I finally realized that I need to say something about it. I went to target to get my customary box of cereal when I ran into this pretty young lady with whom I somehow engaged in a lengthy conversation. She was well spoken, outgoing, down to earth and so on. So, on the way out the door I built up the gumption to ask her name and get her number. She says "I'm Sherquatta, and you are ?" I wasn't sure what she said until I gave her my phone and she typed it in. She said it with such confidence and she really seemed oblivious to how ridiculous it sounds...Sherquatta? Seriously? What the hell is that? I just hope when it came out of her mouth that my face didn't show the confusion and possible disgust. In my previous dealings with women with hood names, they dont think their name is anything other than exotic, literally. Maybe I'm wrong, I mean most people will never say or spell my last name correctly, and Maybe we have the same last name...Sherquatta Sturdivant :(

Crank That Arsonal

Maybe I'm just getting old, maybe I'm just jaded from the business, or maybe urban music really just sucks these days. For those that don't know I'm probably the hottest producer in the unknown universe, at least I think so. This weekend I met with another rapper, we'll call him "Yung Rapper," and as usual we listened to my tracks, I gave him my ideas, then i listened to his music and I say "yeah man we can definitely work, imma hit you up tomorrow." Pretty standard. Its funny that I relocated with the intention of making moves in the music industry (mainly because DC doesn't really have much of a market for music, plus the bammas be hatin) but being in Atlanta with my "sound" has really gotten me stuck and lacking enthusiasm for working with the artists. Anyway, I called Yung Rapper like i said i would and he didn't pick up and hasn't called back and its just the same cycle of nothing. On another note i got a Demo cd from a dude with tracks entitled "crank that spongebob," "pockets on lean," "and make it rain on em." I cant do nothin with that. So basically I'm in a rut and need to find a way out. What i've been doing these days is just give my beats for free to artists I'm feeling or who i think has potential to change the musical sound scape. So soulstice, if you feel the instrumental, its yours. Until you get some major money behind you then i want my damn cut!

Valentine Invitational

Finally, I raced again. After three weeks of training and no competition I got to see what all these days on the practice track amount to; a 6.39 in the 55 meter dash. Thats not terrible, but not good either. Kenny G and I left for Boston Friday in the AM, and got there at like 4 PM with the stinkin layover in the middle. By the time we got there it was snowing and the T station from the airport shut down, so we had to hop on this shuttle bus with 193 other people to the hotel. It pretty much sucked but i enjoyed listening to the McBostonites talk. The departed was on point with how the city is. So, back to running...I felt aggressive getting out the blocks for the 1st time in a while, but all that aggression led to a stumble about 10 meters in and messed me up for the next 45. I've invented a new place to trip up in the race. Usually you'll stumble the first or second step, maybe the third but tripping on the 6th is just retarded. And in doing so i kept myself from going to indoor nationals and getting over this hump of actually participating in a national meet. Anyway, somewhere in the race this dude, sideeq or something like that, passed and actually beat me. I'm not so sure if losing pissed me off or the fact that when I went to shake his hand he snubbed me like he was the s**t. So i told him "i'll see you at the trials," knowing he wont be there. Hopefully I do see that little scrub again so I can give him the business. Hey, At least I beat Kenny G in the 200 and got to see Fenway park.

BLACK COP

On the way back from North Carlina I got pulled over for speeding. Yes, thats right speeding...Going 75 in a 70. At least thats what the ticket cited. My speedometer was at exactly 73.1 when I noticed the cop, so i think they were juicing the radar. All I know is, they should have better things to do. Or maybe not, they really gotta regulate these insane drivers on the highways going 5 mph over the speed limit. I'm a goddamn menace on the road! The ridiculousness never ends. Oh yeah, the cop was black, so I'm sure when he saw an impossibly good looking brother such as myself in his fancy 2002 altima he got jealous...He could have let me go with a warning and that would have worked to "slow me down" but I guess thats too much. What a jerk. I'm heated about the whole exchange. Its a 150 dollar ticket man. Either pay that or go to court in some place in South Carolina that I've never heard of. Looks like i wont be getting the Jordan XX3s

The Perfect Ending

Ahh yes, the Patriots. The craziest part is the Giants of all teams were the ones to do it. Who would have thought? I'm sure somebody is gonna say they called it, but when the playoffs started I really don't think that anyone stated their claim with any real conviction. I'm happy for the New York Football Giants. Anyway, time for the Patriots; my coach is the biggest patriots fan in the history of the universe, which in turn makes me hate them. I called him during the game and of course he doesn't pick up. I cant imagine what his house was like during the 4th quarter. I just know I'm glad i wasn't there. Sorry Doyle...heh. Truthfully, the Pats got what they deserved. I mean like, them dudes are just a tad too smug. Plaxico spotted them 17 points in his prediction, they got 14, after all that s%*t they talked. It kind of reminds me of the Lakers in the early 2000s. Boy, did I hate them too. I called Doyle again (Doyle = my coach, btw) and he doesn't pick up, again. So i text him a few minutes later. He sends back a text sayin I'm going to Boston this weekend for a race. I'm thinking to myself, Boston? Right after the Pats lose? Nah Joe! Sounds like a set up. I aint really trying to get jacked up on those mean streets of Foxboro. I finally get him on the phone and aside from the fact that sounded sick he's actually serious. So looks like I'm going to Bean Town. Go Patriots!

Stop Working So Hard

I didn’t realize how much more we train than other world class athletes. After a stint in Florida and now back in Atlanta for a week or so, I’ve gotten a chance to look at how the best in the business work. In the last 30 days I’ve been on the track with U.S. Champions, Olympic champions, World Champions, Record holders, you name it…I gotta admit, I’m not impressed. Jog a lap; stretch a little bit, couple of high knees and 4 minutes later BAM! They’re ready! unlike our 53 minute “warm-up.” I’m really starting to believe that the harder you work the better you will become is a big load of crap. These dudes are just better than everybody else. Luckily for me, the amount of work I’ve put in over the last 12 months has me right there with them in every run. That feels good. So who’s to say that I shouldn’t work as hard as I do? I, for one, wouldn’t dare slack off. I get better every day. I get to say I’m a world class athlete. I get paid to run fast. Sometimes a brother got to do what a brother got to do to get paid. Work hard…don’t work hard…Whatever…

Im Sorta Late...

I've got my own blog now, I'm really only two years late. Time to let y'all peer into the phantasmagoric world of my mind and life of running track and making music. As of today i did very little of either so this post ends here...