Development through Disappointment

So, it's a funny time for me. This summer has brought so much into my life that I've been working towards yet a lot of it was still unexpected in the way it manifested itself. A new way of life is slowly developing and I'm excited at how this can develop. On the flip side there have been a number of things that have happened that have made me pull back into myself and play life much closer to the chest then usual. I don't ask much and try not to bother folk. I move purposefully and with a pretty pure heart. I've had waaaaay too many folk misinterpret my moves or just blatantly react wrong to what I do or say. Now technically I really shouldn't internalize what how others react to me if I know what I'm doing was coming from a good place but the reality of life is that we are social beings we interact with and react to the what people do towards us. Being made to feel a certain kind of way that falls opposite to your intentions hurts. Just imagine holding the door open for someone and as they pass through the doorway they turn around and scream at you for doing it. Yes it's really a problem with them but it still causes a feeling. I'm 32 yet I often get pulled back to that 16 yr old shy guy that folk clowned for being so caring. Some things are just a part of who I am. Please believe there is no apology coming from me on this. I just have to act in kind to what happens to and around me. I dont want to go off of anyone so I'd rather deal with my feelings solely with me than direct a rage moment at someone else. I have too much going on to be derailed in that manner.

Now, to another matter that has eaten at my other the past few weeks....Travel. Since the beginning of the year I've had my travel plans laid out for the year. That was a large % of Nomadness w/ a few "me" trips sprinkled here and there. The main focal points were the RV Tour which was 4 weeks on the road, Barbados and Japan in last August for 2 weeks of lengthy travel for Animekon and Nomadness; and Bali for New Years. The RV tour was a massive success and next year will be even better.

The summer plans were August though ran into an unexpected detour earlier in the summer. Plans that were laid to put me in excellent position for this summer fell through at the last minute and has had me in recovery mode. Picture yourself locking in a great business deal on Thursday, leaving for a weekend away that Friday and getting a call in your hotel that the deal you sealed 24 hrs prior has just been eliminated. That is exactly what happened to me. It set off a chain reaction that in the end cost me the trips I truly WANTED to take. At the time of this writing Animekon is over in Barbados which I didn't attend and what 99% of people don't know till now is that I wont be making it to Japan with my Tribe either. It wouldn't be a responsible move for me to force this and believe me I considered it heavily. In the midst of the scramble to pick up the professional pieces I did essentially stumble into new business that will lead to many good things, but the transition period just didn't leave me enough time to pull off Japan in an efficient manner.

I cant begin to express how much this is tearing at me. Before there was a Tribe people that grew up with me knew how long Japan has been on my personal Radar. This is going to be a hellish week for me internally as I wish my fellow tribe members well while feeling the sting of what I'm missing. I believe everything happens for a reason but I'm still searching for why things played out for me the way they did. It's not my way to complain publicly so that is why I'm venting her on the Blvd since I know only a handful of folk will actually view this vs putting this on Facebook in its entirety. This one hurts.....a lot. It'll be motivation for future moves but in this moment its just a twisting in my stomach that I'll have to work through. Hopefully Bali has a few tricks in store for me at ease my feelings over missing my 1st travel to Asia.

Gotta play the cards your dealt....good, bad & ugly.....

My First Xmas Gift Is Batman Awesomeness

Shout out to the Mac Man for the cool Secret Santa gift!!!! This also seems to be starting a trend of Japanese theme gifts which Evie started not too long ago. See it here.

Preparing For It.....

By this time next yr I plan to have had my 1st experience with Japan. Folk close to me and those that have been there say I'll love it. There's no shortage of jokes as to the various people I'll be mistaken for and how to play up the "friendly stereotypical" encounters. I'm curious about this. I can imagine the fun to had when visiting for a short time. You know you will be home so there's a comfort.......but I do wonder about the folk that dont leave and how the "Black Imitation" subculture effects them. I came across this piece posted online and gives a view point that makes tons of sense to me and I could imagine being me. Just thinking out loud I guess check this small bit then visit the full post.

“Kokujin kakkoii!” is what I was often told whenever I asked what was behind the admiration of black people. Basically, I was cool, simply for being black. I admit it was a bit of an ego boost hearing it whispered behind me as I walked down the narrow yet crowded Takeshita –Dori in trendy Harajuku or while getting down on the dance floor till 5am in Shibuya. Sometimes people would come right up to me and say it. To which I would smile and say a simple thank you. 

But soon I started to feel like a celebrity without all the perks. People didn’t know me, yet they thought they knew what I was about. I got tired of conversations that started with ‘Where are you from? New York?’ ‘Are you a DJ? ‘ ‘What sports team do you play for?’ I’m from Canada, and I came here to teach English. Sorry to disappoint you.

Full Article Here

The Boogie Down Hosts: Domo Arigato Street Festival/Fund Raiser

Hiroshima yesterday 8/62011.....U.S bombing memorial

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in a garden in the Bronx, the Land of the Rising Sun provided an energy that radiated through all the storm clouds that would eventually open up on the festivities.The Domo Arigato festival jumped off to raise funds for the people of Japan who have REALLY been through it recently. The forces of raw independent Hip Hop, Soul & Dance were on display surrounded by various local vendors with their own tales to tell as to why Japan is so close to their hearts. Our own Evita Robinson was among those involved in the events moving Drt Bgs like weight. Hosted by radio personality Tasty Keish it was a great time for a wonderful cause.

Supportive Tag from yours truly

 Check after the jump for a taste of what went down.

Read more »

Hump Day "HaHaHa's"

George Takei Petitions Against Hollywood's Alleged 'Whitewashing' of 'AKIRA'

The 1st Anime/Manga I ever saw was Akira. It's hard not to fall in love with the genre with THAT as your introduction. The dark yet bright technological style was amazing to me at the age of 8. Now, as Hollywood is heavy into its "buy and remake classic franchises" mode, there seem to be some disturbing rumors popping up about the potential casting for a live action U.S Akira remake.......see below for the full story. I cann only pray that this isn't the case....  

 Legendary Star Trek actor and social activist George Takei has spoken out against Warner Bros. Pictures' alleged plans to cast a live-action version of the classic Japanese animated film, AKIRA, with Caucasian leads rather than Asian actors. In response to the publication of a purported "short list" of actors including Justin Timberlake and Robert Pattinson, among others, Takei endorsed a Facebook petition called "Don't Whitewash AKIRA" that people can sign to make the powers that be aware of their wish for the film to be cast with Asians.

In an interview with The Advocate, Takei, who has long used his prominence to champion Asian-American actors and culture, correctly observed that fans of AKIRA strongly identify with Japan and the Japanese people.

The manga and anime phenomenon is mostly white in this country. It originated in Japan, and, of course, it has a huge Asian fan following. But it's the multi-ethnic Americans who are fans of Akira and manga. The idea of buying the rights to do that and in fact change it seems rather pointless. If they're going to do that, why don't they do something original, because what they do is offend Asians, number 1; number 2, they offend the fans.

Additionally, Takei said he is surprised that Warner Bros. hasn't learned from past mistakes with whitewashing like the abysmal Dragon Ball movie and, more specifically, M. Night Shymalan's similarly disastrous adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, another piece of animation based on Asian culture that was remade with Caucasian performers:

The same thing happened with M. Night Shyamalan. He cast his project [The Last Airbender] with non-Asians and it's an Asian story, and the film flopped. I should think that they would learn from that, but I guess big studios go by rote, and the tradition in Hollywood has always been to buy a project, change it completely and flop with it. I think it's pointless, so I thought I would save Warner Bros. a bit of failure by warning them of what will most likely happen if they continue in that vein.

Despite the organized protest against the state of affairs surrounding the casting of AKIRA, it is all based on rumor. Anime News Network reported that Warner Bros. had no comment on the Deadline story, and Robert Pattinson addressed the AKIRA rumor in an interview with MTV News. The actor claimed he was aware of the report but suggested he hadn't seen a script, although he is a fan of the anime and "likes motorbikes."

In his interview with The Advocate, George Takei suggested part of the problem with the AKIRA situation, as it presently appears, is the lack of progress Asian-Americans have made in the entertainment industry as compared to African-Americans.

Can you name one bankable Asian-American star? No. There isn't. You have Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson. A whole host of them.One can't name a single Asian-American whose name you can take to the bank and get a project financed. We are making headways. I'm not a pessimist. We have made tremendous headways from the time I started in this business in 1957. Asian faces are part of the ensemble in many TV shows playing not roles that are specifically Asian, but playing doctors and detectives. Advances have been made, but we have still not caught up with the African-American achievements.

Read More: Source Here

The Return of Wordplay: Evierobbie for Japan.

A couple weeks ago for a small Japanese relief fundraiser in Manhattan Evita gave me a serious flashback moment has she pulled out the pen & pad to share a lil poetry. Poetry is the initial tie that connected me to a young Evita and what helped build the relationship that has evolved into so much. So here she is giving us what Japan meant to her...


Evierobbie Back on the Stage for Japan!!!! from Nightfall 914 on Vimeo.
Evita Robinson delivers a poetic description of her relationship to the Isle of Japan.

@Evierobbie is in the midst of the fundraiser for her International Travel pilot. Support the cause here.

Looting in Japan.......Few & Far Between

I think many things factor into this. A difference in history, the fact that Japan is pretty much 90%+ one race of similar belief.... The lack of diversity, the trust and belief in their government running so opposite to ours that perhaps looting doesn't feel like a need for a people that feel that they will be taken care of by their leaders?

Organized crime. Police aren't the only ones on patrol since the earthquake hit. Members of the Yakuza, Japan's organized crime syndicate, have also been enforcing order. All three major crime groups—the Yamaguchi-gumi, the Sumiyoshi-kai, and the Inagawa-kai—have "compiled squads to patrol the streets of their turf and keep an eye out to make sure looting and robbery doesn't occur," writes Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, in an e-mail message. "The Sumiyoshi-kai claims to have shipped over 40 tons of [humanitarian aid] supplies nationwide and I believe that's a conservative estimate." One group has even opened its Tokyo offices to displaced Japanese and foreigners who were stranded after the first tremors disabled public transportation. "As one Sumiyoshi-kai boss put it to me over the phone," says Adelstein, " 'In times of crisis, there are not Yakuza and civilians or foreigners. There are only human beings and we should help each other.' " Even during times of peace, the Yakuza enforce order, says Adelstein. They make their money off extortion, prostitution, and drug trafficking. But they consider theft grounds for expulsion.

 -Source

Japan Before & After Pix Via Satellite

..........my god.........

Thoughts & Prayer to the People of Japan

Late night as the news replays reports, images and video of the historic disaster still unfolding, I hit a point that I had to turn it off. I could take no more. As a person that believes in God and came up with that background I can't witness things like this without it having a biblical context and that's scary. But in addition to that, is the personal context. I'm happy that my close friends with Japanese and Pacific Island ties were able to reach their loved ones. How do you react to seeing the ocean charging towards you swiping through cars, trucks, houses and boats????

I pray for the strength of the people.....every dark moment has it's sunshine....but it's hard to imagine just how long it'll be for any degree of normalcy to return to Japan.

No Soup For You...In Japan?????

 Well as if we didn't know that the Japan stay on top of their calorie counting game, I came across this CNN report that shows how some companies are taking the EXTRA steps to keep their work force on the down side of the scale. Check this out and tell em could the U.S ever pull this off without someone crying for a law suit?