Friday, December 17, 2010

girl meets world

girl meets world
moving too fast
still getting
put on blast
for dirty dishes
battling dirty deeds
one tear at a time
crime pays
so she in line
for unemployment
cheques bounce
like her head nods
to instrumentals
new essential
nutrients
finding solace
in the snare
and benevolence
in the bass
reminiscent of
space and time
lunchroom rhymes
of fellas playing
hook line and sinker
with moves
that would only
sink her
self-wealth but
investments
in real
self-interest
has her out of the red
no more being
smoked out
choked out
looking for a
way out
in the mirror
images are clearer
12 mega-pixels
in the graduation
picture
from hey young girl
to woman
of the world
knowledge is power
so she bats clean-up
always coming home
to the real fan
real man in her life
lil’ man learning
how to clean up
respecting when..
she cleans up
after him
and doesn’t
holla or stare when…
she cleans up
mother not ma
when she steps out
careful not show out
rockin the clutch
in clutch moments
still learning and atoning
all the while growing
world meet girl…
accept her and  her terms
word.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

guy and madeline on a park bench

Being a fan of indie flicks is a May - December relationship, armed with not much more than a brief synopsis and a trailer, if that, you often go in on a flick and sometimes come way very disappointed. This past week i caught a flick i had very little to go on, guy and madeline on a park bench. Described as a jazz musical, it caught my eye given my love of jazz and growing love for musicals.

Without going in too deep on the synopsis, first -time director Damien Chazelle creates a jazzy yet sometimes stark and  frustrating landscape focused on the boy meets girl, girl falls for boy, boy leaves girl narrative. Title characters Guy, a musician whose first love will always be music, and Madeline, a girl searching for something, anything in life interact with a series of interesting people throughout the film ultimately to meet again in its final scene.


What struck me at times was the director's reliance on the actors to use their facial expressions and solely that - the movie is not heavy on dialogue. While frustrating at times, with sober second thought the realism it conveyed was spot on. The up and down moments of relationships and life in general don't often come accompanied with "coffee is for closer" type speeches. Its the look on your partner's face that is the indicator that you've messed up.


I should have written this when the movie was in town last week, but it may return. If it does, its definitely worth a viewing.

dope scene from guy et madeline

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

colours...

white wine
black books
kind of blue
reminiscent of
summer brown
life much like hair
is an exercise of
dealing with greys
chasing
monochrome dreams
to get out
of the red
til then
i'm green
like envy behind the ears
and not in pockets
found lint
instead of her love
thought repair
was a yellow page
mission
but this purple
is all i got left
thinking damn...
orange would have looked good on her

Friday, November 19, 2010

players

I was at a dilla tribute party last year at a spot deep in queen west and the dj had gone through your "typical" dilla standards and the amazing samples that provided the inspiration. The crew I was with was dropping hints to the dj it was that time, the party was dying down the crowd had filtered and a few loyal supporters were remaining at the bar and a couple tables. dj finally dropped the record, a collective cheer/sigh went up and at that moment, strangers became family, drinks in the air, drunken staggers morphed into rhythmic two-steps, we acknowledged the DJ and stumbled out into the crisp winter night hooded and goosed up… players.

One of my fav things to do is drive or venture on foot or bike around the city while most of it sleeps. Driving slow, as Kanye West once put it, is a practice that meets at the intersection of deep contemplation and casual observation. Driving with no direction down empty lit streets and letting whatever the vibe of the moment be your guide. Players by Slum Village is often the soundtrack for those moments, the subdued, the laid back vibe of nighttime.

We don’t care how or where
we end up there, wherever it may be
no compass or telescope
but finding depth in one word answers
and finding common ground with
exotic dancers
fully clothed
curbside dividing cab fare
stretching a dollar
after stretching for dollars
no discrimination, all colours
lipstick and collars
blue and white speeding thru the red
while we wait for green

posers provide the inspiration

no racing, embracing the slow but steady
save the ready set go for rush hours
There’s power in patience
And patients suffering insomnia
gazing out of window panes
gazing at the caddy in adjacent
lane
gazing at the amazing way
midnight plays the blues
the crew cruises through
smoke stacks and ascends
like wind off the lake
we relate, debate, and laugh it off
drive off solemn in stewardship
players…

Thursday, November 11, 2010

two sides of the same coin

certain parameters given to me in a challenge defined the following piece.
read #1, then read #2, then read #1 and probably read #2 again and see if you can figure out what the challenge was.

#1
regrets? no,
but caresses foolishly friction bore fiction
this crumpled paper laid
on
stages winning award
on
parts played
we
embrace this
delayed departure
colours neutral
stained heart
my death approaching
was she love peronsified?

...

#2
personified love?
she was approaching death
my heart stained neutral colours
departure delayed this embrace
we played parts on award winning stages
on laid paper crumpled this fiction
bore friction foolishly
caresses
but no regrets

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

untitled.

words form like mindstates
barely legible and bound by lines
time heals wounds
and practice makes better penmanship during rush hour
in the interim i'm scribbling and sinking deeper into
a system of off-beat rhythms
finding colour in the monochrome
and searching for love amidst the monotone
dialtones hoped for
but similar to HBO i'm wireless
only secure plan in life is data
they say no man is an island but at times
i'm pondering who's ladder
i'm climbing up
soliders of cross double crossing
got the flock and the shepherd
looking lost caught between jacob and jesus
these days its more than the weather
that changes from season to season keeps us
teething
seething
feeding
needing
breeding
believing

Sunday, November 7, 2010

burn...

its the 3rd degree
but no PhD.
looking for a PhD.
while she masters
the mistress
damsel in distress
two tiered
health care
got her
feeling the burn
in pocket
to go with
discomfort
and humidity
worthy of summer time
got that summer shine
lack of melanin
surplus of pain
but nothin some
calamine lotion
and career counseling
cant overcome
student loans
and cell phone
bills
makes that trip
to the salon
a hard one
add to the fact
she can't lean
strapped for cash
and burnt ash
on back
smells like...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

slr

a challenge i've accepted this month is to write and post something new everyday. 30 for 30... and i'm already a day late so i'll be needing to make it up down the line.

there is
a beauty
in bokeh
seeing what’s
necessary
against a shallow
depth of field
that is
until the shallow
depth of field
is solitary
on stage
so light and dark
hues tints and shadows
all exist
away from
best focus
the beginning
of
the slip and loss
of grip
on one's locus
missteps
occur
this is where
starting
to fade
can't be fixed by
potions or lotions
hopeless as the colour
balance is attempted
on soaked coasters
and fallen posters
amid
the creases
and pieces
the
natural
way
to
sepia
is
discovered
mesmerizing are the melancholy
viewing image history
and seeing
how things went from
untouched
to photoshopped
to shopping parts
and hearts
on the open market
left tryin to
viewfind self
stealthily through
turning points
and after thoughts
after much thought
and poignant conversation
preservation was best
left as a task for self
it appears
we are highlighted
by the wealth
of errors crystallized
in the moonlight
its nights like this
where my aperture work
is more miss than hit
and i question how
the composition
went from symphonies
of bliss
to scattered riffs
so I’m learning
to live
through
transition
from the
point and shoot
and smile style
to the intricate
narrative of a
single lens
reflective

Thursday, July 22, 2010

of montreal

you
are the one
who slips away
or rather the
one i slip away
to
long enough
to get caught up
short enough
to let curiousity
come before
contempt
blend
disjointed discours
and staggered
step
mon ombre
looks cooler
when you're around
not bound by
stoop steps
but child-like
professing love
or at least
engouement
from le boulevard
til we see again

Monday, April 19, 2010

delete

lack of
control
and no
alternative
options
left us
no choice
token black
man
stretching
a token
as far as it can
go
in a place like
this
early dismissal
reminscent
of days
long gone
and songs
sung softly
like psalm 119
but with brevity
happy are those
whose way is
perfect
so the sad sit
amidst
drying palettes
and empty canvases
making nothin
with very little
breakin bad
and quoting
riddles with no humour
a reprise
of
repossesion and removal
control
or the lack of
with no
alternative approval
a restart is neccesary
but something
is missing.

Monday, April 12, 2010

leave it all behind... by the foreign exchange

it went from track 8 to track 9
quicker than the street corner release
this was live
sadness in dolby digital
from the house of blues
to a house of blue
hues and blue views
on take off
a window seat close
but far from emergency
exits
so its hectic
coming home to you
but knowing a house
of cards
is the weakest foundation
to stand on
while i'm the
last man standing
holding the joker
all in with a bad pokerface
no king and queen meeting here
like roncesvalles to corktown
on the 504
you were something to behold
our stories now grow sordid
i stumble thru streets
off whiskey sours
sweeter than you
it only took a few nights
to need a daykeeper
looseleaf notice
apply within
preferred experience with
valediction
and solo subscription
to issues
troubling
love is all or nothing
here i wave
white flags meant for
de fete
in defeat
with the title track on repeat
pointless but still
i wanna know...

Monday, March 8, 2010

bleeker street

where no parades were held
no flags were drawn at half-mast
for your first lady
your matriarch
salute only paid in hush tones
carried by the wind
from sherbourne
and wellesley
and along dimmed halls
of fudger house
life stories
told by those
the remnants of a
commonwealth long gone
so bleeker street
where no 21 guns blast
and no live to air in memoriam
broadcast
just a somber stream
of people
entering 55
carrying the wind
to speak softly
and smile
amidst the tears
smiles for a life lived
tears for a shade lost
a tree grew on bleeker
for many seasons
and for this reason
the wind carries
from the south-east
parliament
and regent park
pay their peace
passengers on
the same streetcar
of desire
the 506 passes by
to play
symbolic
much like the day
it fades away
into the night
as a lone figure
stumbles through
cabbagetown
a loyal servant
to the crown
removed
from his days
in the kingdom
weary but wiser
reminiscent of
the houses of aberdeen
ontario
winchester
and rose
they pause
as the wind howls
and blows
a lamp
flickers out
the men on the corner
have finished
their stout
they take muted steps home
as the city lights
shine upon the throne

the queen is dead
long live the queen

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

changes

love
a thug
friends
strangers
seasons
reasons
layouts
payouts
stages
webpages

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

big box poetic... the intro

2010... old out. new in.

big box poetic is a series of writings i'm working that cover a range of things personal and particular to me whilst interwined with hints of pursuits and passions from my profession and my past... or something like that.

big box poetic
the anti-mixed use plan
with mechanisms equipped for
storage and release of big thoughts
big boxes chase the sun west
a place to rest regroup re-up
retouch a sketch of my soul n heart
photo shopped for promotional purposes
as i shop photos of a previous existence
on the options market
looking for leverage amidst buyers targets
tryin to sell in winter
what i couldn't drop in summer
even tho both seasons be the same
the game told me all season radials
but sold me
static airtime on CB radio
left me assessing checks n balances
but balance hasn't existed
since weight was placed
onto a ship sinking
under the stress of relating
time spent now amounts to something
fading
i'm left contemplating
public consultation
along the avenue
begging for change
but accepting of cash or credit
sometimes i think
just dead it
deal with the debts
in progressive steps
reflect and limit
the waxing poetic
on nostalgic sets
focus on the intersection
and community connects
stage 1 the concept plan
of big box poetic