duara is pangasinan.  dalawa is tagalog.  dos is spanish.

if you didn’t know that last one and didn’t grow up in cali/texas/anywhere there’s hella latino people everywhere (does such a place even exist?!?!) or are not a spanish-speaking person yourself: did you not watch sesame street growing up?

anyway, here goes day 2’s installation of my VD countdown.  feast on these tasty slow jam morsels, a few select cuts from the buffet of love:

silk – “freak me” (dailymotion or wordpress or whoeverwhatever is not letting me embed the vid right now)

h-town – “knockin’ da boots”

“knockin da boots actually means two boots coming together making tasteful lust” – uncle luke

intro – “come inside”

subway f/ 702 – “this lil’ game we play”

jodeci – “freek’n you”

jodeci – “feenin”

(for a long time i thought “feen”  was an actual word.  i used it in an essay one time in high school and my english teacher made that little squiggle underline thing under it and wrote ‘not a word’ in red ink.  lol).

doc box & b. fresh – “slow love”

ginuwine – “so anxious”

okokokok, i know this isn’t really a “slow jam” (“so anxious” isn’t really one either) and don’t clown me for this one (!!!!), but c’moooooon, mayyyyyyyn!!! it fits the trajectory of these vids i posted and…you know you like this song, too).

pretty ricky – “grind with me”

and here’s another one:

pretty ricky – “on the hotline”

“take them granny panties off, put a thong on” HAHAHAHAH!!!!!

ok, i know you’re REALLY gonna laugh at me now for this song…

plies f/ ne-yo – “bust it baby”

this song has a special place in my heart…

jeremih – “birthday sex”

sorry for all the raunchy songs (do i really need to apologize for this?); i like to post music vids via themes.  i promise i’ll get to the less freaky, more furtive and subtly sexy songs soon, but for now…

i gotta end it with this, MY MOST FAVORITEST EVAR. gotta keep it classy, baby:

adina howard – “t-shirt and panties”

Okay, so you missed The Conception Intro Show that was on Thursday, January 28th at 11pm. Make sure you don’t miss it this week, same day, same time.  Join the facebook page and/or follow on twitter. Fortunately, you can catch a playback by clicking the play button on the BlogTalkRadio badge on the right of the screen. You can also go back and comment on the previous articles. Keep the foreplay going! We talked about the size of the penis and the vagina and what women like, or say they want. And we discussed Spectacular of Pretty Ricky and his Tipsy grinding challenge.

Here is the link to the piece that had me cracking up:

…never belittle a man’s penis in bed, even as a joke, or say anything to indicate that you think it’s small. The guy may take you seriously, and if he does, he’ll be deeply hurt.

And here is The Authentic Woman’s Penis Size Preference Chart:

See original post here.

In the past 12 days, 4 have been spent in Dallas, 4 in Austin and 4 in Houston. In Dallas (Richardson), we ate, drank wine and chilled playing games and watching movies. In Austin we worked. And in Houston we have spent time with good friends.

New Year’s Eve I worked half a day and prepared to drive to Houston and was exhausted at the idea of going out for New Year’s not to mention the idea of just staying up until midnight. But I showered and rocked my sparkle fishnet thigh highs and put on fun eye makeup (aka, more than the neutral shadow + mascara that I normally wear) and went to meet our friends. From there Johanna and I went up to Boheme to see one of her friends who was DJ-ing. We stayed there for an hour and went back to our friends’ house for the midnight countdown. Then we heard that my favorite bar was not crowded so we ended the night there.

Nooooo we didn’t. We went out for Mexican food, THEN we ended the night.

The next day was a small casual brunch at Neha’s, to which our hungover asses showed up a good 40 minutes late. And I decided to make a quiche, just to add to the muffins, yogurt parfait, fruit, cheese, and blueberry cream cheese french toast that Neha had for us. So we ate until we were full as ticks, then rested, then more visiting friends.

And I admitted what I’ve been afraid to admit to even myself: I miss Houston. It’s possible that what I miss is friends, people to text and be like, “Hey, mind if we drop by and see your new baby?” “Hey, what are y’all doing later?” “Hey, want to meet up for coffee?” And if so? Well, then I miss that.

I realized that I felt like if I admitted to missing Houston, I’d feel like a failure. People in Houston LOVE Austin. People everywhere love Austin. Going to Austin is like going to Mecca. It’s where you go when you want to party it up for New Year’s or Halloween (both of which my boss refers to as “amateur night”) or any old time. You want a break from the same old? Go to Austin, eat tacos from an airstream, go hiking in the morning, take a dip in a spring fed pool in the afternoon and end the evening at any number of bars. The next morning you want vegan pancakes? Sure, which place do you want to eat them at?

What’s not to love?

Well. I’ll tell you. First, everyone’s white. Not REALLY, but it feels like it. We live in a neighborhood that’s about half black, but it’s not the same. In Houston, say there’s a hot new restaurant or bar. When you go you see people of every ethnicity and class. Seriously. In Austin? You go to a hot new restaurant and everyone’s white and mid/upper class. A few weeks ago I was at the mall and saw some brown guys and ALMOST SAID HI. Like we were kindred spirits living in this foreign land of white people.

Also? The weather app on my phone will say rain for Austin and then this cold front blows through and skips the whole rain part. Unlike Houston, which will have sun predicted and then pour down rain on your picnic. But not at your house 5 blocks away. It sounds silly, but I miss rain and humidity and clouds and 10 degrees warmer (except in July, when what I will miss is that it will be 10 degrees cooler in Houston).

I miss good Vietnamese food at every corner.

I miss good Indian vegetarian buffets. And being able to go next door and buy sari scraps and incense.

I miss the midwife clinic I’d picked out to have my future kids at because they were close and my insurance covered it and they were AWESOME and have delivered 3 of my friends’ babies. I’m sure there is some similar thing in Austin, there HAS to be, but I haven’t found it.

But yeah, mostly, I miss the friends, the people to enjoy all that stuff with.

If only I could take the scenery of Austin and move it into Montrose*, we’d be good. Oh and my job. Oh and this place.

*NOTE: When I refer to “Houston” I am referring to Montrose, NOT Clear Lake or The Woodlands or Sugar Land or anywhere outside of the Loop, with the tiny exception of Hillcroft where you can get the best Indian food in the city.

**DISCLAIMER: It’s completely possible Austin has a kick ass vegetarian Indian buffet, or any of the other things I mentioned and I just haven’t been there long enough to find them. Ditto for the friends.

This was a bad decade. It’s good to know it’s over. This doesn’t mean specific people didn’t ride high; perhaps it’s worth lauding their accomplishments in a series of lists that can be consulted as sorts of time-capsules. The boys in a band are not in love with the modern world, this is a good start; tragic love was running shit since Gwen Stefani crossed-over and somehow predicted it happening in her first music video with No Doubt, almost as if the whole thing was contrived from the get-go. PAUSE.

Are there really commercials in this shit? They’ll ruin any good thing with inundated bullshit, won’t they, these record execs? Even Lupe Fiasco fucking complains; it’s enough to drive any loving critic fucking loco! So if this decade is all about losses; then we can casually sift through the wreckage, like Japanese cockroaches with helmet-cams and try to make sense of the fact that we are being controlled like robots by those who continually sell us new technology to make our lives MORE than what we could on our own. This growth is a kind of cancer of the human body; not on that Non-Phixion tip “1975: they created AIDS inside a laboratory” it’s amazing how many people can get caught up in superstition. PAUSE

The rechargeable battery came to replace the middle man between you and your product, now it was just supposed to be the player’s designer and the energy company which owned all your shit. Renting became so fucking easy, borrowing for no apparent reason the norm for 10 years, and the landslide that came a tumblin’ down was somehow a surprise to a suddenly defunct, but not quite dysfunctional family that is the american empire; no capitals here, cause’ there’s nothing to celebrate. Amiri Baraka once asked Thelonius Monk, “what’s happenin’?” Monk replies, “Everything, at the same time.” PAUSE

Is that shit not HILARIOUS: ZIF exclusive thought: reshoot this document piece, but make it about AznAmerican ballers, specifically Taka Yasuzawa, the Takstar.

So to get back into it, I’ll probably just post some short things. I think my challenge has been that short posts go to twitter and I come here for long thoughts. Which means I don’t blog. Because long thoughts take TIME.

So here are some things that I currently like:

Right now I’m drinking this beer and loving it:

It’s a rice beer and it’s lovely. Clean and crisp, like it says.

I check this website at least twice a day.

Several of my coworkers are all about the Converse One Star line for Target. So since I was in Target to get wet Swiffers (Dave insists) and Puffs Tissues with lotion (I insist), I decided to check out the clothing. I’d been in the market for a structured skirt since mine are all loose and flowy. Houston is HOT, after all. But Austin (until today) has been in the 30s – 50s and gray/rainy for 2 weeks. So I’d like to rock boots and tights and a cute skirt, but you can’t really do that with a drawstring cotton skirt. Or a knee-length flowy white one. And I’ve grown out of my favorite jean skirt that was awesome. Anyway, I found one.

That photo looks boring. It looks like something my uber-conservative cousin who waited until she was married to have her first kiss would wear. But, alas, boring is what I’ve become. Yup, ever since gaining weight/entering my 30s. Gone are the days of see-thru tanks that I wore with no bra. Of course, also gone are the trips to dark clubs where no one can tell if your top is see-thru or not. But the skirt isn’t all THAT boring on me. I do have some curves and it doesn’t fit all boxy like some denim skirts tend to. (I see you, GAP.)

Last week my coworker INSISTED that I smell a guy’s cologne at work. I did and it was nice. She was threatening to stop by and buy some on the way home. I was thinking that it’s time for a new cologne for Dave, too. So today we stopped by. It’s one of those fancy smells-different-on-everyone pheromone-like colognes, which always remind me of the ice cream story from Sideways Stories from Wayside School. The lady was super nice, told us to wear it around for a few hours and come back later if we liked it. It’s pretty interesting. I can’t smell it ON Dave per se, but I can tell when he’s near me by his smell, which smells good. (We inadvertently tested this all day because we went to REI and Whole Foods after he put it on.) It was weird because the smell didn’t smell like cedar or pepper or sandalwood, it just smelled like Dave’s natural smell had a megaphone. Plus a hint of woodsy.

I was considering getting it for him until I just checked the website and there is more than one AND I can order $3 samples. Who’s cheap? I am.

Good stuff. See you next month later!

It snowed for most of the day today =D… How odd for it to snow almost every year I’ve been in TX… but today it snowed for the longest! Too bad the snow didn’t stick.

Enjoy the pics and video =P

Snow!

More snow!

Palm trees and snow… stark contrast…

Some snow stuck to the greenery… none on ground though

By the time I got home, Lil grey only had an icy windshield…

No video cuz I dunno how to convert avi to a format I can upload =( [I'm a n00b that needs help f/ my l33t honey =P]

Earlier this year, the final UGK album dropped. The songs were decent enough, definitely true to the ideologies Bun-B and Pimp C have stuck to in the past. However, the best part of the album was that it didn’t try and paint the late Pimp C as some kind of profound and poetic rapper who tried to sound deeper than he actually was; his verses were just as–if not more– foul and sex & cash hungry as they ever were.

Typically, to pay tribute to the fallen, I like to suggest you do something that the deceased enjoyed doing for recreation. However, with Pimp C…I don’t suggest you do. Or, if you do, don’t blame it on me. RIP Pimp C.

UGK-International Players Anthem(feat. Outkast)

**Just in time for the HOLIDAYS**

Three weeks is a bit long to go without blogging, I must admit.

The first weekend we moved in to our new place my mom and brother came to stay with us on the way to San Antonio. So we mostly ate at different restaurants and hung out and took Ike to the dog park. The next day we drove to San Antonio in the rain for a 60th anniversary brunch for my great aunt and uncle. On the way we had one of 2 I-told-you-so moments that would happen over the next 2 weeks.

And what was it, you ask? I was checking Google Maps when I rear ended a Honda Fit. 1. It was raining and I thought I’d come to a complete stop already. 2. All I did was tap the car and the only damage they had was a 1/2″ hexagon-shaped indention in the paint from the bolt of my license plate. But the car was NEW and the guy was PISSED. They guy yelled at me in the pouring rain. It was awesome. Luckily Dave calmed him down (hooray for retail training!) and I gave him all my info but he never called.

The I-told-you-so? I tend to think that checking my phone doesn’t really affect my driving, in spite of numerous studies and reports and articles on how it affects everyone else’s driving. I’ve swerved out of lanes, come to a screeching halt and missed exits due to texting or reading tweets, etc. Yes, I’m admitting it. And Dave has said, “JEN!” more than once while I’ve been driving/iPhoning. But this particular time, we were like 1 mile from a restaurant I’d never been to and I wanted to check our status.

I already felt bad enough and what I didn’t need was Dave to say, “See, babe, this is why I tell you blah blah blah blah blah . . .” I pointed that out and he promptly apologized. Profusely. Nobody likes an I-told-you-so.

A few days later (day before my birthday, in fact), I opened my car door to go to work and saw an exact repeat of this. Awesome. I have an alarm now, but it wasn’t on. Whenever Dave drives my car and we’re walking away from it, I remind him to lock it. And he gets SO annoyed. He’s like, “I’m GOING to lock it, Miss Patience.” But by then we’re too far from the car and he has to backtrack to lock it. Which makes me laugh inside but outside I act like I didn’t notice.

Anyway, this particular evening, Dave drove me home and was making me an early birthday dinner and had food in the oven. So he raced inside and I didn’t bother telling him to lock the car and risk being the nagging wife. I didn’t have my keys so I figured I’d just lock the car later. I did not.

And then a few hours later I had no radio/AC/blinkers/hazards, etc. Dave felt TERRIBLE. I said we should just each have 1 I-told-you-so and move on with our lives. That at least made him laugh.

My car got fixed quickly and I haven’t gotten a new radio. I might go back to the original factory radio (that of course I have to BUY since I threw my old one away). This new fandangled radio with the iPod jack does not seem worth it. It’s already cost me $1000 in deductible payments, not to mention the alarm I got just for that reason.

In other news, Dave’s employed again, so we’re catching up on all our bills. The deductible didn’t help, especially since I couldn’t find any of my credit cards to put the payment on one of them. I guess I am so against adding to my debt I’ve hidden my credit cards from my consciousness. FTW?

So things are sort of starting to get to normal. We’ve unpacked everything we use frequently. The rest of it is in boxes in a shed behind the house until we get the appropriate furniture: bookshelves, entertainment center, desk, etc.

One frustrating thing is that in the move we’ve somehow misplaced an entire box of kitchen things. HOW THE F DOES THIS HAPPEN?? We packed everything ourselves, loaded it ourselves, had it locked in a pod with our own padlock in a storage shed, and unpacked it ourselves. We left the apartment in 100% spotless condition with not one thing staying behind. The pod was completely empty when we were done.

And yet, we’re missing all of our mixing bowls, cutting boards, word-for-Tupperware-for-things-that-aren’t-Tupperware-branded and things like spatulas, ladles and serving spoons. And maybe a giant saute pan. I’m baffled. Oh well, maybe we didn’t need them anyway?

This past weekend is the first weekend I didn’t unpack anything. I cleaned and relaxed and weeded the little garden patch outside. It felt nice. Of course, it’s almost December so there’s no point planting anything, but at least I know it’s there when I’m ready.

And only after all of that was done did I even start to THINK about updating my blog. So here we are. I have more to say. There will be more Ike stories. More about my running. And more about life as it is here in Austin. Which isn’t much different than life in Houston. Unless you’re biking, then it’s COMPLETELY different. More on that later, too.

Finally decided it was time for me to post something… Here are some interesting things I saw in the last couple of weeks. Enjoy =D

Who knew pharmacists also catered =P

The little plant is growing on top of the bus stop booth roof… que cute =D

Doesn’t the indention in this tree resemble a rabbit? Noticed it yesterday and I’ve been going to this bus stop for 1.5 yrs…

ok… that’s enough excitement for one night. I’m gonna go pass out in my warm and fluffy bed now… see you when I see you XD

The Sinister Yung Breeze

On behalf of our worldwide audience, Joe Stern-McGovern, global agent and President of Universal Artists, International, is pleased to announce the return of Yung Breeze, former partner of DTA of Houston’s hardcore street duo, The Brigade. Known for such hits as Degradation, Block Bleed, Krunch Time, Real Where I’m At, Mob Style, and Hands if You Feel Me, our listeners can come to expect the return of these classics to the shelves and in downloads on the coming site and charitable brainchild of Joe Stern-McGovern, www.endhivaids.com, dedicated to eradicating HIV/AIDS in our lifetime.

Produced by Joe Stern-McGovern in the earliest days of Universal Artists, International, Yung Breeze was a budding prodigy discovered through H-Town’s young producer, Mastamind, along with his cohort, B-Fly, on the hard streets of Houston’s notorious 3rd Ward. With many a scuffle and near miss with the local Texan thugs and corrupted, as well as close encounters with Harris County’s finest, Yung Breeze was molded by the environment in which he was raised.

Joe Stern-McGovern Posing with The Brigade

While Yung Breeze’s lyrics and the vehemence of his delivery are part in parcel of who he has become, his aura and essence are more of a product and statement of that which he has personally witnessed within his community and the back alleys of Sharpstown, as well as the peril he’s bourne on his shoulders rather than a radical call for violence, rebellion, and disobedience. When he cries out for justice and equality, his words ring with crystal clarity as those of an individual whose lived the life against which he protests with endurance, contempt, and integrity, and simultaneously maintains the roots of who he’s developed into as a man of pride and consequence.

If you wish to know how the other side of the tracks has lived and survived without personally endangering yourself and your future, take a quick listen to the furious tales of the dark side as portrayed on the microphone and in the studio by the genuine article, Houston’s Yung Breeze.

In spite of the anger and resentment one might expect from such an individual, Yung Breeze has developed into a rather charitable individual, donating his time and talent to Joe Stern-McGovern and Universal Artists, International’s struggle against the spread of HIV and the devastating consequences of AIDS.

Look for future production of Yung Breeze through the likes of Shaka Productions, as well at  H-Town’s legendary recording hot spot, In the Jar Studios, run by the studios owner and operator, Al Loya, techincal afficianado and savvy engineer to some of hip hop’s fastest rising legends.

“When I first met Yung Breeze, he was a struggling youth who had a great sense of pride, an enormous gift of expression, and a knack for conveying his particular genius through the local street venacular of the areas hoods and ruffians. Originally recording at one of the illest and most infamous studios in the shadier side of town, Psyche Ward, Yung Breeze was picked up and developed by the genius of the wonder twins, Boss and Ripp.” Collectively, these forces of the city’s darker and far more dangerous neighborhood known as Southwest Houston, Soufwest to the locals, have come to the forefront in recent days.”

Joe Stern-McGovern can personally vouch for the validity of the young anti-hero as through his entrancing telling of the first photo shoot the act was to experience as the entity which would come to be known as the Soufwest Brigade, or simply, The Brigade, led by street veteran and surprising genius given his circumstances, DTA, “Don’t Trust Anyone”, a meeting in which the photographer was so terrified, he insisted the photo shoot take place in broad daylight in a local downtown Houston city park.

The Southwest Brigade

True to his name, DTA came to generally distrust those who held the strings to his future as well as his cohorts, and the split was made as DTA went MIA and Yung Breeze continued the journey on the road to stardom solo. For those dedicated and loyal fans of DTA, fear not, he is yet in his prime and will surely rise back to the surface given the timing, motive, and opportunity, as his tales are of equal importance to those of any and must be expressed through the venue known widely as hip hop.

Currently holed up in Al’s “In the Jar Studios”, Yung Breeze is deliberating the path of his next turn towards truth and the betterment of society and the world around him through analysis of the streets and the general feeling of the times.

“Youths such as Yung Breeze sadden me in a way,” states Joe Stern-McGovern. “He’s just about the age my son would’ve been had he lived, and upon reflection it fills me with a sense that somehow I, as a part of society,  have failed our younger generations, leaving them to inherit a world abandoned to greed and the mismanagement of our leaders and botched policies of the government, an entity whose best intentions are questionable.” Those who have chosen such selfish ends will now come to face the fury and ambitions towards societal justice and self-correction from the likes of DTA, Yung Breeze, two halves of the Brigade.

For more information about Yung Breeze or DTA, please visit us at www.myspace.com/universalartists or www.universalartists.net. For information about booking either of the duo domestically or internationally, please write to Joe Stern-McGovern’s assistant at either joesternmcgovern@myspace.com or www.myspace.com/joesternmcgovern. For inquiries of the artistic nature or to explore your own future as an artist at Universal Artists, International, please write to Shaka of Shaka Productions at shaka@universalartists.net.

Light Brigade Records

For donations to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, please visit our writer’s page at www.universalartists.net. If you are interested in either sponsoring or investing our endeavours at fighting the battle  against HIV/AIDS, please write to joe@universalartists.net, or universalartists@myspace.com attention, Joe Stern-McGovern.

For information regarding the sales of Universal Artists, International’s products or charitable goals, or to download singles towards charity from your favorite Universal Artists, International artist please visit our latest site, www.endhiveaids.com, currently under construction and built by www.lubashadesign.com.

For information about our colleagues abroad, please visit www.pure-records.com or write to info@pure-records.com in Tokyo, Japan attention, Eric. Please look for our international release throughout greater Japan, Eastern Asia, and Australia in early 2010.

Now on Sale, Casey Rankin's, "Speaking in Tongues"

Dino, one of the fraternal twins of this group (H-Town), died tragically along with his pregnant fiancee after leaving the recording studio.  An SUV ran a red light and crashed into the driver’s side of their vehicle.  Dino and his pregnant fiancee (who was driving the vehicle) were both ejected.  His fiancee died instantly and Dino was pronounced dead enroute to the hospital.

May you RIP Dino!

November 18, 1974 to January 28, 2003

This past weekend Yarbs and a few friends threw me a shower. It was great – everything was so cute! and it was an intimate crowd – as it seemed to be an out of town weekend for lots of folks – I really enjoyed myself and everyone seemed to have a good time.

So this past spring, when we had just found out we were preggers, we went to the Urban Market and picked up an old playground rhino, that didn’t have a base – Boom was highly suspect, as the paint was peeling and the whole thing seemed a mess, to him. He was all, what are we going to do with this thing? He liked the idea of it, but he is still coming around to liking old things…

Anyway, I figured S, our friend and designer, would be able to have someone do something with it.  So finally, a few months ago, she took little rhino off with her.  And since he left, I had been emailing her and asking about rhino… all requests that she kept ignoring… finally I realized she might be doing something with him for my shower – and I was right!  Rockin’ Rhino is the BEST GIFT EVER!  especially since it was a joint effort – and he came out so adorable!

I love love love him!  I guess we need to come up with a name for Rockin’ Rhino…  Boom will be able to come up with something good.

And Ruby seems to like him alright:

I am sure CM will love Rockin’ Rhino – how could you not?!

H-Town. I don’t have any urge to ever go there but for some reason I am obsessed with the rap scene. It’s not the usual stuff I listen to and it is in no way lyrically above the rest or even close to that but for some reason I’m in awe of the tracks that Houston artists put out. Whether it’s music about the hood, drugs, fly honies, rims, cash, or purple syrup I can’t help but give all my attention and leave my ears wide open. I think its the swagger that Houston artists have mixed with decent lyrics that keep them forever present in the rap game. I have been listening to H-Town rap since I was a kid and the Geto Boys were on and since then I have never felt that the scene fell off or was performing subpar as has been the case in the Bay and even NY. No matter how you feel about H-Town rap, as compared to other rap scenes and sub-genres, the music is great, the lyrics are catchy, the MCs tell the story well, and the tracks are consistent as hell. Much love H-Town.

The Come Up Crew Podcast Vol. 12: H-Town Tribute (Week of 11.02.09) – Click to Download

Tracklisting:

1. Lil Flip – Pass Da Swisha
2. Paul Wall – That Fire feat. Trina
3. Slim Thug – Wood Grain Wheel
4. Lil Keke – I’m A G feat. Birdman
5. Paul Wall – Sittin Sideways
6. Chamillionaire – Ridin
7. Yo Gotti – Gangsta Party feat. Bun B & 8Ball
8. Mike Jones – Like What I Got
9. Bun B – Damn I’m Cold feat. Lil Wayne
10. Compton’s Most Wanted – N 2 Deep feat. Scarface
11. Scarface – Guess Who’s Back feat. Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel
12. Slim Thug – Like A Boss
13. Slim Thug – Problem Wit Dat
14. Lil Troy – Wanna Be A Baller
15. Mike Jones – My 6-4
16. UGK – Stop-N-Go feat. Jazze Pha
17. Scarface – Fuck Faces feat. Devin The Dude, Too Short & Tela
18. Geto Boys – Gangsta (Put Me Down)
19. Lil Flip – Sunshine feat. Lea
20. Mike Jones – Flossin
21. Geto Boys – Mind Playin Tricks On Me

Ok, so if you didn’t know already, we’re huge fans of slow jamz here at TGL.  What do you get when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object? Glad you asked.  Cheers 2 U (couldn’t help the R&B reference) for the return of Jodeci and H-town.

Enjoy!!!!

This is an epic collab for the throw back R&B enthusiasts!  Ladies your welcome.

So a few hours ago we signed a lease on a cute 2-bedroom duplex on the near-east side. It was our favorite place of all the places we saw but they supposedly didn’t allow dogs. So we begged and pleaded and the owner agreed to meet our dog and promptly fell in love.

We filled out the app and crossed our fingers and toes and legs and arms and hairs. Days went by and we’d drive by the street saying, “Come on, duplex!!” I’d drive home and whine that I want to be home NOW, HERE, AT THIS LIGHT, I don’t want to have to drive across Airport, whose light timing at the intersection with MLK is some of the worst city planning I’ve seen. 5 cycles during rush hour? Really?

And then we got the word that it was ours! It’s a recently remodeled 2 bedroom, 1 bath with sage green paint in all the rooms (so no painting!), gas stove, central A/H, ceiling fans in all the rooms and (faux, I think) hardwoods. The owner lives in the front part and we’ll share a laundry room. The backyard is all gravelly landscaping with some fresh soil by the door for me to grow a tiny herb garden. The living room/kitchen is a huge open space so we’ll get to be creative with that space, maybe dividing it up, etc.

I’m SO EXCITED to get our stuff back. We go back to Houston this weekend for a quick work trip for me and I think it will be weird. I still don’t really feel any ownership in Austin, but I also don’t feel like I miss Houston, with the exception of my friends and Anvil. I’m still living out of a suitcase so I’ll just be putting different things in that suitcase when we go to Houston. And I’m so tired of the same 5 shirts I can’t even begin to express it…

They say home is where the heart is, but I am beginning to suspect that home is where you can decide that you want to wear tights and boots and can do that without running to Target. Home is where you can use that classy raincoat, find an old photo, or decide to go camping. Home is where you don’t have to do laundry every other day because you have more than 2 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of underwear. Home is where you can ride your bike to work or wear purple eyeliner or use that bath bomb you’ve been saving.

On the OTHER hand, home is also where we don’t have a TV stand because we decided we didn’t like the old one and left it by the curb. Home is where we have a 2nd bedroom but no 2nd bed. Home is where we have no desk because we sold it. Home is where we will be figuring out where to put all the books we had on the built in shelves at our old place.

And I’m looking forward to it because once we’re settled I imagine Austin will start to feel like home.

Bored, Need I Say More!

So I’ve just been going through my daily blog run and I had just been on the first blog, (the ever so infectious Punch Bowl Blog) would you believe & I noticed that H-Town & Jodeci have a video out for a song called ‘Knocking Your Heels’ or was it H-Town featuring Jodeci? Yeah that’s what it was… OK Allow me not only A LATE PASS because apparently this song has been out for a good few weeks now BUT also a moment here please to say, WOW! Talk about Quite while you’re ahead… OR apparently NOT! But anyway here’s the video for your viewing pleasure…

I should say that on paper, this is a collaboration made in R&B Heaven but really ain’t this just what? Over a decade rather late? I dunno, that’s jus what I think… BUT yeah! So H-town are back & so are Jodeci (after a 13-year hiatus on Jodeci’s part)…

Erm IS it me or is Mr. Dalvin looking like a right crack-head in this video (circa 0.04 – 0.09)??? Although he looks normal again with the shades & hat on (lol) & that H-Town fella who takes the first verse? Shazam, his name is, doesn’t sound particularly good OR is that just me too?? Although in the latter parts of the song, he gets to show us why H-Town are legends in the R&B world… On a side note though, K-Ci is still the BUSINESS any day of the week and the other half of H-Town (third verse) sounds really GOOD but for what it should be… for everything this song should be, it really is quite the disappointment… Like I always say, it’s all in the name (ok I don’t usually but it works on this occasion) so erm… Knocking your Heels? Knockin Da Boots? Talk about originality mate! GOSH! Sipping out the nostrils & the ear holes on that one, don’t you think?

NOW I am all up for a H-TOWN & JODECI comeback as the next 80’s baby BUT I really wanna know what the plan here is… Because if it’s to dole out mediocre R&B records such as this in the hopes that 90’s R&B lovers & die hard fans will lap it up then someone somewhere is quite rightly mistaken & easily so! It’s 2009 & like that man Jay-Z said, ‘We’re ON to the NEXT one!’

It’s NOT all BAd news however, H-Town also have this record out called ‘Call Me Mr. Pac-Man’ (all the pun intended) which has been out for donkey months now (insert your late pass here), download it HERE cos I can actually fux with this one.

**OffBeat PAUSE-WORTHY Moment = Does he really say ‘yummy yummy yum yum’ on that Pac-Man song?’ SNM**

& while the likes of H-Town & Jodeci struggle to make a come-back into a world that has evolved a million times over… We @ OFFBEAT are completely hooked and utterly marveled at the quality of music that continuously flies under the radar, it’s just shocking!!!

To this effect, allow me to introduce you to one of the best male vocal performers I’ve heard in a long long time (best outta the UK for a minute)…

His name? Daley… ENJOY

- Daley – Rainy Day

I would give you some more music BUT I like to make you beg for it… or you could just ask Google, that works too lol! All I am saying is remember his Name… Daley & YES you probably heard it here first so BLAOW! Hope you liked it though ladies & gentlemen!

P.S I actually saw this amazing talent live about two weeks ago at a lil intimate gig in Central London & I’d implore you to check out his myspace for any future gigs because he really brings it HARD!!!

In other news, we gather that Mary J. Blige’s ‘I Can See in Color’ has replaced Mariah Carey’s ‘100%’ as the theme of Lee Daniel’s film titled ‘Precious’… Check out the strong contender for next year’s Oscar nomination for Best Original Song after the jump.

- Mary J. Blige – I Can See in Color

What can I say? It’s a very very good song from the Queen of R&B! Home-girl’s singing her heart out on this one & I absolutely love it!!! Check out the trailer for the Lee Daniels movie ‘Precious’ to be released on the 6th of November, that’s based on the 1996 Novel titled ‘Push‘ as written by Sapphire… really gripping stuff, I should add.

Well Mariah Carey can take some solace in the very stellar acting performance she gives in Precious as she starrs alongside lead actress Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton & Lenny Kravitz… Talking about Paula Patton though, the very beautiful Paula Patton, who is by the way Robin Thicke’s ‘Mrs’…

The Next Halle Berry? As asked by GIANT Magazine

OffBeat – BOIIII!!!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did

Until the NEXT Time…

Peace, Love & Music

Triple A

1990s R&B groups Jodeci and H-Town have teamed up on the new track  Knockin Your Heels Off.

The track isn’t bad (even though it sounds a little dated) but the close up Devante distracted me.. WHAT HAPPENED????

Rest In Peace H-Town’s original lead singer Dino Connor.

Your thoughts please. Hit or Miss?