Posts from — February 2007

One of the teachers in my school said this in his ever-so-Dominican Spanish:

“What some of these kids need is another option besides the regular schooling system. Not every kid can be an engineer, a scientist, or a doctor. Some of them would be better put to work as a mechanic, a plumber, or some other repairman. They need to have more alternative schools for kids like that.”

Of course, I understood where he was coming from. As long as he’s been in the teaching profession, he has seen the pitfalls that many of these children fall into. Many of these children receive little support either at home or in their own schools, and they see no other fate but leaving school and participating in very dangerous extracurricular activities. I have also witnessed (as a student and as a teacher) my fair share of kids who thought they were hopeless, and fulfilled their own prophecies.
My only problem with that broad statement is that it might be interpreted as an indirect attack on our “affirmative action.” If we think about the principle of having affirmative action for those in underrepresented ethnic communities (read: non-Whites), it’s about making a better attempt to integrate these communities into the mainstream society; it also then follows that these communities would have the option rather than the obligation to chose “lower-end” jobs.

This educational system at times seems to contradict itself. The public education system publicizes how well it works, and how these kids are virtually hopeless, yet even the curriculum is set up so these kids can read, write, and do basic operations as prerequisites for the “low-end” labor force.

Those in more successful school systems (and of course, those that produce the leaders) tend to have a more well-rounded education, consisting of all the subjects every day. They may even host the same populations, but something about having higher expectations, a more structured and scholarly curriculum, and people willing to deliver effectively seems to inspire the kids to do better despite their issues outside of the classroom.

In turn, while I understand that some students may no longer have the mentality it takes to see beyond their dire straits, I’d like to believe that everyone needs a chance to get that whole education so they’re not just good students and test-takers, but better citizens and people, wherever they go.

jose, the educator

p.s. - It was just a thought. Yours?

As my first decree of totally partiality, I am a Yankees, Knicks, and Giants fan, and when I’m in the mood, the Rangers, too. Yes, it’s a bias that I assumed environmentally; I live in / love Manhattan, and even if the rest of the city treats the Lower East Side like an annex of Brooklyn, it’s still my home.

Living in this city, I’m used to too many extremes; either I have an awesome team and a garbage team, or a heartbreaking team and a lovable team. Yes, for those of you with only one or two teams to choose from, bear with me.

The question that always comes up in the months of October, January, and May (baseball, football, and basketball, respectively) is what every team asks when their team hasn’t won the ‘chip in a while: is it really better to have a team that’s good but comes close every single year or just have a terrible team so you have no expectations for them?

[Read more →]

*** Quick Update on the last blog: Soon after I wrote this blog, massive reports came out about the tons of violence that happened during that weekend. Superficially, one would say “See, Mayor Goodman was right.” What bothers me, though, is that past All-Star games were far more crowded and more violent, yet didn’t make quite the stir Vegas did. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I’m not a betting man, but … ***

For many, including me, music has been such an integral part of my life, so much so that I’m one of those walking demi-zombies you see walking around with his iPod all over the city (mine is a black iPod nano; I call it Knight Rider). With 517 or so songs on there, I often have songs I constantly put on repeat.

Then, there are those songs I wish I wrote. They’re usually the ones you don’t mind (at least) humming along to or whistling the melody. In my case, I wouldn’t even mind pantomiming the song on my way to, from, during, after, before, or any other preposition I can add for any destination I need to go.

For instance, I wish I wrote Eric B. and Rakim’s “Follow the Leader.” I have a hard time actually rhyming along with it because it uses so many in-rhymes, it makes me wonder what’s really going on in Rakim’s mind. He’s honestly the best rapper ever, and that song’s one of many reasons why I believe so. (”Don’t Sweat The Technique” was also pretty damn good.)
Another song I wish I wrote was “One” by U2. (While I thought Mary J. Blige’s version had a little more soul, it just simply wasn’t as good as the original. The song strayed from the original message Bono was sending to the rest of his band, too.) Shit, come to think of it, I wish I wrote any song that Bono wrote, but this is the one I wish I wrote. “Original of the Species,” “Elevation (Remix),” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” “Beautiful Day,” … This list could go on forever.

Continuing with the theme of 80’s band gone modern, one that I secretly wish I wrote was “Ordinary World” by Duran Duran. Yes, it’s Duran Duran, but as with the Beatles, I liked their older stuff more than their earlier stuff. They sounded so much more mature on this, plus they used more instruments as well.

By far, though, the song I wish I wrote is “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. Of course, everyone’s going to have mixed opinions about this, because of his sordid history, but if you were a superstar in the 70s or 80s, you had some sort of history. Plus, MJ’s history cannot be denied. Even with all the music that’s come out since that record came out, that record still cannot be touched. Not that I have some experience with having a woman who thinks I’m the father for some reason, but this song’s just well done from top to bottom.

Noteable Mentions:- “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “I Am The Walrus” by The Beatles (drug-induced euphoria, and the lyrics for these two were written presumably by John Lennon)

- “Encore” by Jay-Z (sums up a career rather well)

- “Scream” by Janet and Michael Jackson (greatest brother-sister combination ever)

- “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses

- “Rocketman” by Elton John
Which songs do you wish you wrote? No, really, I want to hear your choices. Peace …

jose, who loves his Knight Rider

This weekend is probably one of my favorite weekends of the year, as it commemorates … the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. Every year, before I even think of the holiday dedicated to former slaveholders and rapists, I imagine who’ll win the various contests for the All-Star Weekend. I’m particularly interested in the the 3-Point contest, the actual game, and Slam Dunk contest (in that order). (Update: I’m only excited about the game, now.) I just get excited when I see the East and West rosters simply because these players typically never play with each other, and watching the dynamics between the players lets me imagine how I want to build my franchise in NBA2K7 or even if it’s possible to have a live version of NBA Street. That’s besides my point, though.

This weekend also highlights Las Vegas as a burgeoning city full of big franchise sports promise. Detractors still ask: who wants to have a franchise somewhere where the people inside the casinos can (and will) manipulate what happens on the field / court? However the situation plays out now seems the best time for Vegas to get its hands wet with a “Big Four” pro sports team.

However, no sooner than the thought of a legitimate pro team in Vegas crossed my mind did this breaking news come in my lap:

“I don’t want to see some gangbangers or hip-hoppers knocking over a jewelry store at Fashion Show mall.“

Who said it? If you said the mayor (Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman), you’re one of the people who doesn’t want to see this happen any more than I do. I bring this up because I find it interesting how quickly these men try to separate themselves from an image that evidently propels the sports image to the forefront of mainstream culture, namely hip-pop. Secondly, I also see another case of improper stereotyping on the part of the mayor.

After all, if one takes a glance at the top 20-30 players in the league, none of them strike the average fan as a “gang-banger” or a “hip-hopper.” A couple, namely Carmelo Anthony and Jermaine O’Neal have been in recent scuffles on the court, but that’s nothing compared to the slanderous slights Mayor Goodman’s making against Black men. Even at an event that recognizes the accomplishments of these athletes, the negative connotations of his statement alone sends a clear message to Black men athletes everywhere that they are still subject to the prejudice whims of powerful White men anywhere.

Certainly, the same fan base that voted these athletes in can identify the parallels between them and the rappers they adore. Even more so, when they watch basketball, they’ll turn on their MP3 players and listen to the same rap these players listen to. Yet, when it comes to actually having them in their residence or in their proximity, I’d venture to say that some wouldn’t want anything to do with them. Most of the NBA-related merchandise out there has a hip-hop influence and has a stamp of approval from some “urban audience” (read: they went to the hood and asked if that looked dope). Hence, for the majority of the consumer population, it becomes easy to select everything they want from these interwoven culture (the basketball and the rap skills), and filter out the “thuggery” and the “violent” language.

As I sit here, I think to how preposterous it is for such a statement to be made, and how he can codify Black men by using these labels, and in the process, sending a signal to the profitable sponsors of these events that their “privilege” and “identity” is intact within Las Vegas. This is not to say that the Black community as a whole does not have its issues, but I’m confident that these “gang-bangers” would more readily drop their guns and “bling” before the people who create the Las Vegas nightlife drop their own “local charms.”

As long as this sort of bigotry exists, there could be an entire field of highly-paid (mostly) Black men on the field and we’ll still live in the legacy of slavery.

jose, who stopped short of writing a book on this

p.s. - Mr. Goodman has a history with gangbangers, as he was a defense lawyer for mobsters all over Vegas. Hmph!

p.p.s. - Miami for the next few days. Leave some love.

Today, I performed for my kids and they didn’t believe I wrote this myself. Surprise, surprise.

Some of you know me from other incarnations on the Internet. Today, I’m writing on a theme I’ve written before. Just check it.

“For She” © 2007 Jose Vilson

Her spells lay me captive
Her silhouette triggers memories
Of the places in my mind she touched
When she inserted her finger
Through my ears and softly scrapped my lobs
As if she was testing them before
She laid her tongue on it
Outlining my more masculine features
And complementing them with her own femininity
I was already spellbound by her intelligence
She made words I mastered seem brand new
Her deepest seduction came from when she never spoke of it
The activity we could sense between us
The thoughts I already had as she pressed her upper body To my own I tried resistance
But in time, even winter has to give way to summer’s irresistible heat
And ‘twas the season in my more secret areas
She’s now the image I remembered having back when I first thought of having a girl lie on my lap and tease me so
She’s now the goddess so many dreamers and rhapsodists dedicated their sonnets to
She’s now unbuttoning the top of the collar
I thought was too safely locked to begin with
She’s now reaching into another echelon of heaven
And she’s now climbing down my body
But she’s now reaching into my soul
Making peace with the major G_ds
My mind is unclear and totally in lock with hers
Our liquid forms become one through osmosis
Our synergy is focused
But something’s amiss
For such a woman has yet to exist …

peace,

jose

The biggest question any burgeoning writer answers for anyone is “Why do you write?” Whether one write essays, lesson plans, and poetry (like yours truly), or are into the other genres such as fashion or sports writing, one finds him or herself asking those questions as well, especially because humans always like to think there’s a purpose behind the madness they create. G_d forbid all of this actually means nothing.

Personally, I started writing when I was in the 1st grade, though my true first creative (and effective) piece I wrote was in the 5th grade. While I was misguided in writing what I did (too public to get into really), the seeds of a true writer
were sown then.

Of course, as every writer does, I went through my early phase of writing corny love poems, then the sci-fi writings inspired by X-Men and other Marvel characters through high school, the attempts at rapping, which did not come to fruition fortunately (Can you see me as a “conscious” rapper? I thought so, too), and the miscellaneous writings about my identity that still hold a place in my heart.

I found my niche in college, around the time the current performance poetry became popular in the underground. While I always knew what the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was (I live 3 blocks away), I did not understand the magnitude or significance it had amongst many of my favorite poets. These rather bombastic and semi-celestial men and women who I met through various programs at Cuse helped shape the identity I wanted to establish.

From the soul-trembling performances of Amiri Baraka and StaceyAnn Chin, to the earthly readings of Sonia Sanchez and Jessica Care Moore, I only thought to myself how I wanted to have a voice that rung so resoundingly in the ears of generations past and present. Their poetry was more than just a set of words on paper; it was a shared experience, and certainly the person on stage was to the person off-stage as Superman is to Clark.

I also began to go through a maturation process because of the mass organizations I joined, the experiences I went through during that time period, and the courses I took about myself and where I am from. This combination of elements shaped what I write to this day. This laid the foundation for what I write and how I do it.

As for why I write now … that’ll be a good post for next week. Tune in, mi gente.
jose, the everlasting …

Let me preface this by saying that anything I write here might actually have to do with my thoughts on myself. That may seem like a wild idea in this day and age, with many blogs opting instead to write about others’ lives, but I fully intend to make this blog and all the subsequent ones about what I think.

Little known fact: John Lennon wrote “I Am the Walrus” to confuse the hell out of an old English teacher from his alma mater, one he was not so proud of. He heard they were analyzing his lyrics, so he made a song that ensured they would stop using Beatles’ music for literary fodder. [Read more →]

While I love the message of peace that emanates from a simple introductory salutation, I gotta do it my way.

Wow.

All that coding and designing.

Well, for my first order of business, I’d like to thank Auron for all the crazy software and links. As any noob can tell, I made this site with Dreamweaver, Wordpress, and Photoshop CS. Flash isn’t necessary if your site is more word-driven.

Come to think of it, it was really just me and my computer. I had been working on this for a good two weeks on and off. It’s actually better than I was aiming for, and I didn’t have to use frames either. I was in front of this screen close to 8-9 hours last night (on and off) getting the little things taken care of. It’s with this stubbornness that this stalwart web designer graduated (read: survived) from the Cuse.

Now, I’m off. No, really, I’m off. No mas!

jose