Posts from — March 2008

What have I learned from being an “edublogger”:

1. Make sure you have a good schedule for everything.

2. Have a good stable of blogs to read about any and everything so you keep abreast of the latest and greatest.

3. Differentiate between the personal and the professional.

As far as what I believe, we need to have a stronger union on-line as well as off-line. People might find the idea ludicrous because of the impending pressure from higher officials to disband or dilute unions, but I’m being real. We fill our text boxes and comments with facts and praises (usually about ourselves, and how great we are in the classroom) along with derisions and insults (usually at everyone but ourselves), but when will we put our money where our mouth is? We can’t simply depend on massive rallies at our city halls to make our point. We need to strengthen the connections we already have.

Unlike any other niche in the blogosphere, edubloggers really only link themselves. I can’t speak much to that because I write about a diverse set of topics plus have carry-over from other blogging platforms, thus I’m a bit of an aberration. Nonetheless, the majority of us only have each other to turn to when we’re looking for inspiration, empathy, or that, yes, it’s going to be alright. We’ll range from very conservative to anarchist, but all in all, we seem to be the only ones that read each other’s materials, and that’s important to recognize since that sort of networking doesn’t usually take place outside of the Internets.

Edubloggers don’t have a national conference. None of us really get recognized on a national platform except within our own niche the way our political or gossip blogger counterparts do. Very few of us actually get deals to write books, even if we have a triple digit or in some instances quadruple digit following. So maybe our focus shouldn’t be on besting the next edublogger but on seeing where we can find the connections that make our web stronger.

I mean, look at the latest attack on teachers:

So the Center for Union Facts decides to post this right in the heart of the city with the most powerful teachers’ union, and we would be none the wiser. No e-mail blast discussing how detrimental and nonfactual this ad is, and no wondering what ugliness could come next. What is our union going to prepare to handle this crap? As far as the tenure question is concerned, that question is answered. As far as us having special privileges over other professions, great, then why do so many of us leave? That question’s been answered, too.

But of course, it’s easy to try and pit teachers against the world. In a time when teachers get treated like heroes but paid like villians, told to act like professionals but talked down to like children, and overwhelmed with the many roles we take on but humiliated in the national media depending on how close contract negotiations are, we need to find a way to come together, really. I completely agree that we need to make certain tenets of our job more stringent, especially tenure, because a couple of bad apples here and they get away with doing nothing (which believe me, we want them out as badly as you do, because they’re ruining our swag). But to remove it completely would deplete an already exhausted teaching corp, most of whom in my experience are some of the hardest-working, honest, and eager people to walk this Earth.

If we see these efforts to turn everyone against teachers when so many of us agree that we wish we could see some of these benefits for the rest of the populace, then we need to be more effective in communicating those desires. We can worry less about who was included in a blogroll, who is the most technologically advanced, whose blog is the hottest, and maybe more on whether we’ll actually find a collective of folks that will help bring these inconsistencies to light.

jose, who is still taking questions. Shoot them over, please.

A few thoughts here and there:

1. Man, we’re still fiendin’ for Mumia to get out of jail. No justice, no peace.

2. Believe it or not, I’m excited for the baseball season to start already. Yes, the New York Giants won the NFL championship, but then I had to deal with the misery of the Knicks (my favorite team in my favorite sport) just sucking so thoroughly that even Stephon Marbury wouldn’t attach himself to that mess (he is part of the problem, t00). So at the least I always know that the New York Yankees can deliver on a good and exciting season with some really heated rivalries and down-to-the-wire games. Even if they don’t win a championship, I don’t have to put a paper bag over my head for cheering for the Bombers.

3. Personally, I’m actually doing OK. I’m looking really forward to June so I can remember my name again. The acting job I’ve done this year is probably one of my best performances of my young life. It’s become harder to distinguish between the occupation and my person. For example, on the A train on the 59th St  - Columbus Circle stop, a group of really loud teenagers always comes on, and whether they’re being obnoxious or not, they’re always really loud and sometimes discourteous to the other passengers riding there. Sometimes, I just want to stand up and say, “Would you PLEASE walk quietly into the car? There should only be one voice I hear right now, and that’s the one in my head!” I assume that wouldn’t go over well.

4. I feel like over the last 5-6 years, we just recapped the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s in terms of fashion, music, politics, and lifestyle. At first I thought it was just me, but then …

• I just saw a hypodermic needle on my block 2 days ago.
• Crack and coke are big hits at the club.
• Michael Jackson’s music actually sounds contemporary.
• 9 out of every 10 rock bands that I’ve heard on the radio have random names that sound like a line out of a movie and have a keyboardist that has a new wave influence to how they play.
• Speakeasies, temple fades with faux-blonde tips, and multi-colored jackets are definitely out and about.
• The Fresh Prince of Bel Air is still on TV, even though Will Smith is barely the guy he was 10 years ago. (And who is?)
• Janet Jackson and George Michael are touring.
• There’s a Clinton running for office.
• What’s more, a woman and a Black person are seeking a position in the Oval office on a major scale. (Think: Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, and Geraldine Ferraro).
• There’s a war going on in some country that no one really wants to be in, and we all fear that the media won’t even really cover it well enough until people stand up in front of a national office, or something.
• 2Pac and Biggie are still in the news.
• I got less than an inch of hair on my head. (ok, maybe that isn’t major news, but still …)
• “Nobody told me there’d be days like these …” John Lennon’s words are still relevant.

5. So this didn’t work the first time, but work with me, people:

1 question. Ask anything you’d like me to delve further into. I think Taylor already asked me to get deep into an earlier topic, but I’d like more participants.

In the meantime, I’m going to try my best Biz Markie impression. Just not here.

jose, who loves taking off his headphones and just listening to the city before it hits rush hour …

Outside of my reading material and a couple of Google searches done under “Jose Vilson,” it’s pretty hard to find any real inclinations of my deep political thought. But after reading Assata Shakur’s latest statement about turning 60 (July 2007), I feel the need to say something most of my readers know but I haven’t really expressed outside of my personal realm: I believe in a revolution. I can’t really limit myself as to how left of center I can be: one day I’m socialist, then I’m straight anarchist, but by the end, I just decide to turn up the music high enough to drown out the thoughts I’m having about the state of the world. I essentially think that this system uses its populace as pawns.

But that’s the Jose from Syracuse, the one who was the education chair of La LUCHA, the member of all those left-leaning and activist organizations on campus. Even into my prime days on Xanga, when I cursed out everyone on Earth (entitled “Fuck Bush,” available upon request), I still had that political lean where I’d snap at anyone who so much as let loose an inaccurate and ignorant comment. As awesome as that sounds, I also started to recognize the necessity to understand other people’s perspectives and accept that they may not change their position on things. Not everyone’s an oppressor and sometimes the very people you consider allies can backstab you for their own narcissistic agendas.

And of course, when you have an understanding of how a government doesn’t really hold the proletariat’s interest at heart, then you start becoming conscious of everything you see, read, buy, eat, breathe, drink, cheer for, vote for, or even wear. Unfortunately, we can’t get away from reading the tags, seeing the foreign countries there, and wondering how many American jobs were lost or what little boy or girl is out there getting pennies a day for getting this item done. I can’t walk down the hallways without thinking how lucky I am to have a union that once protected my right to healthcare, due process, and feed my family. I want to have the power to stop bombs from killing innocent lives all over the world, and heal the wounded mentally as well as physically, even when a very small percentage calls this kind of activity population control.

For all of that, though, I still love the New York Yankees, probably the most vainglorious franchise in the world. I still dress well, no matter how “corporate” it might look. I watch Sportscenter, buy CDs, and enjoy a little political jabber with people who actually have a strong desire to vote for one of the 3 presidential candidates they know of. I’m subscribed to Men’s Health and Rolling Stone. In other words, I’ve at least got one foot in the mainstream. It’s a weird feeling, but I’ve come to accept it.

One of my friends said recently that I had “toned down” that angry part of me. I countered that I wasn’t exactly toned down, but I just had some good examples of what to look forward to as I mature into “grownup”-hood. The biggest inspiration for this revelation of what the future might look like is Malcolm X, who, after visiting Mecca, seemed to back off from his stance of racial separation some, and really, that’s what I aspire to: finding that inner peace where I can still be as activist as I want to be, but find peace in my day, where war persists constantly.

But this is not the time for martyrs, and this is one of the few things I admit I don’t have quite figured out yet. ‘Till I do, I guess I’ll just keep wearing this straight face of mine, neither giving away too much nor being a yes man to the powers that be.

jose, still in the struggle …

p.s. - I’m still mad people assumed I was thinking of blowing up taxis. I swear people are trying to get me red-flagged by government officials …

Last week, I was one of the 10,000+ participants at last week’s City Hall “Keep the Promises” protest, an event literally downcast by the rain, but nonetheless very well attended. I saw students, teachers, administrators, and other politicos swarm into one side of City Hall Park while person after person gave us a speech about how New York State needs to keep its promises insofar as the budget for the city’s educational needs are concerned. While the rain drenched on the rest of us, the line of speeches came. While my 1-cent UFT cap started wrinkling, the line of speeches came. While my “Keep the Promises” sign almost disintegrated in my hands, the speeches kept coming.Over all the scaffolded umbrellas and on the Jumbotron, I saw cumulus clouds continue us to envelop us in rain. Little did I know that amongst the cheers of “Si Se Puede” and “Keep the Promises,” we were being sent a message from the heavens to cleanse ourselves of this facade of unity. No, really, put the signs down, stop handing out the flyers, and let’s talk for a bit. For all the posturing and puff we got at that rally, I wonder if we will ever continue with the energy of that protest. I love a good protest as much as the next person, but let’s delve.

Not to highlight the divisions amongst the educational ranks, but it’s ugly out there. Our industry’s become so cutthroat, it’s no wonder Bloomberg has no problem corporatizing public education. Just within the teaching corps, there are issues of ageism (veteran teachers vs. younger teachers), racism (”the young white teachers” vs. “the older Black / Latino teachers”), elitism (Teach for America / NYC Teaching Fellows / alternative programs vs. regular route), and even in subject areas, where the degree of importance for any one subject depends on who’s in charge of it, what standardized test is next, and who’s coming to visit the school.

Then there are battles between teachers, administrators, support staff, 3rd party educational programs, mentors, advisers, educational coaches, parents, and … oh yeah, the students. The students are what really matter, despite what other battles persist. And we need to come to some common ground on these battles, just like we’d expect the kids to do whenever we see them getting into fights. Let’s have honest dialogue about the prejudices we hold against each other. Let’s acknowledge how younger teachers and veteran teachers can learn a lot from each other, no matter what walk of life. Let’s look at each other as teachers, understanding each other’s backgrounds, but helping each other understand how large this world is. I mean, we have to draw the line somewhere. We need to personally keep our promises.

And I’m not advocating this “personal responsibility” business, because that usually turns into an argument that veers away from the obvious and negligent powers that be, the ones that would rather fund bombs than schools and private no-bid contracts instead of good neighborhoods. What I am saying, though, is that we need to not only stand up, but also walk. Yes, do the research and find out what you like before you stand up, but once you know, walk. As in act upon the very ideals which you hold so tightly. Of course, we know there’s tons of research which suggests that humans’ thought and behavior are clearly independent, but fuck it. Let’s do something.

If we can stand there and scream about how improperly our state officials have distributed our monies, then let’s also complain to the city for their mistreatment of the public school system. If we’re going to complain about terrible principals in our system, let’s also complain about terrible teachers who make our corp weaker. If we’re going to tell off some of these visitors who’ve never been in a classroom, we better hold our union reps and union administration accountable as well for the way they represented us, or don’t for that matter. I’m not calling out for full on revolution, because I know the temerity of the American people for real change, but it’s the little things that separate us from understanding the common enemy and thus becoming the true advocates for our children and their futures.

Then again, I must not know very much since I wasn’t up there on the mic. Meanwhile, I heard things like “Oh no, he’s not talking about the war is he?” from educators and “Our schools are improving …” from politicians. And so the struggle continues. But for my edubloggers, nota bene, it’s time to keep your promises, too. Word is bond.

jose, who appreciates the field negro’s shout-out on his blog thoroughly …

To interpolate Jeremiah Wright Jr., I’ve had too many cabs whiz by me and not pick me up.

Over the last 8 months, just by informal observation, I’ve been passed over by an NYC yellow taxi cab 60% of the time (9 times out of 15, more or less). Of course, I’m basing this on knowing that a cab is on duty when their number is highlighted above their cars, they have no passengers, and, in a couple of cases, the cab stops and keeps bobbing his head. As a matter of fact, I’ve actually had a cabbie wave at me while he passed by. I’ve had witnesses of all backgrounds come up to me after observing a passing and say “That’s fucked up.” I even had one cabbie who, after I saw him stopped at a light, shake his head after I opened his door (before I even gave him my address).

But this isn’t anything new. I’m sure it’s been happening since a public cab service became available in New York City, yet one might believe that, because of the diversity that exists amongst the driving corp of that company, we’d see less discrimination based on color, or whatever they perceive as such. After all, I’m just as brown as any African, dark Latino, or Indian, but I suppose what we think we see is more important. The biggest complaint of said discrimination came from Danny Glover, who in 1999 filed a complaint against New York taxi drivers, and prompted Rudolph Giuliani to create a task force specifically for this and other forms of discrimination in this livery service.

Naturally, because the ex-mayor went overboard, the city had to pay back millions in dollars over wrongful suspensions of these taxi drivers’ licenses. There was also a finding that only 15% of the drivers involved race, and the issue was more destination. Yet, my only concern about that is: NYC polarizes people by their destinations, and thus much of it involves race after all. Fast-forward to today, and the jokes about certain people not catching a cab have become as commonplace as Whoopi Goldberg having no eyebrows or GW Bush not being an effective president. Actually, it’s more commonplace than dental appointments and only a little less commonplace than people checking their e-mails. (Don’t ask for research.)

So naturally, I have every right to be at least perplexed by this lack of courtesy. I thought Danny Glover’s message way back in ‘99 when he sent a letter regarding this matter would discourage cab drivers from practicing such overt racial prejudice, but no. Some might even feel more emboldened because of the latest lawsuits’ outcomes. And to some degree, I understand some of the taxi drivers’ trepidations: there are a few of us who engage in robbery, abusive talk, and just ignorant behavior that often scares anyone, maybe even someone who just immigrated into the country.

But there’s just as equal an amount of citizens in this city who vomit all over the back of the taxi after an inebriated and really blurry night with their equally disingenuous partners, businessmen who just scream and holler at the taxi drivers while on their Bluetooths, rude customers who roll their eyes at any taxi driver who has even a hint of an accent when asking for directions, or even those ditzes who have no idea where they’re going as soon as they get in the taxi and change their minds 4 different times but still expect the taxi to charge them for the first trip … and won’t even tip at the end of it all.

I wish I could say it’s my fault, like I didn’t look professional enough, I wasn’t wearing obvious clothing, or I looked menacing and stood on the wrong side of the street, but none of this is true. To wit, most nights, I’m wearing jeans, a peacoat, and a winter cap i.e. average NY male 25-35 wear. I’m probably one of the better tippers they encounter in the night, and I even know how to navigate to where I live from wherever I am. In other words, I’m a good customer, and there are good customers just like me out there, wondering why they’re not getting picked up. Yet, I’ve witnessed cabs actually stop traffic and hit reverse when they missed a White person’s wave.

Enough! BASTA! Ya!

From now on, I’m going to start doc’ing these taxis. I’ll be writing down their numbers, and calling their offices promptly. I’ll even write what street corner, what I was wearing, and how long I had to wait in order to catch a cab. Then, at the end of the year, I’ll list all their numbers in a letter, and mail it directly to Bloomberg himself. I’m no celebrity, but it’s time for a change, and I’m tired of sitting on my ass and not doing anything about it. I have a voice, and I’m going to use it to make changes happen. Except for their IDs, I’ll also be logging these incidents here on my blog too, probably as a separate entry.

The one thing I won’t do, though, is base my reports on race, because I wouldn’t want to engage in the same sort of profiling many of these violating taxi drivers do. To their credit, though, the 6 people who have picked me up were of various backgrounds. After one particular ride, as I was calming down from my seething rage, I thanked him for picking me up, and questioned why his fellow taxi drivers weren’t as good to customers as he was, he replied in broken English:

“No worries. Everyone the same, every body a customer. Thank you …”

And that was that. I was dropped off at home. That’s really all I need …

jose, who wonders why we still only count our troops as part of the death total …

p.s. - I’m not trying to pit people against one another, but let’s have some honest discussion …

Reading and reinterpreting a bunch of post-it notes I have in the cavities of my cranium:

1. The Knicks suck, and my kids have no problem reminding me.

2. Reason #1234908084 I don’t believe in charter schools anymore: there needs to be a set of checks and balances on every level of public education, from teachers and students to administrators and government officials. Once that’s lacking, people think they can get away with murder.

3. In times like these, I miss Dave Chappelle. I miss his ability to synthesize and vocalize the fears, hopes, and ideas of underrepresented communities while translating that comically to Whites, which in many ways was a form of seduction on his part.

4. I’m no Tafari, but I’ve been on the fast track to losing some of my heft. According to some of my friends, I’m “nobody’s 250,” but the scale told me differently a few months ago (260 to be exact). After 2 gluttonous holidays, I needed to tip the scales back in my favor. I’ve lost close to 13 lbs. in the last couple of months, so I’m happy, but the more I discover about losing weight while gaining muscle, the more I wish I stayed on track from long ago. For instance, sometimes I’ll have a protein shake for lunch, and the type of brand I choose can be the difference between tasting a delicious vanilla shake and having a pasty plastic yogurt in my hands. Nasty.

5. You know how sometimes you wish you could do something about certain situations and you wish you had the voice to make a change about it? Well, I finally decided to take myself to task on my own promises. I’ll write about this project tomorrow. I was forced into action, so be ready for it.

Oh yeah, and let me link you to some of my favorite posts in the last few weeks:

cero. Bam reminds you to get the hell off the phone, rude ass.

uno. Check my comment in regards to LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen’s latest Vogue cover on Necole Bitchie. Sometimes, the bull in me comes out and thoroughly.

dos. Marisa at Latina Lista discusses China’s latest report on the US’ human rights violations.

tres. LeaderTalk on why teachers leave, with a nifty table and all.

cuatro. Shelly discussed getting “the beats.” And by the beats, I mean the rod, the belt, the sandal, or just bare palm.

cinco. SaintSeester makes the Passion Quilt Meme into an actual virtual quilt. A-mazing, and it gave me ideas for my fellow English teachers to use. I might even incorporate that into math, but that’ll be a little trickier.

That’s all for now, mi gente.

jose, who reminds people that just because I’m not commenting doesn’t mean I’m not reading …

I love my brother.The herb’s birthday was on St. Patrick’s Day, and yet, another year passes and I couldn’t celebrate with him personally. He’s making big moves at my alma mater, doing everything I didn’t, and hopefully excelling academically. I wish him the very best in his growth as a young man, and as a brother. We didn’t always get along, but he more than anyone else made me want to redeem myself for my past transgressions as an aloof if not dispassionate family member on both my mother and father’s sides. He made me want to be a father someday, too, because of the struggles we went through getting adjusted to each other.

And I already knew he was too big for his britches when I called him up on Monday, and his voicemail was full. Must be all those women (and frat brothers) across the state leaving him crazy messages. I hate to say it, but with 300+ pictures and 600+ friends on Facebook, I admitted to him on Tuesday that he’s getting dangerously close to being more popular than I am, (which is fine because he’s more built for that life). He might have gone to every school I did, but he’s doing everything his way, and despite my nervousness for his future, I’ve come to accept that.

At times, he still needs guidance, but that’s what big brothers are for. Other times, though, my job is to learn from him, too, and not try to outshine him or outdo him wherever I go. Now when I go back to my alma mater, I’m referred to as his brother and not the other way around. It makes me feel old, but it makes me insanely proud. He’s his own star; I can’t always be the brighter of the two. But we’ll forever be part of the same constellation. I have a hard time showing it, but I’m honored that he represents me.

Younger, but not my little brother, Ralf. Happy belated birthday, and keep shining …

jose, the big brother …

p.s. - Joel posted a dope awesome Carnival of Education, so a big shout-out goes to him.

edit: by dope, I mean cool. My slang is very NYC-oriented. Sorry for the confusion. Moving right along.

I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I won’t wait, I don’t wanna wait
I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I won’t wait, I don’t wanna wait
I won’t wait til it’s too late …

On Sunday, I spoke a little about how I often see myself as an inspiration to the little ones in my class, especially my boys, who hardly ever get any examples of people to look up to. Past my coarse and firm exterior as a disciplinarian resides a man who really understands the power of someone else telling you that you’re going to be alright. Maybe in many ways I earned it academically or because I got lucky, but the teachers and principals I had looking out for me usually made sure that I stayed on a successful road.

But more recently, accelerated teacher programs practically chastise teachers for becoming too emotionally involved with the students, because there’s a fear that 1) the teacher won’t understand or relate to the child 2) the teacher will become far too fatigued at the end of the day to become a real human being and 3) they won’t represent the program they’re in as professionals. The jargon some of these heads speak in often denotes an implicit hatred of the children, preferring to speak about them as statistics and not as humans. That attitude trickles down to the principals, administrators, and even some teachers, who would rather run around trying to find ways to pass their students so they can improve the schools’ overall grade rather than keeping that academic rigor that’s so necessary.

So then as a teacher, I’m often stuck in between. When I first came into the world’s greatest profession, I was encouraged to inspire and challenge, but then chastised for my idealism and investment. Thus, I did the only thing I knew how to do since high school: rebel. I rebelled against the misconceptions of my person, against those advisers who treated my qualities as setbacks, rebelled against my parent’s wishes for me to get into some cubicle writing C++ with a banana in my left hand, and rebelled against the kids, because their thoughts (I want to do better) and their behavior (not really) are independent of each other, but not independent of the zillion factors outside of a classroom I can control.

Even on a day like this, when I had to detach myself from the situations in my school, I only find myself getting more excited to have that special secret handshake with my little gentlemen, to tell the girls that they need to act like they want to be strong, independent women someday, and furthermore, delve into statistics and at some point, make them understand the real-world relevancy of it all. I want to have awesome discussions with fellow teachers about the children we teach, with some administrators about ideas we can implement for next year, and even sit down and think about how I can become that master teacher people keep hallowing.

John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I counter, “Ask BOTH what your country can do for you as well as what you can do for your country.” Let’s have an exchange. Teachers like me can’t do it alone, though. We need to have assurances that we’ll have just enough freedom to implement the curriculum with our own flavor but still have enough focus to meet state and national standards for education. We need to have enough resources and support to keep on keeping on. Most teachers don’t work shorter hours because we’re lazy, but because we need to correct homework, plan lessons, go to outside professional developments when our own school’s PDs aren’t adequate for our growth, and because unlike every other profession, we also have a harder time extracting ourselves from our professions.

In turn, I personally can’t promise that some teachers will follow me, but I can promise that I’m going to do my best to hold my end of the bargain: elevate your child to a higher level than when he or she first met me, and work as hard as possible to make that happen. If it means we’ll be protesting on a Wednesday (3/19) at City Hall for more funds for schools, or making a little noise around the edublogosphere (because we really are all we got), or telling that little boy or girl to get back to work or they’ll face serious and appropriate consequences, then so be it. One thing’s for sure: I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I won’t wait, I won’t wanna wait …

jose, who wants to show you in so many ways …

p.s. - Pencil tap to Alicia Keys’ “Tell You Somethin’ (Nana’s Reprise)” …

Let me ruminate a bit.
I like being personally invited to events. I like being messaged or called out specifically by people. I like searching for my name and seeing my web site first on Google, and any references to me making up the majority of the search results on any major search engine. I like when people say “please” and “thank you” when they address me, and when my kids see me in the morning, despite however they’re doing in my class behaviorally or academically, I expect them to say “Good morning” or “good afternoon” and not at their leisure. These interactions are as natural to me as me expecting warm water when I turn the lever to “warm” in my shower.

Of course, these interactions don’t always play out the way I like them to, and that’s when I get a little peeved. With the increase of impersonal greetings and interactions, it’s easy to feel like my achievements aren’t being recognized. I’m not self-centered, though some people say I should be with some of the events that precede It’s also easy to lose sight of my goals, and why I’ve embarked on the “mission” I have. Maybe it’s because I’ve also grown a little pride in myself, resuscitating pieces of me that lied buried deep in my person because of the multiple insecurities I’ve suffered through for a few decades or so. I’m good now, but any little feeling of personal slight or disregard often gets my mind going.

But then I think about all the wonderful feedback, my growing readership, and the positive attention I do get from the people in my inner circle, and I’m grounded again. Today, at the bar, I was having a conversation about U2 with an Irish co-worker, wondering if they’re still cool in Ireland. She told me that indeed they were, and they’re looked at as inspirations. Even to this day, as popular and sometimes aloof as they are, people still catch members of the band drop by the music store with no bodyguards and no pretenses. Granted, that would never happen with the likes of a Jay-Z (in Marcy, BK) or a Diddy (Harlem, USA), but it’s good to know that even a band whose leader has demigod-like tendencies still has a good sense of their place in the world.

And if they can keep a good head on their shoulders, then this fan of theirs can probably do well for himself, too.

jose, who wonders what people do to keep grounded in spite of their lofty goals …

It isn’t that I’m a hater, because I am, but sometimes I observe things that I would just love to point out.

1. I hate when someone calls themselves The Black [insert cultural icon here]. The Black Barbie, Madonna, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Joe Schmoe, or whoever the hell else everyone wants to emulate really annoys the shizzel out of me. As prevalent as imitators are out there, we need to start investing in the idea of self. Even if these people are only doing it for promotional purposes or maybe as self-aggrandizing, it never works out. Ask the NBA how well marketing Kobe as the next Michael Jordan worked. Mattafac, ask them why MJ himself criticized the league for always trying to make comparisons of the new players with the old ones, and why it’s hurting their new stars’ images.

2. I’m not feeling all these ripoffs of Stuff White People Like. I might be the only Black (or Latino) blogger with a substantial readership who hasn’t mentioned SWPL, and here’s why: it’s already too pop. The Internet’s a funny thing in that, as soon as something gets hot, it gets hotter than things ordinarily should. And I ain’t mad at SWPL at all; to the contrary, I think it’s a sarcastic and self-deprecating on the part of the originator. Yet, I think the types of white people he’s talking about are also the types who find something cool about the Lower East Side now, but 10 years wouldn’t be caught dead or alive in the area, so I’m sure you see what I mean. :: puts on suspect face::

3. I just watched Malcolm X, the movie with Denzel Washington in his should-have-been-Oscar-winning Oscar-nominated role as Malcolm. I always find myself marveling at the power of that movie, and the message it still holds for us decades later. What bothers me is that many people (especially our own) found too many inaccuracies in the film for them to enjoy the film. After tearing up at the end of the movie for a good 5 minutes, I thought to myself, “If not Spike Lee, then who? If not Denzel, then who? If not this film, then what?” If people want the real facts, they can read the autobiography; it’s that simple. I thought it was very well done.

4. During my post-observation, the administrator mentioned how the kids idolize me and think of me as a father figure. I keep telling you all how humbled I am about this kind of reaction because I never had a consistent enough father to know what a father’s supposed to do, but now I’m learning. My role as an inspiration to some of these kids 0ften makes me look at the rest of the world with a critical and discerning eye. I can especially see that with my gentlemen. Just from my general observations, and being around their neighborhood long enough, they don’t see many younger men doing anything besides advertising parties, playing some sport, playing some girl, and / or hustlin’. Hence, I take my role as a teacher a little more seriously than most. More on this later on in the week.

5. I was walking through Union Square with a friend of mine, when we saw a huge pile of garbage in front of a local supermarket. A month or two before, I saw some Freegans, who rummage through the garbage to protest the economic food cycle or whatever have you, all up in the garbage. After explaining this to Kika, my friend, I quipped “The only logical next step is cannibalism. If we’re going to kill people senselessly, let’s at least use them for food resources.” We have a sick sense of humor. We kept going at it, ’till I said, “And they’ll complain about how much land we could be saving by eating people instead.”

She replies, ” … Yeah, it’s the funeral industrial complex! Holding us down!”

Insane laughter through 14th St. ensues.

5. Dude, David Patterson is the new governor of New York. I won’t make light of the more socially ostensible parts of his person (his Blackness and blindness), but I gotta say that there couldn’t have been a better script written. This is almost like Guess Who’s Coming To Govern? I saw his first speech since Spitzer resigned, and this looks promising, but here’s hoping the huge deficit facing this state isn’t attributed to him, and that people don’t hold his rather liberal politics against him too much. We’ll see how it plays out.

jose, who didn’t know Michael Jordan (who likes to stay apolitical) and a slew of other Black celebrities helped sponsor the movie Malcolm X, and is also happy that Kobe Bryant and Greg Oden are speaking up politically …