If there is a will, there is a blog.

Mi gente, bienvenidos desde La Republica Dominicana! It’s a sunny day outside, about 30% chance of rain. Some cloudy skies, winds blowing in the NW direction. I’m sitting here in shorts and a tank top (something I don’t usually do) and relaxing. it’s been OK so far. Interesting how even when family members ask us to relax, their most natural behaviors prevent us from doing so (and by us, I mean my younger brother and I). We’ve been to 2 separate resorts in the past 24 hours, and will probably move some more through this 16-day excursion.

A few notes of interest:

Dominicans applauding on the airplane after a good landing into Santo Domingo: it never gets old.

I can still swim. Even while slightly inebriated. Thumbs up for me.

I finally caught Ratatouille last night. Aplauso!

In the middle of watching Shrek 2 and Ratatouille, they showed this music video by Akon feat. Snoop Dogg and Tego Calderon for “I Wanna Fuck Love You.” Honest to G_d, it made me squeamish, especially with kids around. Wouldn’t want my daughter to get the impression that wearing those booty shorts all in public like that is appropriate in every venue.

Last night, my brother and I went to this “dance hall” they have set up for the guests in this resort. We both looked at each other, with Presidentes in hand, and said, “We really miss our girlfriends.”

I can still call and recieve text messages from here, but no names come up when I get texted back. Weird.

Twitter has really taught me how to keep my notes short.

Feel free to let me know how all of you are doing. Google Reader is acting funny.

Lastly, my middle finger really is swollen! Curses! My first and second mosquito bites came right on the same finger, so the base of my left middle finger looks like it got hammered. One of these fingers is not like the others …

jose, who honest to goodness has some of his best written work to date up in my brain somewhere …

A few notes:

1. I’m back to health mostly. It feels good, especially after taking the day off on Friday to handle that. I needed a little breather to finish out the year strong, and I wasn’t coming into work to spread my cold on anyone. Thankfully I think I’m ready for tomorrow’s challenges.

2. A pretty heated discussion popped off in that last post about the Holocaust and the Maafa. In turn, that post alone received 600+ hits. I know, I’m surprised. Before that, I’ve never gotten over 300 hits in a day.

3. I went to one of (2) regular barbershops, and there was this new guy there. Of course, everyone’s nervous about the new guy, but I said, “F*k it, what’s the worst that could happen?” Why did this man take 45 minutes to hook me up (where it should only take me 20, 30 tops)? 3 people at a different barber finished before I did. After a while, I said, “Alright, let me go!” I mean, I was literally there teaching him how to cut. And he kept making mistakes, so he kept trying to fix them. I’m surprised my hairline isn’t behind my ears after that experience.

4. To all the past and present mothers, soon-to-be-mothers, and future hot moms, Happy Mother’s Day. To everyone else, wish your mothers wherever they may be a happy and joyous one (unless you and her don’t really get along like that, then my bad). They’re the center of our universe, and there’s no way we can pay them back, but the plan is to show ‘em that we understand … you are appreciated.

I’m keeping it short today. I gotta prepare my mom a little something. In the meantime, enjoy these tidbits:

- Pandagon reports on a teacher who lost his job in Florida because he’s a wizard. No, really.

- The Free Slave puts down some interesting points of view about our current system.

- Did Edward Carson really bring up Public Enemy in a classroom effectively? Why I believe he did.

- Eva at Sassy Women Online discusses the latest You-Tube phenomena of bullying online and why it’s not cool to almost kill a girl on camera.

- NYC Educator writes another informative posts on another think tank telling teachers how terrible they are.

jose, who’s concurrently excited about glowing in the dark with Kanye, NERD, Lupe, and Rihanna on Tuesday …

p.s. - Yes, I have “Dear Mama” as a ringtone whenever my mom calls.

A few notes:

1. Ironman was really good. Better than SpiderMan 1 and X-Men 1, but not better than the second part of either series. It stayed true to the original comic book for the most part, and more than anything, it was made more for adults than children (which makes me wonder why children were present in the theatre. A couple of people doubted whether Robert Downey Jr. was the right guy for the role, but even watching the trailers, there’s no other person on Earth more qualified for the role. Directly after, I have to download the original Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”

2. Yes, I did show up on NY1 because of the immigration protest on May 1st. I knew it would happen since the camera usually finds me one way or another, but it wasn’t about me. It was about the message we were sending to the rest of the world, and that’s important. The strangest part about the whole protest was the observers on the sides of Broadway. They were all so shocked and in awe of the protest that they decided to just look at us. There was neither encouragement nor anger, just people watching, taking pictures with their cell phones, mouth agape, as if they’d never seen a protest before. Pictures and video coming soon.

3. Kobe Bryant wins MVP, and all is right with the world.

4. I’m due for a complete main site redesign this summer. Not so much the blog, but everything else here. Same goes for my MySpaces, but I can put that off. I’m still trying to get some ideas for how I want my redesign to look like, but that’s the beauty of being one’s own web designer; I don’t have any artistic limitations really.

5. Digsby has officially taken over all my old IM clients, and even let me rediscover my old ones, and it’s taken much less RAM than those heavy programs do. I now have my 3 AIMs, MSN, GMail, and recently added Facebook Chat all under one umbrella, plus checking my MSN, Yahoo, and GMail e-mails. It’s been a world of difference as far as clutter is concerned.

6. Going to the gym makes me feel good. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go do that. Got a lot on my plate. Peace …

jose, who will actually write a report on his 3rd year of teaching soon …

My notes for Sunday:

1. Isiah Thomas is FIRED! Out, out, out! I haven’t wanted a former All-Star point guard out of the Knicks since … Stephon Marbury. No really, there’s too much clutter in that team. With Patrick Ewing and Pat Riley’s inductions to the Hall of Fame, I’m about 99% sure that I prefer to make it really close and fail than never to have even been in consideration for a championship at all. How’s that for dedication?

2. I can’t conceive any scenario where someone marries into a rival team. Let me explain. Hypothetically, let’s say that there was a lady who went from a Knicks fan to a Heat fan in the middle of the 90s just because the husband was a Heat fan. Sorry, but that just doesn’t fly with me, not that I want to control who cheers for what, but there’s just something … wrong about it. Same goes for Red Sox to Yankees transfers, etc. If the teams aren’t intense rivals, though, I’m not mad at the switch.

3. I don’t know about you, but I just love watching square dancing.

No, really, it’s interesting. At first, it’s all about showing everyone that you can really dance all by yourself. Then, you get into a few formations in the hopes of courting the partner across from you, and hoping to avoid the partner adjacent to the one you want. Then, for a few seconds, if you succeed, then you get a good 5-6 seconds to dance with them, and then you gotta let go of them. Of course, there’s also a subtle dance-off between different people in the group trying to show off who’s the best dancer in the crowd, and who has the best move, but it’s so subtle because there’s all this activity happening on the floor already. Meanwhile, outside observers are all either impressed by the intricacies of the whole dance or confused because they wonder how they’ll participate in this mess.

I bring this up, because that’s pretty much how I felt this week. Not just crazy insane, but insane crazy. I’m just trying to do my job, but of course, everyone wants to get into a square dance. We can twirl and spin around the issues all we want, but when the dance is over, reality sets in, and we gotta face each other. I’m all for square dancing, but at the cost of what our focus is? No. Apropos metaphor? Definitely.

Off to the gym. I’ll be commenting on your pages soon. Peace …

jose, counting down to the Glow In The Dark tour …

p.s. - To interested parties: I’m not saying you can’t read my blog, but I am saying that you’re not going to find anything here that you can’t just straight ask me. As many confessions as I have here, this is not a confessional. It’s a blog. Check my rights.

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 …

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 …

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 …

The leftovers:

1. Wait, you mean Obama actually won Texas? Well then, maybe the MSM (mainstream media) has a lot to think about when it comes to responsible journalism. Not that I’m for or against either candidate, but it’s important to present the facts.

2. My impressions of Squidward and Gary of Spongebob Squarepants fame are becoming impeccable.

3. I finished Ch. 1 of my manuscript for the WOW Project. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be giving updates on that until I’ve personally handed in my manuscript to an agent, but I’m really excited.

4. JD and Taylor, I’ve already answered the Blog Evolution Meme and Top 5 Posts Meme I think, and in style …

5. My brother’s forearms are bigger than ever. I might have to check if dude’s on that HGH.

6. No really, my Apple Jacks actually have a nice apple taste, but it’s overpowered by that cinnamon.

6. Tamara and Ilana, I got you right now (re: Passion Quilt Meme).

Here are the rules:

• Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
• Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
• Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network

Are you surprised? This iconic image is the representation of a freedom struggle of living in this country. On one end, they represented America in grand fashion, delivering 2 of the 3 top medals in their contest, and on the other end, they knew that their country wouldn’t afford them the same rights as Whites were during that period. If I showed this to my kids, I’d want them to understand that their strength didn’t just come from their superior athleticism, but also their heart and love for their people, and the intelligence to make a stand in the greatest world stage. (It’s also important to know that there were 3 protesters there. Peter Norman also wore a protest badge to show support for Tommie Smith and John Carlos.) The opportunities they’ve received wouldn’t have happened without the struggles that people before them faced; now it’s up to them to carry that torch.

As for the people I want to pass this onto, I got nothin’. Take it on if you want to.

7. At first I didn’t think it was possible, but I’ve officially been linked on not one but two (mostly) gossip sites: Nicole Bitchie and MzVirgo. Shocked? Yeah. Appreciative? Certainly. I must be taking tips from Gangstarr.

jose

p.s. - Anticipate a positive post, a post about why your future’s so bright, you need to wear shades, and a post about NYC. I’ll definitely need your participation on that last one.

A few notes as usual:

0. I have a new e-mail for this blog. The blog’s gotten so big as far as the communication I’m getting from some of you, I had no choice. It’s all about growth. Feel free to shoot me any tips, comments, or suggestions through the e-mail in the sidebar. Just don’t spam me, please.

1. Still bumpin’ that Janet album, Discipline. My new favorite song on there is “So Much Betta.” I’ve also redeveloped an appreciation for Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt.

2. I do a mean impression of Squidward.

3. The Firefox developers really need to improve its English dictionary. Even the word “Firefox” is coming up as an error when I type it in this box.

4. I just bought a new book entitled The Freedom Manifesto, by Tom Hodgkinson, which seems to align with my non-fiction / self-help / history inclinations, though currently I have a good 25 books and 14 CDs on cue and a book outline I haven’t opened up since early January. More on that later.

5. This week, I’m focusing completely on education in my blogs. I got a couple of barn burners, I believe …

6. So here’s another confession:

If you don’t ask me the right question, then you’ll never get the right answer. I’ve become more aware of my difficulty with just rambling on about myself, no matter how difficult or trying my life becomes. On my blog, I’m a totally different person, able to spout verbs and nouns about damn near everything. In real life, though, the right question usually leads to a good answer, and then we can have good and honest conversation. What essentially makes a good question is what we expect from our kids: the truth. The more explicit the question is, the better I can answer the question. As cool as inference is, it doesn’t come close to clarity.

7. Oh yeah, by the way, I performed on Friday for my grade’s Dominican Independence Day / Black History Month Celebration. More on that later, but for your enjoyment, here’s the poem I read. I got my Michael Corleone on for this one.

“I Am”

I am the man
I am the promise of previous generations to make the world better
I am the stage performer, the fan, and the audience
I am the math teacher who teaches more than math
I am fresher than the freshest sneakers out
Without a doubt,
I’m the guy parents confuse for just speaking one language
When I speak two
¿El habla español?
Si, yo soy el maestro de tu hijo o hija en el quinto piso
Yo existo en mi propio mundo
And I am el rey of everything I see
From Brooklyn to Queens
I am the orgullo of all my people
El poderoso del barrio
The remembrance of 50 million people who look like me
Crossing the Atlantic on ships not meant for real people
But didn’t quite make it
I am stronger than the fiercest chains strapped to my wrists
Faster than the dogs chasing me
Brighter than the dark skin I lay in
I am the man, so I’m not kidding
I am the rock in the roll of the melody in your guitar
The soul in your body dancing to the rhythm
And the sole of your shoes holding the millions of people who protest
For people like you
To sit here in front of me
Tapping with your feet to a hip-hop reggaeton beat
I am the first me
The superstar who once traded stories with Jesus, Malcolm X, and Biggie
With Hector Lavoe, Juan Luis Guerra, and Che Guevara
With Dolores Huerta, Sojourner Truth, and Celia Cruz
I am a salsa, merengue, bachata swinging
Rapping, beat-boxing, mathematics teaching,
Jazz, funk, samba, African dance, iPod listening
Coaching, writing, child inspiring
Winning, graduating, Penny Harvesting
Well-dressed, well-spoken, but still very much hood
Soul man
I am not your n-word or Spanish cuss word
Reminding you of how people want to treat you
I am a man
And you?
You are the future I hope I’ll be proud to promise to the next audience …

jose, who will eventually answer all those memes out there …

Can we get one more day on this glorious vacation? No? That’s unfortunate. I was just getting used to hearing the sounds of nothing in the morning. A few notes:1. I can’t contain it anymore. I tried, Eva, and it’s just not working. I’m going to the Kanye West concert in NYC! My face absolutely illuminated when I got the pre-sales tickets I wanted. I even went ahead and passed the code along to some friends so they could share in the experience. See you all in May.

2. I know I’m a math teacher because, when I’m on the elliptical machine reading the time remaining, I start to compare the minute and second timers, and answer if they’re relatively prime. For instance, at 14:28, they’re not relatively prime because they have a common factor of 14, but a few seconds later, at 14:15, the numbers are relatively prime because they only have a common factor of 1. Sick right?

3. Speaking of which, JD knows how to write carnivals up. Check his version of The Math Carnival here, where he features 2 of my posts (humbled, really I am).

4. Getting back from Miami with maybe a total of 8 hours of sleep over the last couple of nights, I knew today would be equally as dizzying. I also found myself profoundly motivated to make things happen. It’s a mix of seeing my father healthy again but in an interesting situation, my godsister losing her life to a suicidal maniac (which I spoke of before, but I refuse to go into detail here for obvious reasons), and just having a better understanding of the time I’m given … or lack thereof. It’s a sense of urgency that transforms normal people into legends, ordinary groups into championship teams, and blank pages into hallowed pieces of literature.

“I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven
When I awoke I spent that on a necklace
I told G_d I’d be back in a second
Man, it’s so hard not to act reckless
To whom much is given, much is tested
Get arrested, guess until he get the message
I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny
And what’d I do? Act more stupidly …”

Kanye West - “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’”

With those few bars, he evokes the questions and fears of everything that comes with success, whatever your definition. On the one hand, you have him finally reaching his dreams, updating and personalizing another scribe’s dream as his own. On the other hand, he understands the pressure and pitfalls this success leads to, even if its unintentional. All this drama that successful people go through can either make or break them, as cliché as that sounds.

In all honesty, I wonder if this latest series of events that have laid themselves on my path is just a way for the spirit around all of us to substantiate future successes, like the way we prefer to watch / read biographies of people who’ve had grand success but also the most crucibles along the way. Even if this was the case, I’m the only one who could fully understand this movie, because I write like hell, but due to circumstances out of my control (and I suspect others’ too), I’d take some things with me to the grave.

But I’m feeling as ambitious as ever. I’m driven, and that’s what’s important. With all the naysayers and doubters I’ve had in my lifetime, even within my family, I’ve kept a cool head, calmly reminding myself that actions speak louder than words, and say, in the immortal words of Mr. West, “Wait ’till I get my money right …”

jose, who talks with so much emphasis …