Short Notes: So Fresh

By Jose Vilson | March 30, 2008

Short Notes: So Fresh

By Jose Vilson | March 30, 2008
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Fresh Prince of Bel Air Will Smith

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 …


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