domingo, julio 03, 2005

 

zonked

you'd never be able to tell that i work with kids on a daily basis from the way my primitos consistently wear me out. i got into philly friday... my cab driver from providence turned out to be from west philly and it was all i could do from saying "like will smith!" i promised my man i'd eat a hoagie for him, but so far i've been slacking. i did some much-needed bonding with my cousin chris, hanging out with his friends and finally getting a taste of philly's club/music scene. we went to a club that featured live rock bands on one side and an awesome hip-hop DJ on the other. my kind of spot! we had a blast and several drunken phone calls were made. yesterday was all about live 8, although i complained of being too old to go and stand there all day long to see bands that don't mean a lot to me... of course, i had no idea stevie wonder was going to be there, so that might have made me reconsider. what do you guys think of this whole "we don't want your money, we want your voice" thing? there's been a ton of commentary here about it, because with 10 million people attending, with just a $1 admission they could have made a significant contribution, no? call me cynical, but i think the vast majority of the world-wide concertgoers were interested in nothing more than great music for free, and more than likely will not be petitioning for the right reasons if at all. and again, i'm being cynical, but i don't know how effective a petition would be in the first place. this is a problem that has existed for hundreds of years... bob geldof is no visionary, and having a bunch of celebrities "get political" has never seemed to make much different. ok, end of rant!

*update: megan is much more positive about live 8 than i am, so if my cynicism annoys you, read her blog instead. i have cousins that live in a shack in a third-world country and would starve if my family didn't send money home, so i'm of the mentality that money helps NOW, petitions help later... both are important, but only one will keep those who are currently starving from dying. and frankly, if the the G8 nations really gave a fuck about helping end poverty, they'd do something regardless of the effects of a series of concerts. although goddamn, i was glad to finally see the who live! pink floyd was my first rock concert so they don't make the top slot on my favorite acts list.

my godson is PRECIOUS, que cacheton! his 4-yr-old sister is super cute too, and has been tiring me out with her "play with me" demands from the moment we wake up to the time her parents drag her to bed. the christening was this morning and afterwards the entire fam plus friends came over for a lunch... that turned into dinner... that turned into us shoving leftovers at them about an hour ago so they could leave and we could sleep.

painfully funny moment: during one of the many times i was holding my godson, he woke up hungry. as he waited impatiently while his mother was warming his milk, he started making sucking noises... then started sucking his fist... then started grabbing my nipple. my aunts thought this was hysterical and announced over and over again, "There's no milk in there, baby!"

as is tradition, all we've been doing is eating and gossiping. of course, as the sole teacher in the family and only person in their mid-twenties, it is also my job to supervise the barrage of children and babies, help with food preparation and serving, and tell everyone when i'm getting married. don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining.. this is simply the way it is. at least with my family.

happy fourth! i will be making stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon as my texan contribution.

Comments:
ayo, just wanted to say GOOD music connects with the Manu Chao and Maneja Beto...seems like you're having a ball over there, have a happy fourth and a safe trip back!
 
Sounds like a great time! It seems like the bigger the family, the more the happiness, as well as the grief.

I didn't want to post my negative/political thoughts on megan's site... but here it is:
I heard the Live 8 concerts were just to raise AWARENESS and that not any of the money would go to any relief agencies or NGOs or anything. B.S. Even if they just gave a buck from every ticket they sold, they could have bought a load of rice or flour or something. People need to know about ways to help, not just by listening at a concert and buying the latest cds.
 
I hope you don't mind me posting this on your site (I feel really rude for doing so). Regarding the Live 8 concert, I would totally and completely agree with Mary if the tickets had cost money. But, the people who attended the shows had free tickets. Do I wish more had been done? Absolutely. It all saddens me so. Awareness is good, but I wish there was more I could do directly.

BTW, totally off topic, but I wanted to say that a while ago I left a smartass comment on your blog simply as a joke, but I think it got taken the wrong way. I feel terribly about that, especially since you haven't met me to know what my sense of humor is like. I think you seem like a wonderful person and I never intended to be hurtful.

I feel better now. :)
 
megan: we're all smartasses here. or at least dumbasses who think we're smartasses. no worries.

re: live 8 - at least in philly, there weren't even tickets.. it was just a free show every and anyone could attend. the evening newsguy that covered it joked about how the leftover concessions could have fed a small african country. my cousins wondered who paid for the stages and we assume that each city was responsible for cleanup. this was not a free nor cheap endeavor... so i still think it's a shame that not a dime was raised to help those poor starving children on the big screens NOW. not that anyone has disagreed with me yet =) i just like to repeat myself.
 
I didn't know the concerts were free; I asked my bf, but alas, he's as disconnected with the real world as I am.

We did get into a discussion about it a few nights ago, and it seems that re:poverty, some of the stars and celebs could probably do a lot more by donating money themselves - ya know, sell off the Bentley and maybe a few diamond studed Ipods. Not to mention that poverty exists in THIS country, and not just in Africa. Stepping off the high horse, now.
 
Apparently this is where all the smart chicks come to comment, so I'm sticking to this post.

You and Mary are right. I totally agree. I also completely agree with Mary's point about poverty in this country as well. I never thought about the cost to actually put up the concert, so that was a great point too.

Awareness is good, but more needs to be done.

You girls are so smert. ;)
 
"...stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon"

That sounds like something along the lines of deep-fried Twinkies and Oreas. I bet they taste good but damn I can't touch that...I gotta lose some weight!!
 
they are DIVINE!
 
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