Saturday, January 31, 2004
I´m in a cafe in the lobby of Mitte´s Backpackers listening to KRS-One shout "Queen keeps on faking it." Not a spectacular moment, except that I#m in Berlin, and remembering when I first heard those fighting words. I was rollerskating with my friends Nicky and Ginger up and down the sidewalks, we weren´t allowed yet to leave the block! The only music that I#ve heard so far has been that of my bros & sisters back home. I asked a new German friend, one of my drivers, Wolfram, to play me some of his music. He was listening to Jayzee! This even more impresses on me my main concern about the state of hip hop, my beloved hip hop today. We, young, black Africans in America have the ear of the world, literally, and what do we have to say that isn´t about "bitches and money." Ugh, it´s pathetic.
Please excuse typos, as I#m on a toally different keyboard. See! The # sign is where the ´ is, the y is where the z is, and I can#t even find the @ half the time to log on. Last night, I thought that I might be sick, which impressed upon me more than anything the importance of taking my vitamins while I´m here, drinking enough water and eating well. Now if only I can find a veggie menu!
Two days before shooting, and my objective today is to disect my script again, and make sure that all of my crew members are on the ball. I think that I#m over my jetlag, almost. I forgot to take my melatonin last night, and spent 4 hours inthe middle of the night in that hazy netherland between sleep and wake. It´s 12pm here, but 6am at home. See, who says that I can´t be productive at 6am, mom! Choos! (That´s German for Ciao!)
Please excuse typos, as I#m on a toally different keyboard. See! The # sign is where the ´ is, the y is where the z is, and I can#t even find the @ half the time to log on. Last night, I thought that I might be sick, which impressed upon me more than anything the importance of taking my vitamins while I´m here, drinking enough water and eating well. Now if only I can find a veggie menu!
Two days before shooting, and my objective today is to disect my script again, and make sure that all of my crew members are on the ball. I think that I#m over my jetlag, almost. I forgot to take my melatonin last night, and spent 4 hours inthe middle of the night in that hazy netherland between sleep and wake. It´s 12pm here, but 6am at home. See, who says that I can´t be productive at 6am, mom! Choos! (That´s German for Ciao!)
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
I´m on my way to Germany to make a movie. Folks I meet along the way keep giving me cryptic messages. First there was the amazing man in my train station in the coffee stop, who said that he hasn´t missed a day of work in 29 years. When I exclaimed that that#s practically my whole life, he said, "Well, you gotta do what you love, Boobie!" He said that his doctor says that he´s his hero. He is my hero now too. then there was Marie, the gorgeous black granma queen in JFK. Here heart collapsed 3 months ago, and here she stood. The doctors came up with a new term for what happened to her called the cabbage! They´re using her surgery video to tech interns! And yet, here she stands now. Her advice? Live life to the fullest and have no regrets as she has many. She wanted to be a therapist. I think that she´s a damned good one.
