4th of july before the rain

Originally uploaded by richlouis.

My front porch

As the World Turns... It Turns No Matter What

Horn player from Emergency Service

yes the world turns even if your ass ain't ready or down on your luck. Such is the world as my supervisor passed on an old Pointer Sisters platinum plaque he had sitting in his office of 8 years. it was one of the things he wasn't taking with him as he learned he was being laid off the same day.

Taking it in stride (well he is getting 5 months pay), he was calm about it,knowing it made sense with purchase of another company and the merging of it's departments with ours. heads were gonna roll.

The one thing i have to deal with is the commute which will change from one train ride to 34 st. to the lirr from brooklyn to Garden City, Long Island. You know that i am making sure i have other options lined up before that move happens.

oh and check out my Last.fm radio station

Cool Stuff:
Stevie Wonder drum solo

Exodus

Chee in Jackson Heights- 2006

By the time i got into my boy Dashuan's birthday party at White Rabbit Saturday night (which included getting past a black bouncer who seemed to give people who looked like him the hardest time getting in), I was presented with two surprises: my man Chee Malabar, (writer and emcee) chilling at the bar getting toasted, and the announcement that he was returning to the West Coast to live after graduation.

But he wasn't the only one announcing his exodus from NYC -though it didn't surprise me as he has lived in many different places-, a fellow workmate and friend from the shop also his plans to move to Colorado to attend grad school. He like others who have lived in new york for most of their life seem to be "over" this city. It makes me wonder what other city i would want to live in. i know that miami and atl are cool places to visit and hang out with, but do i want to spend a lot of time driving, especially to work. i don't feel like I'm done with New york, but if i decide to live somewhere else even for a short time, it should be overseas. but i think i have written that thought here more than once here.

But my two friends are leaving here for opportunities elsewhere so i don't blame them. NY is where i think i shall be until a photographic opportunities calls me to another place.

the hustle problem

I am very much i have a hustling problem.
no not that kind.
the ability to to consistently be on the grind with my photography and creative work. There periods where i feel all motivated, shooting several things in a row like i did back in January and February of this year, and assisting on shoots. but when nothing is clicking in my head or I'm not finding anything to shoot, i kind of just get stuck.

when i can see other people shooting things left and right especially for their own personal progression, i sigh a little because i don't always have that consistent fervor. it's like my "eyes" can't see things to shoot, at least things i think would end up being portfolio worthy.

I used to carry a camera all the time, enough so that people ask me now where my camera is, but i haven't since late last year. the idea of me dragging around a bag that gets slightly heavy as the day goes on, only to not shoot anything, has turned me off.

i haven't given up but things are just not sparkign the way i want them to.

Some music to listen to:
João Donato - a rã

The Cat and Mouse

Why is it i wake up to the cats playing outside my room, but when i come out i see a mouse limping away from the bigger sibling who let's it move around before grabbing it again with her paws. and when i or her sister come near her she lets out a snarl and moves away from us.
Here is some visual evidence:


more pics

uh Yeah

So i have this feeling I will not be getting the new Feist album. Other people really dig it but i have yet to get into it. Maybe it's because it doesn't flow as well as her last album, which i love



However, i think listening to a well-mixed version of Reminder might sway me.


BMG/Columbia House-- that's where i find myself this past week with a steadier and higher paycheck. A long-term temp gig that comes with it's perks including music left in the kitchen area that has an abundance of vending machines, a nice window view of well the buildings to run across 34th and 8th ave., and a very laid back supervisor in the proofing department.



As a method to contain the mess that is my clothes in the new apartment I have visited the Container Store and purchased a set up from these customizable drawer systems. Which also means I have accepted where I am now as my new home, complete with a female video game playing roommate, and two young cats who run around a lot, and the filmmaker roommate who is hardly around. Most importantly, everyone who has come by has said it's a big step up from the "fight club" (: Jasper) apartment i lived in before.


From my aborted Che Grand shoot last summer :/

The Host b/w New home

So i saw The Host last night. well worth seeing and presents the big monster attacking the city in a fresh way. this is war of the Worlds (2006 version) with characters you care about.

Starbucks vending machines coming soon O_o

Bye bye Clinton Hill

as i stood waiting for the 38 bus last night with Jenny i discovered the irony that i left the apartment on Willoughby Ave for good with the person i had taken the place of more than a year ago. i didn't think Jenny pondered this "come full circle" moment until i mentioned it.

While i waited for Jenny to come claim some things from the place she used to call home, i packed up what was left that i needed and threw away the rest. i finally opened up the nifty oversized leather suitcase i had found on a late night walk home in a drunken stupor, and saw how much space it had. i filled it with the remainder of things i had left in my room and carried along with some other bags to Queens where i would be until my new place was ready.

randoms notes

Sorla by Richard Louissaint


Darrin of Sankofa by Richard Louissaint

Obama is so articulate - read this cool op-ed piece.


People going to work in the morning act like lemmings. Case in point:
The escalator at the 34th street station of the b,v,f etc.was not running today but masses of people kept going to it despite the steps nearby. On top of that the escalator only allows a single line of people.

This is why I don't miss working a 9 to 5

Genarlow Wilson stil isn't free

I was alerted to this article and was shocked to find out that Wilson, a Georgia teen was still rotting in jail. After all the media attention from Oprah and others in favor of freeing Wilson, and being acquitted all the rape charges except for child molestation, his life is still in the hands of Georgia lawmakers and enforcers.

And it's all because he had consensual oral sex at the age of 17 with a girl of 15 years of age, in a state that is still very racist and sticks to laws that need to be changed.I don't like to always put race in this but the girl was white (who said it was consensual) and he is...

A detailed history of the case and its circumstances
Tell me what you think. He deserves it? or not?

25 US Troops killed yesterday in Iraq (on top of civilians)

This speaks for itself

A chapter closes

Our judge - Hon. Anthony J. Fiorella, Jr

The court, the civil court, is not a happy place. Everyone is frantic...trying not get evicted, disputing what they owe, or if they are lawyers, trying to beat a peer. That was the scene this morning as two of my roommates and I landed there to settle our dispute with our management, and making sure we didn't get screwed over.

There were many points during the day-- sitting by the lawyers that represent our management and many others, and watching a line of people, many black, come to dispute or settle--where I saw how much of a gap there was between haves and the have-nots. I felt that I easily could be one of them even with my degrees, if it wasn't for my family. But in a sense I am for the moment, living from check to check, grinding and trying to get somewhere that doesn't involve "settling."

We came in a little after 9:30am and left after 1 pm, with a sense of closure to this stressful chapter in our lives and some time (till March 1st) to figure out what our next moves would be.

to grumble

snow from 05


snow from 06

I had originally began this post on January 7th, but life got in the way:
it is weird to not really look forward to the next day (and not in some "i don't wanna live" sort of mind state). that's what my life is like right now. i greet the incoming morning sun as taking me closer to impending unpredictability and same inability to support myself financially on my own.

and now let me continue

Since that time, i have seen Cures of the Golden Flower and Pan's Labyrinth. I failed at an aggravating editing job for the Chinese government but excelled at a proofreading gig at Weight Watchers (owe Craigslist for both). The later may lead to other more lucrative gigs because of the people i met there.

About Weight Watchers: Ironically out of all the freelance editorial work I have done with magazines this was the most enjoyable and organized, and paid the most. Now I really understand why people who really get it don't won't to stay in the urban realm of publishing, and my experiences at Source and other magazines prove it, except for Essence.

I also have taken long with this blog entry because I have wanted to avoid turning this into a "itchfest" where so much can sound like "woe is me." With that said a lot of things are o nthe burning. More than likely i will need to find another place to live by march as my roommates and I have decided to take the get out of jail free card and not fight with our management for a year. What must happen between then and now is making sure i have a steady stream of reasonable income to pay for a move (rent security) and just not be truly broke all the time.

More insightful things to come; i hope

Current Song: Santessa - "Space"