Bates Motel

The easiest way to describe Bates Motel would be to include the words incestuous, creepy and violent. The fact that I watch a show that can be described using those words is a slightly alarming but don't judge me until you watch it yourself. The new season started last night just a few days after me finishing House of Cards, perfect timing. Mondays at 9pm on A&E. Thank me later. 

GIRL.

March 3rd. 

Yay Area.

Be back on Tuesday.

1941.

Over at The Sovereign Space we have started a video series called "Final Draft" in which we talk about the meanings behind our tattoos. Check out mine.

On being a male blogger...

When I decided to blog again it was solely for me to practice writing and jot down ideas and feelings about my life. But one thing I have noticed since returning to the blog world, is that it is DOMINATED by women. Not just a few here and there, I mean DOMINATED by women. In fact, if you're reading this right now, I'm pretty positive you're a woman. I have come across very few male blogs. Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places but 99% of the blogs I have found lately have been owned by females. By no means am I complaining though.  I have come across some incredibly creative and talented women. I credit those blogs with giving the motivation to return to something I love doing.

Even with that said though, I'm confused as to where the male voice is. I see a few husband and wife blogs, but it's rare I come across a guys blog. With "guy content". Has blogging become feminine? I know that seems like a completely stupid question and borderline offensive but I'm genuinely surprised by the lack of male bloggers. So what does this mean for an active blogger such as myself? Do I become the gay friend or something? (Not gay btw) Seriously, I'm so confused. When I started blogging in '06 there were several male bloggers. They wrote about everyday life, music, movies, and shit that both guys and girls could relate to. Now that seems to be lost and I don't know how I feel about it. Good content is good content regardless of who creates it but I'm anxious to see how I will be received in a world dominated by women.

Now Playing...

The day job...well kinda.

See the dude in the middle? That's me. I'm a co-founder of The Sovereign Space. The Sovereign Space is an independent lifestyle that promotes creativity through independence. In simpler terms we are three regular dudes that blog about music, photography, art, travel and all the other shit we think is cool. I do most of the writing over there mainly because I love writing. But Jamaal and Chris contribute everything from cool videos like this to connecting with photographers for stuff like this. We love what we do and are really pushing for 2014 to be a big year. Stay tuned, we have big things in the works.

Why I left blogging

This blog has been around since '06. I began blogging right on the cusp of the "blogger boom". It started as a place for me to go on rants about how music has changed and "hip hop was dying", blah, blah, blah...typical music snob type shit. But as time moved on, this blog morphed into more of reflection of my daily thoughts and ideas on life. In '07 I reached my stride. I was juggling music, photography, love, a new job and a new city. I was enjoying my blog more than ever. Within that year I became a part of a blogger community that included some of the funniest, most insightful people I have ever met. I was truly inspired. Things slowed down considerably in 2008 but I still held on to the blog. The community slowly fell apart and by '09 there was nothing left to see here. I posted 3 times in 2009. Three. The three years that followed, proved to be just as tumultuous as '09. I was blogging a little more frequently but nothing of any real substance. I had lost my creativity and motivation to blog. Period. I tried to restart every now and again but, every attempt failed.

Here I am today. At the beginning of a new year, with new goals and new experiences I can't wait to share. Instead of going into details about why I'm coming back, I'll talk about why I left as a reminder for myself in case I begin to notice the signs.

Distractions - Simply put, I just got distracted. I began coaching basketball at my school and picked up other obligations that seem to take away time from writing. I'm one of those type of people that always end up taking on more than they can chew. The blog was the first thing sacrificed.

Lack of inspiration - I wasn't inspired enough. I was still keeping a journal and writing in it from time to time but as far as blogging is concerned, the community I was a part of fell apart and there was no one there to motivate me. I would scour the net for "blog post ideas" and tips on how to overcome writers block, but to no avail. Before I knew it, draft upon draft had accumulated on my dashboard.

Not personal - This is the biggest one. As I mentioned earlier, seven years ago I started this blog basically so that I can rant about music. Towards the latter years, it became more of an obligation. I was looking for things to write about instead of writing about how I felt. My blog was no longer personal and it sucked.

Laziness - So about those drafts I mentioned earlier...without inspiration, without motivation, they just sat there for years. Literally. I recently completed a post I began THREE YEARS AGO. It finally saw the light of day over at The Sovereign Space (more details on a later post) back in November.  As those drafts began to pile up, I looked at them and said "I'll finish it tomorrow". Tomorrow came three years later...smh.

I'm back for good now. I've been following some pretty cool blogs lately and they have really inspired me. I can't wait to connect with them. Stay tuned.

Dontcha

Blue Caprice

The Internet - Partners in Crime Part Two

This shit is so funky. 

Take 10.

Really not sure where I ran across this app, but I'm so happy I did. Headspace is a mindful, meditation app designed to help you relax and become more mindful. I have read about mindfulness before but never really attempted to practice it. Headspace is a great place to start for anyone looking to use meditation as a way to relax and become more spiritual. Download the app from itunes, and thank me later.  

And here's a link to an article about some of the benefits of mindfulness.

New Girl

I fell in love with Zooey Deschanel right around the same time everyone else did. Right after 500 Days of Summer. On second thought, I probably saw the movie at least a year after it's release. Either way, I immediately fell in love with her character. Then I found out she had her own show, I've been hooked ever since. New Girl returns Sept 17th. I cannot wait.


 

Baby.

First of all, this is a great fucking movie. I'm seriously putting it up there as one of my favorite movies of all time. Yes, it's that good. Well, probably just that good for me because I can completely relate to it. But that's not the reason for this post. While watching a particular scene, the background music caught my attention. So of course I did a quick google search and quickly found out that the entire soundtrack to this movie is phenomenal. So I downloaded it and have been constantly playing this song ever since. 

Rhye - Open

A few weeks ago I was standing in line at Starbucks and happened to glance at the cd's sitting on the counter. This particular cover caught my attention. Not enough to make me actually buy the album but enough to make me Google the name and find out more info. Glad I did. Turns out I was already familiar with both members of the group. Rhye is made up of Milosh and Robin Hannibal. They are an indie electronic/r&b/idk what else duo based out of LA. Robin in particular is one of my favorite producers as a part of one of my favorite groups right now, Quadron. Rhye makes that relaxing, lo fi, ambient type of music I like to chill out and relax to. Good shit. Check out their video for "Open".  

Blood on the leaves.

Strange fruit. Rest in peace Trayvon Martin

Just Because...

Hello Summer...

As the lazy days of summer begin to set in, my mind becomes increasingly restless. That's why I find myself here on this blog nearly two years since my last post. This blog has always been a medium for me to express my wandering creativity but more importantly this has always been a journal for me to document different stages of my life. Which leads me to the #hellosummer campaign. As a teacher I'm blessed with a work free, worry free summer. In an attempt to make sure that I get the most of summer, I have created a to-do list of things I want to accomplish this summer. Follow my journey here, as I document my experience this summer. 

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American Teacher.