Success for Me and Some Pals!

I'm going to start off today on a positive note by blogging a bit about a strange (but welcome) wave of creative successes rolling over my life and the life of a few people close to me.

First, my internet cafe buddy and fellow writer MK Asante Jr has just published a new book called [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592214223/qid=1129566168/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-6568812-7588168?v=glance&s=books&n=507846|Beautiful. And Ugly, Too]. It's a book of poetry and it's Asante's second book after publishing [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592210074/qid=1129566168/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-6568812-7588168?v=glance&s=books&n=507846|Like Water Running Off My Back] in 2002. If that's not enough for you, his film 500 Years Later ([http://www.500yearslater.com/|official site]/[http://imdb.com/title/tt0444593|IMDB]) screened in front of [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/10/prweb298498.htm|more than 1 million people this past weekend at the Millions More March in Washington DC]. Funny how it's the first movie in cinema history to be screened in front of that many people and yet the only coverage of it is a PRWeb press release.

While Asante's success may seem unmatchable, we all should remember that success can be measured a few hundred different ways. For instance, my friend Lauren Raab is a student at UCLA but has written a STACK of articles and columns all [http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/searchresults.asp?author=Lauren%20Raab|readable at the Daily Bruin website]. I think her list of articles is impressive period. She's still in college and has had the opportunity to write that much? That's pretty cool. Of particular note are her food columns that will leave you entertained and educated regarding how you can live life like a college kid while still managing to eat well and fairly healthy, too. :) So, check out her stuff!

Meanwhile, TheWife, has been asked to return to the cast of Mulholland Christmas Carol which begins it's performances for the 2005 winter season Thanksgiving weekend. If you're not familiar with the show, I highly recommend checking it out. I saw the show something like 4 or 5 times last year and it's awesome. It combines the general structure of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol with the story of how Mulholland brought water to Los Angeles at the turn of the last century. It's both hillarious and sobering at the same time since the LA water stuff is all based on real events--real events that include a terrible damn breaking that killed hundreds. You can get more info on this show at the Theatre of Note website's [http://www.theatreofnote.com/upcoming.html|upcoming productions page].

And not to go completely success-free, my show Director's Cut is still being performed at the John Raitt Theater at 6520 Hollywood Blvd in the heart of Hollywood, just down the street from the Egyptian Theater. It's a truly crazy show that blurs the line between reality and fiction. The story follows an up-and-coming filmmaker who is being haunted by the ghost of his ex-wife whom he killed to stop her from ruining his first film. So, CHECK IT OUT!! Call 310 933-5927 to reserve your seats TODAY! It performs Fridays and Saturdays between now and November 5, 2005.

I've also written another short 1-act play that I'm hoping to convince the director and some cast members from Director's Cut to do some nights after Director's Cut performs. More news on that as it occurs.

I'm also planning on bringing back the infamous The 5 Minute Show. With the advent of the ViPod, I feel like the timing is right to give this fun little show another chance. For anyone new to the site, The 5 Minute Show was a show I produced for the site back in the winter/spring of 2003. I did it as a weekly (yes, 5-minute-long) show that covered all sorts of topics. Part homage to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart part mental enema, T5MS ceased production because of the Iraq Attack. I got so depressed about the US invasion, all I could think to do the show about was the Iraq war and that got old fast. But now I feel like I'm overflowing with ideas for everything from short films to commentary on topics more varying than just the Iraq war.

So, lots of good things happening. Of course, I'm also getting sued for old credit card debt by a collection agency. That's pretty funny since the debt is older than 4 years, which means that, thanks to the statute of limitations on collection a debt, it's too late for them to sue me. But they're trying anyway because they're scumbags. :) So, I'm not too concerned, I just have to figure out how to handle this. I've never been sued before, so this should be a fun learning experience. Oh and you can bet I'll be blogging about it.

In general, I'm trying to keep my eyes on the positive momentum around me. I seriously think that's the key to making things more positive permanently. Wish me luck!!

MK ASANTE & FOCUSED ONLINE GET SOME PLAY

A friend of mine is this guy called MK Asante Jr. He's this poet/filmmaker/publisher guy. He's also a boba drinker like yours truly and we've gotten very chatty in our favorite boba location, Boba Loca in the heart of Westwood, California. The thing is, it's not just Asante and I getting chatty, ProHipHop.com, the Hip Hop Business Blog, was talking about Asante's new digizine the other day. I've blogged about Asante's writing and his Def Poetry Jam Featured Poetry-ness and you can check out his digizine's website here. However, it's always cool seeing your friends get talked about by people you don't even know. If hip-hop is your thing, check out ProHipHop.com's post on the Focused Online digizine.

Oh yeah, and keep your fingers crossed for FO to get a good distribution deal. Maybe then Asante'll be so generous he'll buy a round of Boba for everybody at Boba Loca! :)

What do ya say, Asante? Sound like a good idea? :D

MK Asante is a Featured Poet at Def Poetry Jam!

Filmmaker, activist, award winning poet, and fellow boba drinker, MK Asante Jr has been named featured poet by Def Poetry Jam. So, check out the "featured poets" page or Asante's featured poet page at the DPJ website.

He's also got his new hiphop digizine up and running and it's doing really well--if you like hiphop, check out FocusedOnline.com (heavy flash).

If you want to learn more about Asante, check out his website at Asante.info.

MK ASANTE ON HIP-HOP AND LABELS

One of the guys who frequents the same boba house as I is a writer named MK Asante Jr. He and I have recently taken to talking a bit about where the art of words is going and how much I enjoy prose and how he enjoys screenwriting (something I can do, too, BTW). He's easily one of the smartest people I know (I'm not just saying that because he likes my stuff) so when he told me he was going to have an article in USA Today today, I was very psyched for him and for anyone who had the fortune to come across his article. This is because he makes a good point. In the article he talks about how if you're black and under 30, you are called a member of the "Hip-Hop Generation."

This despite the fact that you may be black, under 30, a Republican who enjoys Mozart. But I won't steal Asante's point--check out the article for yourself over at the USA Today website, or better yet, go buy a copy for yourself!

Here's a little something to whet your appetite:

The answer, for those of us who belong to the Hip-Hop Generation yet feel misrepresented by its music, comes in the form of redefinition. The problem is, we've let a generation to be defined by a singular musical expression. Thus, we've confined our artistic, intellectual and historical capacity to rap by excluding anything outside of that expression. This narrow thinking creates purchasing conflicts for some one wishing to listen to jazz artists Miles Davis or Nnenna Freelon.

See? Smart dude...