NBC...done...

The indestructible Powerbook G4 became destructible two days ago. The hard drive crashed, so it was a nervous trip to my boys at Mac 911 in Santa Monica. Been going there forever and they give you great personal service. So, with a new 120GB hard drive, new DVD (that had crapped out about two weeks ago) and a general clean up, the G Money is good to go. Oh, there was one issue. One of my NBC scenes was adios, so I had to ask my boys to see if they'd kept a copy. One had, thank god. Speaking of the NBC scenes...

I sent them in today. After vetting them with three of my UCLA screenwriting comrades, along with Hal's comments, I made changes that I think made them work. Scenes out of context are hard to do, but I think I did it without making them pure exposition. We'll see.

Just finished my expense report for the Minneapolis trip. OH, I FORGOT! Now, sit down. Hold on to your seat, because you won't believe it. I FINALLY received my check from Savoy magazine. No, seriously. I have to give Hermene one bit of credit. She did send it on September 5th, but it was sent to my old address. But ya nevah know when you spend a year and a half waiting to get paid. But three cheers for being a PRO-ACTIVE and aggressive writer!

Things to do:

I need to write about two thousand words on the book.
I have about three more observations left and two trend articles for Iconoculture. I'll do those tonight.
Kensington wants me to do an update of The Divine Nine. We'll see.
I meet with Ted Frank from NBC next week, and I need to schedule my appointment with Johnathan Rodger at TV One. I'm trying to coordinate the upcoming school schedule, with my need to go to NYC, blah, blah, blah.
I lecture at San Jose State next week.
Working on the characters and plot of Secrets & Lies.

One of the good things is that a lot of my schedule will be knocked out one by one, freeing me a lot.

Observations from Oakland...

Langston showing me his "Hulk" face...You don't want to make him angry...

Flew all day from Minneapolis and landed just in time to meet the wife and son at his parent/teacher conference. I'm VERY cognizant of how important it is for me to be at my son's events. There will be no therapy sessions for Langston because Dad never cared enough to be there. No siree. Not the kid. Also, no one will ever say that Langston's dad wasn't around. It's especially important for little black boys to understand that it is the norm and not the unusual for his father to be at every event and involved. And I'm happy to say that tons of fathers were at St. B's last night.

So I chilled at the crib for about twelve hours before having to head out to LAX for a trip to Oakland. Southwest, which never really lets me down, was an hour late. So that meant I was about thirty minutes late for my meeting with Donna, the head of the AA unit at Iconoculture. The crackberry was decharged, so a warning call was out, which just makes a bad sit even worse. But Donna was MAD cool. We had a great convo and I think this brother and that sister can make a great partnership because we know what the hell we're doing. And NEVER let black folks who are experts get the opportunity to shine. We'll break records kid.

So right now, I'm chilling in the Oakland Airport Holiday Inn Express, and you know, I really do feel a bit smarter. I'm a "Gold Priority Club" member, which just means I spend way too much time on the road, and so they gave me one of their newer rooms. At first, I thought, whoopee. But when I rolled into the room, it looked like a legit suite. Two flat screen televisions, one over the bed and another at the "living room". Just the perfect place for me to write. And write I will do tonight and tomorrow.

On the immediate agenda is to finish my NBC Showcase scenes. They're due on September 20th, and after having received notes from a few folks, I'm ready to make some changes. I'll do that tomorrow during the day. I have an interview for the book later Saturday night. Speaking of books...

Had a bit of conflict with Kensington that I initiated. Can't really go into it, but there needed to be some bell ringing at the publishing house and I'm not sure anyone was listening before I took a hammer and started banging that bell. Anyway, Manie did a good job repping me in this, which makes me respect him even more. He may not have agreed with my strategy (which he didn't) but he still did his job. But at the end, I feel a LOT better about the control I have as it pertains to writing books.

One last observation...Mike Epps just ain't funny. Seriously. He just ain't. And sometimes I think the divide in the black community can be determined by those who think he's hilarious and those who thinks he's a hack who relies on saying "nigga" to get a laugh. Maybe it's just me...

Takin' it back to the '80s...I'm Audi 5000!

In the land of the Purple Rain...

Hey all,

Been kicking it Minneapolis for the last couple of days. Flew into Prince's city on 9/11. LAX and the plane were so empty, I could have thrown a football down the length of the aisle seats and never hit anyone. But we did have a treat in first class. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul were in first class. The wife knows Randy and says he's mad cool, and he was when I introduced myself.

The training was surprisingly pleasant. The people friendly, and Iconoculture has a product that I can TOTALLY get with. Basically, it's a wholistic versus quantitative approach to marketing. I think I talked about how author Daniel Pink said the MFA degree is the new MBA degree. Iconoculture is a perfect example. I get started on writing articles in the next day or so.

TheYack.com is closer to beta. The non-functional design is up, so you can take a look at it. Just don't click on anything.

My Raiders got blown. Manchester United beat Celtic (yeah!). Cal plays Portland State on Saturday.

I fly out tomorrow and then fly into Oakland on Friday.

...To my boy Phil, congrats on the twins!

Got Some Stuff Done...

Cal won today, which is the most important thing. But other than that, I wrote the treatment for Secrets & Lives, the pilot script I'm writing for Krystal, the USC producer. I figured I'd knock that out asap because I'm flying to Minneapolis on Monday for training. I'll fly out of there on Thursday, and then fly up to Oakland on Friday for another Iconoculture meeting. While in Oakland, I'm going to take care of some book business.

Next on the agenda: Finish filling out the benefits forms.

Tomorrow: I'm on the fundraising committee for my Fraternity, so we have a brief meeting. I'm also meeting with the programmer for my TheYack.com site. I'm not very happy with his lack of updates, but all is well if he gets it done right and on time.

The Book: I will write about a good thousand words tomorrow, just to get my oil going. During the week, I will split time between gathering info for Iconoculture during the day, and writing on the book during the night.

Starting my movie watching again: Watched Being John Malkovich again, but this time as a screenwriter. Charlie Kaufman is brilliant. But I think folks know that.

The Wonders of Red Bull...

I'd never drank Red Bull before this week, but it really does give you that spark. I know I'm years behind, but damn, the drink is the bomb. Now, can I just come down from it???? LOL

Sleepy...

I'm sleepy, but I have a bunch of things to do.

Officially Full of Projects...

This morning, I went to the gym. Yeah. I got on the Lifecycle, and only lasted thirty minutes. Boo. But, it was a start.

I had my first day at Iconoculture, and I've got to say, folks are mad cool. Really. From the head down. There's a ton of company terminology and methodology to learn, and I'm going to spend time this week getting it down.

On the book front, I accepted my editor's offer to extend my deadline to December 14th. You know how in the movies, fireworks go off when good news happens? Well, that's what happened when I received her email. Now, I can plot out my interviews over the next few months, versus trying to cram them into a month and a half.

Lastly, I've picked up my last writing project for the year. Krystal, the sister in USC's Stark program, and I are going to collaborate on a television pilot. She will use this pilot as her thesis. Hopefully, as we both graduate from our respective universities, we'll have sold it to a money bags network. Bully for us!

But that's all for the year. I was going to take the Kevin Smith class, but that will take too much time. This quarter, I'll take my 434 and one critical studies class (I think the documentary course). I'll do the same thing in the winter quarter, and then flow out of UCLA with another 434.

For the year: Iconoculture, 434s, the book, and this pilot. Each requires a part of my brain, and steady concentration. But I got up today with my game face on. I like that. Keeping me busy keeps me focused.

NBC Scripts...

No work on the book this weekend, but I did write two drafts of the two scenes I'm submitting to NBC showcase. I sent them out to my boys for notes, and I'll polish them this week.

Tomorrow, I have an Iconoculture welcome call at 9am, so I'm getting up early and going to the gym. The gym, that thing I've neglected as I've consumed boxes of Breyers Ice Cream bars. Not very good. Not gained a bunch of weight, just feel lumpy.

For Iconoculture, I'm continuing to set up my list of experts. Bought about seventy dollars worth of black magazines, and I'll soon be on their comp list. I have to fill out all of the employee docs and fax them into the company. I need to continue to send emails to NABJ members about receiving their articles.

As for the book, I'll write another two thousand words tomorrow. I'm pretty focused now, and I don't think I'll have a problem writing a lot more regular. I still have some interviews to do, but I should be around 60,000 by the end of the month. The original deadline was October 15th, but my editor should get back to me about a new deadline.

Manie will be taking care of some business at Kensington, so that should be interesting.

At UCLA, I'm on the 1st year orientation party committee. Nothing much, but I have to get pizzas, beer, etc. On the stress level, this is a one.

Cal got blasted, spoiling my football weekend.

TheYack.com is ten days from beta launch.

Received more information about the Kevin Smith class. Even at this late date, it's still pretty vague. We have to submit an audition paper by this Friday. I'll take one of my scenes and turn it in. It's also one of the few, if only, class where we have to give up our rights. At UCLA, we keep the rights to our works, unlike USC if I'm correct. So this has caused a bit of a tizzy among students.

Need to schedule trips to both Oakland for Iconoculture and NYC for the book.

I've very, very, glad that I wrote the story for my fall 434 script. That's one thing I don't have to think about.

I have a full day tomorrow, but what's really cool is that I like that. Keeps me focused. I also like that as I finish my projects throughout the year, my load lightens. By the time I graduate, I should only have Iconoculture, my Masters degree, and loads of time to write whatever project I want to write, be it more books or screenplays.

Come a Long Way Baby...

As September begins, school is back on the horizon, and so I think it's a good thing to say where I am, and what I have to do.


1. Took job as African American editorial strategist, Iconoculture. I start next Tuesday.
2. Money Shot (Non-Fiction) due October 15th, however editor says I can have more time if I want.
3. Untitled Fiction: More Later...
4. Invited to write three scenes for NBC Diversity Showcase: Due September 20th
5. School begins September 28th. Along with my 434, I think I'll take a doc class
6. TheYack.com: Beta on September 15th


I have to take a couple of trips this month. I need to fly to Oakland to meet with my Iconoculture supervisor, and then I need to roll to NYC.

As the year goes on, my writing load will actually lessen. Money Shot will be around 75% done by the end of the month. So that will drop off soon. Untitled fiction is waiting for edit, so that will drop off. After that, I will only have two consistent writing assignments: My Iconoculture work and my quarterly script. And then, after graduation, the scripts will drop off. Slaveryland will be added to the schedule at some point, but that's about 40% done already. For 2007, the only question will be what I will choose as my next non-fiction book proposal, and where my television/film writing career is heading. I may have a write for hire gig for a script Krystal from USC is developing. So, we'll see.

It's Official...

It's a official, y'all. I'm the African American Strategist for Iconoculture. Basically, my job is to observe trends within the African American community, so businesses can create strategies to better approach their African American clientele. It is the best of both worlds for me, as I get to write to my heart's content, while I scratch my business itch by studying the African American consumer. Remember what I said about disappointment creating new opportunities (re: NBC/NAACP Fellowship)? Well, here's proof.

I'm ready to go, and although my official start date is on September 5th, I'm already beginning to work.

Taking a meeting...

The little boy was dressed in his smart Catholic uniform for his first day of school. My son is absolutely wonderful, and smart as a whip. HOWEVER, he's been lip syncing part of the prayers, and at a Catholic school, that's a no-no. I can't have that, since that makes me look bad. So it's ten Hail Mary's a day for him.

Today, I had a great meeting with a sister who goes to the USC film school. She's in the Stark producing program, and I think we really vibed. As I write or develop projects, I look for producers in the UCLA program that I can work with. At UCLA, I have two, and now I have a person at USC. She really likes Men of their Times, and thinks with some tweaks, it can sell. I was very impressed.

With the job beginning on next Monday, I'm changing my schedule a tad. From now on, I'm going to bed at 1am, versus my mad early morning hours. I'll start my day at 7am. Six hours of sleep and I feel like I'm on vacation.

The background check is done,and the reference check will be done tomorrow. I have a conversation with the CEO of the company tomorrow morning. After everything is finished, I will then start contacting my contacts. I've got a BILLION contacts in my roladex, so it's going to take a bit.

Added about 500 words to the book. I think I'm going to average about 1000-1500 for the rest of the time. On the weekends, I'll do a little bit of editing to make sure this thing makes sense.

For the NBC scenes, I've taken a script I'd already written, and mined it for a good scene. A little craftwork, and it'll be good to go. My other scene will be created from Bestseller, while the third scene will be a dramatic one from MOTTs. I'll finish them, send them out to my boys for critical notes, and then re-write them. No muss, no fuss.

After a few stumbles, TheYack.com continues to develop. I will see a draft tomorrow morning.

In My Head...

He's John Basedow...he's gonna show you how...to reach your potential...and to turn your...whole life around! Fitness Made Simple!

John Basedow is either making a gazillion dollars or he just wants to indoctrinate us into his mullet and muscles cult. I just don't know.

Making progress on the book. Just wrote about 1500 words, and I'm not even done. It's 1:17am, my normal writing time, and I feel footloose and fancy free. I think I may write about one thousand more words, and then relax on Sunday.

I've been invited to write two new comedic scenes for an NBC Diversity Showcase, so I'm thinking about a few different situations. They're not due until late September, so I can write them at my leisure.

As for UCLA, I'm a mentor for three eager first year students, and I talked to one of my mentees two days ago. I think it's difficult to explain what you get out of UCLA until you actually experience it, because then your goals will become very clear. Does that make sense? Anyway, I tried to give her some good advice.

Yesterday I talked with one of my frat brothers about applying to the producer program. He will excel, but I think he's not sure about spending two years in school. I made the pitch, but I'll have him talk to a couple of producers in the program.

Next week, I'm going to talk to my agent about my fiction project at Kensington. Can't say now, but I want a few changes. More later.

The new job is doing their background check. That should be done next week. My background is pretty sterling, so no worries. My start date is Sept. 5th. I'm itching to start.

Manchester United has won three out of three to begin the season, Arsenal has only one point, and Chelsea has already lost a game. I know that doesn't mean crap to most of you, but believe me, it makes me as happy as watching the Lakers win by forty.

The little boy goes to school on Monday, and of course the ole Catholic school changed the uniform, crest, and everything else, so it's a whole new wardrobe. Thanks St. B's!

No chocolate. No exercise. But still lost three pounds to 214lbs.

Been going over my daily schedule. With the new job, I need to keep my schedule nice and tight. I think I'll get up at 6am when the wife does, and head to the gym for a good hour workout. That gets you up and ready for the day. After that, I'll break the day up with research, writing and then class. For the job, I have to use my contact to find things, and I literally have about one thousand of them. So as soon as I get the okay, I'm going to start calling them and telling them what I'm doing. That will be a part of my schedule. And instead of staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning, I'm going to go to bed at 1am. I only need five hours of sleep a night, and I can get a lot of rest in on the weekends.

More later...

Slaveryland...

I opened Slaveryland for the first time in a while. I started writing it over a year ago, and then put it up because of my other fiction/non fiction work, but I read it and although it's not finished, it's pretty damn good. And with the current controversy around Mark Burnett's decision to divide teams by race, Slaveryland moves from an absurdist piece to one rooted in reality, which is mad strange. But that's why writers are tasked with writing about things that are absurd. You never know when the absurd will turn into the everyday normal. So getting it's own progress bar once again is Slaveryland. It's an extreme low priority compared to my other projects, but it'll be the next fiction manuscript I submit.

Good News...

Hey all,

Good news! I accepted a formal offer from the company today. The only thing left is for them to talk to my references, which is a formality, and then I start on September 5th. I'm ready to go. Once everything is official, I'll tell you who I'm now working for.

No Writing Last Night...

Last night, I decided to rest. But today, two thousand more.

Back on schedule...

Said two thousand words, and did two thousand words. It's 3:45am right now, and I'm going to stop. But feel another two thousand for tomorrow.

Iraq=Quagmire...

Can we say that our president is insane, and that Iraq is a quagmire? I mean, Jesus, one hundred Iraqis are dying each day and we keep on keeping on. So frustrating. And I swear that our current administration doesn't care.

Two Thousand Words...

I'm going to write about two thousand words today.

Big Day Tomorrow...

After four interviews, a writing sample, and a credit check, I have a conference call with company executives where my sample will be grilled. Sort of like having to defend a thesis, I imagine. I look forward to it.

Hey, have you ever learned something simple, but so damn helpful, that you wonder how you survived before you learned it? I got my dreadlocks washed at Heroik Entertainment in Leimert Park by my boy Akeem. He had has locks tied in a way that kept them off the back of his neck. Now, I've been trying FOREVER to get them off my neck, particularly when it's touching 100 degrees in LA. My locks go to the middle of my back, which is cool and all, but when it's hot, my neck feels like it's on fire. So he showed me a tie up that works, and daggumit, I can't stop putting my locks up. I'se free y'all.

Writing tonight? Still thinking about it. No chocolate today, but I made a delicious batch of chicken chili for the fam. I may play a bit of dominoes, and then open up Money Shot. If I feel like writing, I will. If not, I'll give myself the night off.

An Addict...

Maybe it was all of those Pepperidge Farms Soft Baked Milk Chocolate Cookies I bought at 2 for $5? Maybe it was that bag of Doritos? I don't know, but whatever it was, I think I've had my fill. 217lbs and feeling fat. No, make that hot and fat, and there's nothing worse than that. My chocolate has been helping me write, at least that's what my brain has said, but the old waist band is beginning to stretch. So it's cold turkey once again. Back to eating healthy Kashi bars and eight bottles of Dasani water. The gym, a place I haven't visited this month, has an appointment with me. The goal this time? Purge the taste of that evil chocolate from my mouth, eat nothing by chicken for the next few months, avoid carbs like the plague, get back on the situp/pushup regiment, and go to the gym for 45 minutes of Lifecycle per day, at least three days a week. I HAVE to do this because in two weeks, the danger period of my life begins. That's the start of football season and the delicious foods and drinks associated with it. So goodbye bad munchies, and hello healthy food. In reality, it's really not that bad. I think I only stop eating healthy when I get bored, and this time, it probably won't happen until the winter. 210lbs, here I come.

Listening to...

Inglewood's own Jazzyfatnastees...Underrated and underappreciated.

Pandora.com

Go there. My boy from film school, Dan Johnstone gave me the word about six months ago, and it's the bomb. Do.it.now.

Today...

I think I'm going to get a massage. There's a place in Brentwood, right around the corner from UCLA, called the Massage Place, and are the best. I played soccer again last night, and I feel stiff. My wind is getting a bit better, but damn, I still can't get used to the fact that I'm not 21 years old, or even 30. A brotha is getting wore out.

I had my pen ultimate interview with the company I hope to work for. Again, things went great. So now, I only have an hour conference about a writing sample. That's on Tuesday. Hopefully, things will be settled after that.

On the writing front, I have a bunch of stuff ahead of me. So I will write tonight, through the morning, and through Saturday. I think I'll stop on Sunday and take the fam out for Mexican food.

Another Photo from the Way Back...

One of my frat brothers sent me this photo. It's my sands Marty Smith (smiling) and me (pontificating), after we just finished running our annual stepshow. A beer or two may have been consumed. Caption not my own, but of course, it's quite true. lol

Car Trouble...

Nothing better than driving the Jeep up to the Dodger stadium parking lot, and then smelling acrid smoke. And then having the Jeep stop in its tracks...with about one thousand cars behind me.

Took the little boy to the Dodgers/Giants game last night, but we didn't see one minute of the game. Had to call Triple AAA and get the Jeep towed to the Jeep dealership. Hopefully, it's something minor, but I think my clutch is fried. So that's a chunk out of the old budget.

Miss Snark...

Is the best damn blog on the book industry in the world. Seriously. Miss Snark is a literary agent and she, like most agents including my own, is blunt and straight to the point. I suggest ANYONE interested in writing a book click on the link to the right.

More writing tonight. Word count to be updated soon.

Joe Had To Go...

It was a happy day yesterday, as Joe Lieberman was defeated in Connecticut. To often, he's been out for himself, and I don't care what people say, his public love fest with George Bush hurt the Democratic Party. Too often, he presented himself as a person who would take the sting out of Democratic criticisms of George Bush, and for that, Joe Had Ta Go.

Now, Democrats are starting to get away from the Democratic Leadership Council's Republican-lite philosophy and are starting to gain a backbone. And I for one will continue contributing to candidates who show a backbone. It does me no good to elect Democrats who are too scared to believe in anything. And I think Lamont's win got the attention of the Democrats who've been so insulated in DC that they don't understand the pulse of the country. The Republicans are pulling out the same old crap about cutting and running, but as my Texas grandfather used to say, that dog don't hunt anymore.

Phase One of the Killer App...

Phase one of my killer app for authors and book lovers is underway. In about five weeks, it will be complete, and I promise you, it will be the talk of the nation. Seriously. That's all I'll say.

Today, I've been writing. I haven't updated the word count, but I will at the end of the night. The goal, get to 15,000 by Friday, and 20,000 by Monday. Not a problem.

Sorry I haven't Blogged...

Took the son to a Dodger game two days ago. Looked over my Money Shot notes. It's 2:30am and I'm not writing right now, but the idea is to write about five thousand words between tomorrow and Friday, and then roll with about five thousand over the weekend. By next Monday, I should be at 20,000, which would be a good point to be.

Tomorrow, I have to talk to a few people that I've been trying to interview for months. One is that porn talent scout I meant to interview. I left a message, but nothing.

It's all coming together, but I think I'm just in the writer's blah mode. I was talking to my friend and fellow writer Eric Dickey, and he was saying he's in the same place. Can't fight it, just gotta go with it.

Still don't know what's happening with my manuscript at Kensington.

Reading...

I'm reading the 48 Laws of Power, and in this modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince, you really see how ruthless one must be to gain power. I guess that's why it appeals to a lot of hip hop artists, who are attracted to its principles. With anything, you have to make a decision whether the ends justify the means. But it's a great read.

It's 2am...

It's 2am and I haven't started writing yet. I've been watching a Discovery Channel documentary on three sistas who are video dancers. They all live in Toronto and each comes from a different circumstance. One is a single mother on welfare, another is in college, while another has danced since childhood. Each thinks that being in hip hop videos will make them stars, so they chase their dreams, sometimes working for nothing. It's obvious that these women are being exploited, and you might even think they're delusional thinking that they'll find fame as video dancers, but that would be wrong.

Everyone has to have a dream, something to get themselves up in the morning. The sista who puts on too much makeup and too little clothes, has a dream. It's just whether you understand the best way to make your dreams come true. What saddens me is that people get on their dream path without preparation, so they are doomed to fail. It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, or how educated you are, if you don't have an informed plan, then you will either fail or spin in circles. And that's why one of the dancers ended up still dreaming, another deciding to travel the world, and another on tour with Missy Elliott. Guess which one had an informed plan?

Had a great time...

The wife and I went to my friend Dana's fortieth birthday (any brothas out there looking to meet a sweet and good looking sista, holla at me and I'll forward your info to her) and had a ball. Her fam is from New Orleans, so they second lined around the club. Hadn't seen that since my boy Rob and I would spend summers down in the Westbank eating gumbo, fried fish, crawfish, drinking Jack and playing golf while fighting red ants. Much fun had by all.

We found a babysitter in our neighbors daughter. She just has to be the sweetest thing on earth and did a great job. Langston was in bed, and on time. She's about to make a LOT of cash babysitting.

Time to get back to work. This weekend, I think I'm going to try to get to the 15,000 word mark.

I'm Rollin' Y'all...

It's 1:47am, I'm well rested, and I feel like my groove is back. I'm in Chapter Three of Money Shot. So far, I'm written about 700 words, but I think I can hit the 10,000 word mark by the end of the night. That means I'll be one eight done, and over a bit of a hump. I'm still on schedule, but can't have anymore lapses.

On another front, Johnathan Rodgers from TV One emailed me today. To say that Mr. Rodgers is a role model for any black man thinking about working in television is an understatement. He ran the Discovery Channel and put it on the map, and then became the CEO of TV One, BET's rival. He said there may be a possibility to work together and so I'll keep an eye on that. Remember what I said about keeping your head up for more opportunities?

Wrote a little bit on Bestseller. Not much because Money Shot has been flowing. Time to get back writing.

Today's Output..

Only about four hundred words today, but no sweat. Tomorrow, I'm going to contact one of the porn talent agencies and see if I can interview a few of their women clients. I'm looking for a woman who's about to start her first scene.

Good news on the NBC/NAACP scene. Even though I didn't get the fellowship, the fellow from NBC said that he wanted to meet with me after he got back from vacation. That's TREMENDOUSLY generous of him, and I'll meet with him in two weeks. See? Never get down because something doesn't go your way. Keep plugging away. I know this is cliche, but it takes many, many hammer strokes on marble to make a sculpture.

I need to see what's happening with my fiction project at Kensington. With Karen gone, they're going to assign another editor to it. When I last talked to Karen, she'd said that I'd receive the manuscript back with her notes around this time. Obviously, things have changed. So I'll call Manie.

It's 2:44am, and I think I'm going to write a little bit more on Bestseller. I SOOOOOOO have a better grasp of what I'm doing now. I've had a full year of watching movies (which I don't normally do) and the light bulb has come on in so many areas. Begining my 434 script now does a bunch of things. One, I'm going to do twenty units so that I can coast in the winter with only my 434 left to graduate. After that, I can figure out if I want to pay for my Spring quarter or just prep for book releases.

But I can also relax by writing Bestseller now. The ten weeks is pretty stressful, so why not see how it works when the stress is off? Lastly, I can use the 434 time to rewrite the script according to my 434 teacher's instructions.

Another thing. Kevin Smith (Clerks, Jersey Girl, et al) is teaching a podcast type of class this quarter. I applied and my writing partners in the program (Phil, Simon, Dave, etc) have applied too. This is going to be a good class.

Finished for the Night...

I did about one thousand words tonight. Not bad. Again, if I do about one thousand words a day, I'll be cool. I'm almost done with chapter 2, which is a sex scene. All of this is really a rough draft. If it gets to close so that I'm not able to turn in a polished manuscript by October 15th, then I'll ask for a few more days. Maybe to November 1st or 15th? Usually folks build that in anyway.

Also, if anyone wants an autographed copy of The Divine Nine: hard or soft cover, let me know. Or is you'd like a copy of Friends With Benefits, holla. My publisher just sent me a couple of boxes. The Divine Nine hard are $33 plus about $5 shipping, with the soft being $17 with $5 shipping. Friends is $14 with $5 shipping.

Ah...Fiddlesticks...

Well, I didn't get the NBC/NAACP Fellowship. My boy Yule got it, and honestly, I can't complain. He's a good brotha and a great writer. It's disappointing, but if I've learned one thing in the past is that I still need to keep my eyes open and ready for the next opportunity. I'm a great believer that when something doesn't go the way you want, another opportunity is right there waiting for you. Call me an optimist, but that's how I stay sharp. And that has guided my career so far.

Anyway, getting sick is a great weight loss program. I'm currently 213lbs, and feeling like shit. But I'm light as hell. I had a craving for smothered steak, garlic and butter rice, and french cut green beans, and damned if I didn't make slap ya momma good smothered steak, garlic and butter rice, and french cut green beans. Boy, that felt good.

Alright, time to write more porn tonight. I'm back on the word count, and I'm going to stay up late. The goal tonight: 3000 words to get the count to 10,000.

NBC/NAACP Fellowship Interview...

I had my NBC/NAACP Fellowship interview yesterday, and my cold was still going strong. The interview was held at the NAACP offices on Wilshire, the same building where my frat brother Brian Dunn works. He's a partner in Johnnie Cochran's law firm.

The interview went well I think. I met with Ted Frank from NBC and Vic Bullock from the NAACP. If I get the fellowship, Frank would be sort of a mentor at NBC, and I would work on social issues as it pertained to Hollywood via the NAACP. Also, I would be able to work on the production side of the Image Awards. That appeals to me because I envision myself as being a writer/producer.

They said that they'd make a decision soon, so that's cool. I need to figure out my schedule for next year. Likely, I'm going to take about twenty units for the Fall, and then only eight for the winter. That will complete my degree requirements, and I can spend the Spring promoting Money Shot. And speaking of Money Shot...

I'm spending the week with Lexington, beginning this morning...Time to get my ass in gear.

Signing at the Alpha Convention...

If there's one thing I can never complain about, it's the support my Fraternity Brothers have given me. Brothers have seriously purchased my Divine Nine and Friends With Benefits two or three times, and my hand nearly cramped from selling so many books at the Alpha Convention. The sinuses still are bumping, but I forced myself to get up and relax a bit last night. Went to a couple of suites and partook in some orange juice, cold water, and then when I was feeling better, a bit of Merlot. Got in a few games on the domino table, couldn't get a good hand all night, and generally had a great time with the Brothers. I was pretty mellow by the time I'd gotten back to the hotel room, which was about 4am.

So now, it's rolling out to BWI and on home. I miss my beautiful wife and son, which I always do. BTW, it's always great to see Black men at the convention who are not the subject of either Bill Cosby's rants, or some social scientist's theory of black pathology. We're the ones who work hard, love our wives, love and raise our children, worry about expenses, and hope to make a contribution to society as best we can. It pumps me up to see so many positive brothers, all with college educations, fellowshipping. And to know that there are nine organizations filled with black men and women like this, well, it warms my heart.

I need something to eat, something other than a burger.

Tomorrow, I have an interview for the NBC/NAACP Fellowship. After that, I'm going to set up my Money Shot schedule. So look for MASSIVE amounts of progress on the book when it comes to word count. When I'm not writing, I tend to miss writing. And for the past week, I haven't written anything, and now I feel like writing everything. So I don't think I have anything to worry about when it comes to my deadline in about seventy five days.

Man, Karen leaving Kensington is pretty discomforting. She's really been a great friend, and bought my first three books, so it's going to be weird working with a new editor at that house, particularly at this point. I only have her Kensington email addy, so I can't really get in contact with her, but I'd LOVE to know what was the dealio. She created the black book line at Kensington (Dafina), so her move to Warner is a coup for Warner.

All right, hope all are well. I met a number of you at my convention, and it was great to know that you're all reading. More later!

Karen Thomas...

Well, I just read that my editor at Kensington Books, Karen Thomas, has left the publishing house. It would have been nice to have received an email from someone about this. I read it on my girl Felicia's blog (The Back List on my list of websites on the sidebar). If I hadn't felt so f*ed up, I probably would have found out last week.

I wonder what this means for my book? I was supposed to receive the manuscript back from Karen around today. According to Kensington, they are looking for a replacement, and the rumor is that Karen is going to Warner. So that puts me in a bit of limbo. I have a signed contract, but a new editor. I hate uncertainty, but c'est la vie.

Karen has edited and purchased three of my books, and I hope to work with her in the future. Plus, she's mad cool and I consider her a friend.

Can't Shake This Cold...

I just can't shake this cold. I signed a TON of books these last two days, but right after that, I continue to look like shit. My boys have fled the coop, and it was good seeing them, even though I had to stumble over them each morning. The convention has been a success, and I've seen a bunch of people who I've only known via my various listserves. Tonight, I think I'm going to go out to this old school party at a club called Bohemian. After that, relax and max.

Today...

I feel like shit. Got in at 2am the other night, and then began signing books at 10am. Was on my feet until 7:30pm, with hay fever and a sore throat. I feel like shit. Everybody else rolled out to continue to drink and I decided to hit the hotel room and chill for the evening. Three of my frat are crashing in my room. That's fine, but there's nothing like drunk folks coming into your room in the middle of the night while you're sober. You don't get the joke that they're getting, and no one will shut up. Ever. I'm tired and feel like shit. I've gotta get up at 8am and sign until around 1pm. I'm conventioned out. It's been great and fun, but I'm did, done, did.

DC...

Hey all,

Flew into Baltimore a couple of day ago, with the intention of driving to NYC, but ended up feeling like death. You know how you wake up and know that you'll have to sleep the whole day? That was my day. So I didn't get to see my agent and editors. I'll have to do it later.

Now I'm in Washington DC, and our convention is simply great. Everyday, I'm seeing brothers I haven't seen in twenty years, and there are THOUSANDS. I'll post pics later.

Going To My Convention...

In a couple of days, I head out to the East Coast to celebrate the 100th Centennial Convention for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I have been an Alpha for twenty one years, and so this is going to be great. A frat brother of mine thought he'd send me a picture to show changes.

This is me now: A 40 year old who's in pretty good shape.



But here I am in 1988: I'm ridiculously skinny, with a ridiculous look on my face. And look at that fade! It is TIGHT! To the far left is my sands Marty Smith, and in the middle is my boy Rouvaun Walker. Boy, we were skinny!



And here I am with my frat brother Anthony Williams. We are in the halls of Sproul Hall, sitting in for something, I can't remember what. Might be divesting from South Africa, or it could be the amount of black students at Berkeley.



I don't know if anyone is interested, but I'm going to upload pictures from the convention to the blog.

Not Bad...

It's about 2:30am and it's too damn hot. I mean I'm chilling in my boxers and I feel like a Florida slave workin' in the midday sun. Every fan in the house is on 11, and yet, nothing. And look, if you have locks, especially locks as long as mine, they make you about twenty degrees hotter. I still haven't mastered the art of tying my locks in a pile, so the back of my neck just radiates heat. Oh well.

Not a bad writing night. About five hundred more words. Lex and I have made arrangements for August. My frat has a contact with Heather Hunter, so we'll see where that leads. Momentum is back on my side.

Continuing to work on the BESTSELLER story. Jockying between the spare script brain and the descriptive book side is no treat.

Info on the Savoy magazine saga. It looks like after a year, I'm about to get paid. I have been promised that a check will go out next Wednesday. When I receive it, I will of course run to the bank as soon as possible in order to make sure it's not made of rubber. But our national nightmare is almost over. Viva La Writers!

Prepping for East Coast trip. Packing for Fraternity conventions are no easy tasks. You have your suits, your club clothes, your casual clothes, etc. And then you end up buying a ton of paraphenalia. Basically, seven days of clothes. For women, this may be normal. For guys, this is a chore.

BTW, if anyone is in DC from July 26th to July 30th, holla at me during the Alpha convention. It will be great to see you.

Creative Juices Rolling...

I feel it again. I think I was just burnt from writing in school, but I feel my second wind. I'm remembering why I liked this book, and it's flowing again. Six hundred words so far tonight, and it's about 1:05am. I'm going to keep going, not pushing, but just going.

Bestseller...

I'm working on the story of my next script, BESTSELLER. I've figured out what happens up until Page 30, the first act, and now I'm working on the second act.

A quick synopsis of BESTSELLER: It's about a woman who goes on her final book tour. That's all I can say. But I can say that it's my first comedy.

I feel I have my Money Shot mojo back. I'm going to work on it later tonight, and I'm pretty enthused. Rarely do I have periods when I'm unmotivated, but the past month was one of them. But I'm going to make some headway tonight. No word count guarantees, but I think I can get to around 10,000 words.

For some reason, I have this feeling that I'm going to write while on the East Coast. Something just tells me that one or two times, I will find myself writing versus doing everything else I could be doing. We'll see.

Watch out now...

Uh oh, I feel like I'm back y'all. I'm writing and it doesn't feel forced. We'll see what I get done by the end of the night.

Day 89...Nothing...

I got nothing. But I'm going to look at what I've written so far and do a bit of editing. Also, my editor says that I should be able to add photos.

90 Days...Until Manuscript Due

Okay, while I'm not going to worry about writing goals for the next week, I DO need to realize that there are officially 90 days until Money Shot is due at Thunder's Mouth. This is a rather peculiar position for me because I've never before found myself pressing on a book. But I am pressing a bit. However, there is still plenty of time.

I think I'm pressing because I'm not done interviewing everyone I need for the book. Grad school kind of fucked that up. But not all is lost. What I will do is simply spend as long as I need in August conducting the rest of my interviews. Once those are done, and I can look at my table of contents and KNOW that I don't need anymore information, then I'll finish writing everything. Thank God that UCLA doesn't start until the end of September. My agenda would have been real weak without that extra month.

In reality, school doesn't begin until the first of October, since we have to pitch during that time. And my next script, BESTSELLER, is almost fully fleshed out as a story. I HAVE been working on that.

The only fly in the ointment with my plan is the fact that Kensington is going to send me back my novel. This will have notes from my editor, so I'll have to fix whatever she finds wrong with that. But this may be a good thing. This summer, I've become lazy and soft. I wake up, complain that it's hot, and sit my ass back on the couch, doing nothing. Having a big, fat manuscript full of red slashes where Karen finds stuff that doesn't make sense will jolt me back into writing mode.

On another front, it looks like I just might get paid by Savoy. Nothing certain until I get the check, take it to the bank, see if it bounces or clears, but good sources tell me that it just may happen. We'll see.

I need to finish up preparing for NY and my national convention. I think I'm going to drive to NYC from Baltimore, and then drive back to Baltimore. I'm signing at the Alpha National Convention from 10am to 2pm each day, and I want to be well rested because I'm basically going to be awake 24 hours a day. I'm going to try those anti-hangover pills and see if they work.

My NBC interview is scheduled for the 31st. I turned in my Sloan script. Also, one of our screenwriting students held a party at her house. She's sweet as can be, and her house is the BOMB. Lastly, we gathered with some friends at Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch restaurant. The food was only so-so, but the conversation was fun. We try to gather with our friends each month, so it's all good.

Sorry that I haven't been such a consistent writer, but this is a reality. Every writer goes through a period where they don't feel inspired, energetic, or imaginative. Professional writers gut it out though, and that's what I'm going to do.

BTW, after I get back from the East Coast, I'm going to be a bit more specific about what I've done to move Money Shot forward. That will help too.

Still Got Nothin'

Still haven't written anything. Been about a week now. It's just too damn hot. Regardless, I'm not going to put any word count goals on this week. If I write something before heading to the East Coast, then cool. If not, then August will be hella busy.

HoodieTees.com is rolling along. I'm going to start sending out press releases soon.

Relaxing and Maxing...

I had my shave today and I think it changed my life. Seriously, as my seven year old says. I walked into The Shave of Beverly Hills, thinking that this was going to be disappointing, after all of the build up, but NO. Look, I'm not saying that a man should pay $65 for a shave everyday, but if you want to feel just a bit better about yourself, this is the lick.

They lean you back...oh I can't describe it. It's just good. The brotha holding the straight edge simply removed every hair follicle on my face (except for the 'stache, goatee, and soul patch lol). The trim of the mustache and goatee? Perfect. The wife can't stop staring. The cheeks are so smooth that I can't stop touching it. No razor burn. No nicks or cuts. Look, if you want to get the best shave ever, go. Seriously.

On the writing front, I'm just relaxing. I'm not going to stress, cause I've been stressing way too much lately. It'll get done. I'm getting ready to go to my Frat convention, and I'll probably dine on a diet of Makers Mark and water for seven days. After that, I'll get back on Money Shot.

Oh, after I get back from DC, I have an interview with NBC and the NAACP for their fellowship. All of the other finalists will meet when I'm on the East Coast, so it's cool that they set up a time for me.

On another front, an agent had his assistant read Men Of Their Times, and the assistant liked it. The agent is going to read the script, and if he likes it, he's going to float my name for a project that is already fully financed. That, in an understatement, would be cool. But cart is running WAY before the horse. We'll see how it rolls.

My face feels sooooo good...

One Other Thing...

My option project fell apart. My subject is a REALLY sweet person and I think she has a great story, but there were a lot of red flags. One, she is really committed to writing a book about her life and she thinks there would be a conflict between my script and her book. I tried to explain as much as possible that bios are hard, if not impossible to sell, especially if you don't have a hook. Anyone in the publishing industry will tell you that it's even hard for celebs to sell a bio. But I've learned one thing about writers and books. I can't and won't discourage anyone from writing their book, regardless of the odds. That's simply not fair.

But I think she was getting bad advice from her advisors who were all afraid that my option would hinder her opportunity to sell her manuscript. The manuscript is not done and I explained that even if it were done today and sold today, it would still take two years to come to market. However, if I wrote a script and she finished her book, AND the script sold, she could have an agent shop the manuscript with the added note that a script about her life was already sold, she would come to the publishers with a bit of clout. Now, she's just in the same pile as all of the other people with inspirational stories. But c'est la vie. Maybe later?

So I'm on to the story I was going to write for the Fall before the option project. It's called BESTSELLER, and I think it's a winner. But then, I believe all my stories are winners, or I wouldn't do it. LOL

Tomorrow...

My day started off great. My mom brought the munchkin home, so all is well. The fish tank, which has been leaking profusely for the past month, finally reached critical mass. So it was remove the fish, empty the tank, and carry that smelly, leaky, heavy ass tank back across town to the pet store. I was ready for battle with owner, until he showed me why the tank was leaking. The filters were filthy. I simply needed to change them. That really made me eat a bit of humble pie. So two hours later, with hands that smell like fish (and will for weeks), the problem was finally solved.

Met with my boy MK, who is just DOING it! He is making a documentary that will be as important as any I've seen about the African American community. I just can't tell you what it's about. But he, and a few other UCLA students, are ripping their project.

Tomorrow, like Scarlett famously proclaimed, is another day. I'm going to wake up, head to the gym in order to get back on the weight loss track (I'm rolling 218lbs now. That's about six pounds over what I reached when I was pretty dedicated). But, about seven days on the lifecycle and good eating should kill that.

After going to the gym, it'll be a back to the crib to shower and then all day at the Westwood Novel (where I met MK today. That was a damn good Strawberry Lemonade.) I think I'll spend at least six hours there writing Money Shot. If that works, then I'll rinse and repeat the rest of the week.

BTW, got a bit of info about the NBC/NAACP Fellowship. An NBC rep and NAACP rep will be interviewing us on July 24th. Only prob: I fly out to the East Coast that day. Bummer. But they're going to reschedule me later when I get back. After that, we'll find out who gets the fellowship.

HoodieTees.com is a HIT! In just two days, I'm getting about two sales per hour. Nothing like waking up to sales. I sent out the first batch of tees, and as I was writing this post, I just got two more orders. Soon, I'm going to add about fifty more designs to the site.

What I'm listening to now? KRS-One: Step Into A World

The Best Laid Plans...

Well, somehow the Lex shoot fell through. So that was a bummer. But on the bright side, my little boy comes back tomorrow morning! I miss his little voice, and is drive to beat me at everything from arm wrestling to running.

Today, I got some more bad news. One of my best friends in the world, Sean, just told me that his father is terminally sick. That's just devastating because his father is truly a great man. One of the best brain surgeons in the country and one of the few African American. You really don't know what to say when you're told things like that, except that you'll be there for them.

Tomorrow, I'm going to blow off and then go to Coffee Bean and work on Wednesday. If that works, then I'll go to Coffee Bean on Thursday and Friday too.

Lawrence

Goals Not Met...

I've completely missed my writing goals this weekend. I'll get to 10,000, but no where near the 15,000 I'd planned for myself. So it's time to change locations. Tomorrow, I'm on the Lex shoot, but on Tuesday, I'm going to the local Coffee Bean and stay there for about eight hours. I usually denigrate writers who write in public as preeners, but I'm going to take the dip. Also, I may need a dose of chocolate. If I can get to 25,000 to 30,000 next week, I would feel better about myself.

Phone Calls...

When I'm writing, I don't take phone calls and I don't call anyone. But I constantly get folks who can't understand that. Just this month, I've had about ten different people ask me questions, but insisted that I had to call them. When I tell them to send me the question via email, they freak, as though my work is some hobby and therefore I should have plenty of time for them. It ain't. It's hard enough for me to write a book with a looming deadline, but to interrupt whatever concentration I have with a long convo (meaning that the convos always last over an hour) about your idea for a book, just gets on my nerve. And I'm a cat who rarely gets mad or aggrevated. But this is getting me ticked. Anyway...

I'm back to writing tonight. It's 11pm and I think I'm going to write through the night. I had a very nice (and very expensive) dinner with the wife. She had a taste for steak, so we went to Ruth Chris in Beverly Hills. Didn't know that a steak could cost that much. Either way, I had the greatest company, and I got to say a quick hello to Billy Bob Thornton, who passed us on his way out. Ah, the perks of living in La-La land. Rubbin' elbows with the stahhs!

Hoodie Tees Is Up...

Hey all,

HoodieTees.com is up and running. We have a couple of editing tweaks left to do, but if you're interested in getting a t-shirt and supporting my upcoming projects, feel free to grab a shirt. Thanks!

Money Shot Update...

I'm pretty much done with the rough draft of Chapter One of Money Shot. It's not tight by any means, but it'll do for now. I really wanted to just introduce Lex in this chapter, and I think it works well. By the time I finish tonight, I'll be around 5000 words.

Tomorrow: Send out Kensington Contract in the morning mail.
Saturday: Write all day. Get the word count to about 10,000
Sunday: Write all day: Get the word count to about 15,000
Monday: Go to Lexington porn shoot all day.
Tuesday: Contact porn stars I've haven't approached and start doing telephone interviews. I tend to hate telephone interviews and I'd rather do them in person, but time is of the essence. I have about ninety days until this manuscript is due.
Wednesday: Write all day: Get the word count to about 20,000
Thursday: Contact Anita, my editor, about getting a work for hire contract. I think I want my boy Jeff to take artistic photos of the porn stars for the book. I need to get her permission because I don't think I had photos in the book proposal, and I don't want to pay for the photos and can't use them.
Friday: Write all day and get the word count to 25,000.
Saturday: Rest

Grinding...

So after the Dallas trip, and then shooting off bottle rockets at my boy Tony's house (New Mexico is fireworks heaven when you live in safe and boring fireworks California. I bought about $100 worth of fireworks in New Mexico, brought them back to Cali and I still have a ton left.) it's time to get back to work. But I really don't feel like it. What I feel like doing is laying on the floor, watching television, and then falling asleep. But I need to get to about 10,000 words by Friday, and then 15,000 by the end of the weekend. Langston will be back next week, so I need to take advantage of the time. One thing that is putting a crimp into my work is the heat during the day. No matter how much I want to, I just can't write when it's sweltering. But I write at night mostly, so I have no excuse. Oh hell, I'm just feeling damn lazy and I don't want to admit it.

On other fronts, MK is almost done with the t-shirt site. It looks really nice and in a week or so, I'll be sending out press releases about it. I need to write them now (generally you try to give reporters about a ten day lead on your press release.)

I need to send the Kensington contract back to my agent Manie. It's in my best interest to do so since I don't get paid my advance until it gets back to them. But like always, I lag.

In a little more than three weeks, I head out to the East Coast for a mix of biz and fun. So I'm trying to prep for that.

This summer is FLYING by, but one nice thing is that UCLA doesn't start until the first of October. BTW, on that front, I think I'm going to take about twenty units in the Fall. One reason: There are a lot of classes I want to take then. Two, with twenty units, I'll only have a 434 left in the winter for graduation. Now, if I get the ABC Fellowship (which begins in January), I'd be pretty free. And third, I can then make a decision about taking more classes in the Spring, going on lectures, or prepping for the book releases. Or all three.

On Money Shot, I've emailed Lex because I need to follow him for a couple of days next week. I also need to contact a few hip hop artists that are dabbling in porn. Ice T is my first target, but there are plenty of others. Getting back to my Money Shot goals, I really should be at 40,000 words by July 24th.

Sorry about the rambling nature of this post, but that's pretty much where I am this evening.

Just Because I'm Bored...

Whatever happened to...UTFO? Bonus: What does UTFO stand for?

2880 Miles...

We took off for Dallas last Thursday. It took about twenty hours to get there, and we covered about 1440 miles. Moms, sis, et al were doing great, and my son was happy because all of his cousins were there. Being an only child, he tends to be a loner from time to time, needing his own space, but for the next two weeks, he'll have to share. I think he'll be okay. As my wife and I were driving back (bloated by the crappy food we ate on the road. I gained WAY too much weight.), I wondered if sending your kids to the relatives down South is an African American tradition, or just an American tradition. I never went to camp as a kid, but I did go South for long summer days. I wonder. Anyway, we're back in Westwood, just in time for July 4th. The little boy won't be back until July 12th or so, so I need to get some work done on the book. But right now, I'm going to hit the gym in a couple of hours and see if I can burn off some of this MickeyDs, DelTaco, Whataburgers, out of my system.

Lagging, But Motivated...

All right, I've been lagging a bit on writing Money Shot. I really wish there was some transcription software for Mac (and if anyone knows some, holla!), but it's a bit tough transcribing and writing at the same time. But I'm making a bit of progress. I'll work on the manuscript until about two in the morning. I think I'll get to the four thousand word mark. Tomorrow, I may get up and start writing during the day, but it's so damn hot, that it really kills any motivation I have to write.

BTW, since writing The Yardies Go Boom Boom script, I've been watching pulp films on IFC. I just caught a really good one called Fulltime Killer, a classic Hong Kong assassin film. I watched Layer Cake, The Krays, but this is the best yet. Check it out if you can.

News on Money Shot from Thunder's Mouth. The pub date is May 2007. Great! Just in time for the old "Summer Reads" lists. I'm going to overload my units for the fall, so that I'll only have a 434 advanced screenwriting class for the winter quarter, and then I'll be done. If I don't have to come back to UCLA for the spring quarter, I won't. I will have the units I need for graduation, and if the fiction version of Money Shot comes out before the non-fiction version, then I'll need that free time. BTW, I really need to come up with a name for the fiction Money Shot.

Signed up the munchkin to AYSO soccer. That starts in September.

Growing a Beard...

I can't grow a beard to save my life. My locks are down the middle of my back, and I can grow hair on my chin, but a full beard? Ain't happening. Just once, I want to have a '70 style beard, in the manner of Walt Frazier. Wait, he's still rocking that beard. Maybe not that one. But just once. All I get is a scruffy mess. A bit of hair on the side of the face, making it look like I have dirty on my face, is all I get. But the wife bought me a gift certificate for a shave. This is a chi-chi type deal, where you get shaved by a straight edge, special ointments, etc. Bet. So now I'm letting the hair on my face go. For the next month or so, I'm going with the scraggle look. I'll look unkept and a bit menacing, but I want to make this shave count. I'm getting the shave right before I go to the East Coast next month, so we'll see how it goes. Right now, it's just a bit itchy.

This Week...

Goals For the Week:

MONEY SHOT: Due Date: October 15th.
Currently at 3400 words. At the end of the week: 7000 words.

THE YARDIES GO BOOM BOOM: Open ended
Continue rewriting and strengthen two characters: Angus the cop and Michelle the love interest.

UNTITLED LIFE STORY SCRIPT:
Start interviewing and start writing story. I am simply TOO excited about writing this script.

We're traveling to Dallas at the end of the week, so I need to get some work done.

I'll be writing more on GETTING PUBLISHED later this week.

FAQ about Getting Published...

I get an average of two inquiries about getting published each and every day. They don't annoy me, because I remember what it was like to be in that place. But I need to put a FAQ out because I find myself spending time writing the same thing over and over again.

To recap: I've written three books to date. Two are non-fiction and one is a novel. My books have appeared on the Los Angeles Times bestsellers list, and almost twenty times on the Essence Magazine bestsellers list (the main black books list). In 2007, I have two books being published by two different publishers. One will be with my long time publisher Kensington Books, and the other with Thunder's Mouth. I have been a full time writer since 1995, and I've been able to write full time since 2000. Combining lectures/booksignings, I've traveled to nearly 500 different events to sign books and speak on my books. I've signed at the Book Expo, at colleges and universities, in foreign lands, and anywhere else you can imagine. I've had sponsorships with Lifestyle condoms for a six week HBCU tour and I've done a product placement with Suzuki.

So I think I know what I'm talking about. But despite all of this success, I'm pretty much a midlist author, which in the publishing industry, is a working stiff. I'm the guy wearing the hard hat, but the Stephen Kings are the CEOs and upper management. I reliably sell thousands of books, and so I get to write more books each year.

So, as a public service, I give you some words of wisdom about getting published. Some of this is REALLY depressing, but it's reality:

Words of Wisdom #1:

Like everything in writing, there are LONG odds involved in getting published. The publishing industry has various filters to make sure that they can separate the crap from the good. Or good crap. So here's the normal process.

A writer has a great idea for a book. Shazzam! It'll sell billions of books! If I can just find someone to publish it.

Step #1: Buy the Writers Digest for 2006 or whatever year it is. That book will explain to you many parts of the book industry. It has listings for agents, publishers, etc. It'll show you how to write a query letter (I know some of you are saying, what the hell is a query letter?). And then it'll get to the odds of getting published, which are--

Tiny. Miniscule. Microscopic.

Typically, a new writer sends a query to a literary agent asking them to represent you. The letter talks about your book idea and your writing experience. A typical lit agent gets a bunch a day. Every writer thinking their book idea is wonderful, and is the next bestseller. Well, agents tend to have differing opinions. Lit agents reject about 95% of the stuff they receive. Since they only make money with writers who can write and books that can sell, they have little time to roll with writers missing either one of those attributes. Cruel, but true. Are they always right? Of course not. But they are in this game to make casholo, not hold the hands of someone not ready. Make sure you're ready and then send them your query.

More later...

Hoodie Tees Photo Shoot...

One of the beautiful things about UCLA, is that if you're smart, it's sort of a swiss knife. It's useful for a lot of things, and a lot of those things are free (or at least sort of). For example, I needed a place for a photo shoot. I needed a place with visual interest and in an outdoor area where people wouldn't mess with us. What about the Murphy Sculpture Garden on the UCLA campus? Nothing like millions of dollars worth of sculpture (which normally only get passing students and rampaging dogs as visitors) as a backdrop for my models.

So we're at the Sculpture Garden and my models are simply great. Great attitude, and nice people. Craigslist works again. It takes up about two hours to get stuff done (using the expert skills of my frat brother photographer and LA Angels photog Jeff Lewis) and I think it will add a lot to my coming Hoodie Tees website.

I even think I found a publicist at the shoot. One of the models mentioned that her publicist was interested in our t-shirts, and I think I can go beyond that with her. I'll set up a session within the next few weeks.

On the exercise front, I need to find a yoga class. Playing softball every week has made me more and more stiff. I try to stretch, but it's not working.

Money Shot is moseying along. I'll work on it a bit more this weekend, passing the 5000 word mark. i'll call Lex to see what's happening next week.

The changes to the Yardies script have been stewing in my brain, so I've been working on that script too, although I won't change the progress bar. What I'm doing is introing a character a lot earlier, killing off another character, and making Biko's love interest more, well, interesting.

I also have an idea. Nearly everyday, I receive an email asking basic questions about getting a book published. So I'm going to write a FAQ for book publishing that should answer most, if not all, questions. Most new writers think that their situation is unique, when in reality, it's not. Not by a long shot. The publishing industry relies on making the process routine, but I'll try to clarify it step by step.

Ahh...the mighty hand of Karl Rove...

I'm a Democrat, and boy, sometimes I think my party leadership LIKES getting their asses handed to them. I'm serious. See, I have a theory, and although it works for sports, it goes to politics too. In sports, if I'm accurately predicting the plays of a team, then the coach needs to be fired. Immediately. Same with politics. The Democratic leadership is about to fall apart before the same Karl Rove tactics. I mean, the man hasn't changed his stripes since GWB was downing Jim Beam in Midland. Okay, for those of you not following along (that means you John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and the rest of you milquetoast Dems).

1. Karl Rove goes playground on the Democrats, calling them Cut and Runners. The media, like lemmings (hey, that's you Chris Matthews and your sidekick stand in Norah "I'm just a giggly little girl" O'Donnell) repeat it ad nauseum. Do the Democrats come back with anything tough? How about Goddamn Cowards? No, that probably didn't test well in Democratic polling. The best someone could come up with? Liars and dyers. Yeps, trash talk by committee. We could have come up with something better in the fourth grade. Karl wins again.

2. Karl Rove and his Congressional lackeys, put together an Orwellian resolution whose wording reminds me of all of those failed commie states that would have "Democratic" in their official names. Do the Democrats vote against it and then flood the market with commercials ridiculing the Republicans and their shamocracy? Nope. The Dems are so frightened about being "cut and runner" (I don't want to get all Art of War on you, but never let your enemy define you. If you do, you're dead before you open your mouth) that they vote for it. Karl wins again.

3. What do the Dems do then? Well, John Kerry decides that he wants the microphone again. God no. Please. Stay away from the mike. What does he do? Well, he says the troops should pull out in December. AND THEN, he decides the next day to back away from that date, and move it to next July. What does that make him? Yep, Karl Rove wins again, and he didn't even have to say flip flopper. Kerry said it for him. Anyway, Kerry's amendment dies a quick death (again Kerry, please go away). Karl Rove wins again.

4. Now, there's today's story that Black Muslims are planning a terrorist plot, and the media orgasms in their coverage. Now, not to be cynical, but don't you find it strange that this comes out now? I mean, haven't we seen this before? Continue to ramp up the fear factor and then trot out the President so that he can say that we're fighting them over... Don't you think Rove made a call to the FBI and asked what case could be closed today? Do you think any Democrat will have the balls to question it? Not on your life. The Democrats are a thousand people on a conference call, making a ton of noise, but no sense.

Game, set and match for Rove. You see, Rove doesn't care about defining the Republicans. Why should he? Most people either like or despise them. Nope, he's going to define the Democrats. You see, this is going to be a codliver oil election. People who don't want to vote Republican will, because the Dems just can't get their act together. Ah, maybe things will change in 2008

Please Take My Survey Please...

Hey all,

I've created a survey (at the bottom of my links section). Please take about three minutes to fill it out. Thanks!

Final 434 Meeting With Dave...

Today I had my final 434 meeting with Dave. We went over the script and he made great notes. For me, as I continue to learn about writing scripts, little lights continue to come on. In the first quarter at UCLA, I simply experimented. I needed to know what worked and what didn't when it came to dialogue. Cause I didn't know. I didn't know "on the nose" from the tip of my own nose. After ten weeks, I was straight. I'd had some UGLY dialogue in getting there, but my ears were getting attuned.

Next was structure, and my 434 teacher Hal drilled structure into me. Before, I thought I knew where to put the muscle on the skeleton, but this allowed me to feel the pressure points in the script. After that, I watched every film known to man and began recognizing the points of emphasis. Remember, I'm not a film guy, so I didn't pay attention to it before. But now, I know.

So I walked into Dave's class with the notion that I can pretty much write an interesting script, with the beats set up correctly, and with dialogue that is not on the nose. Dave was cool for a couple of things. He gave us the industry prespective about writing scripts that sell versus just writing scripts for contests and the such. Second, he gave great notes. We had fun, but the notes were on point.

Today, the light that went off in my head was how to write the arcs of characters other than the protag and antag. We were talking about two characters, a UK police officer and my main character Biko's love interest, and I was realizing that I need to plot out there own script within the main story so that they're not just inserted in whenever I feel like it. I need to integrate them in. Again, maybe that's something everyone else knows, but I hadn't thought about it. Now, I feel like I can do it and make them much more three dimensional. So I'm going to do a rewrite of The Yardies, and make those adjustments.

Dave said my second rewrite will probably make the script fat, and I agree. I'll probably add too much to the script. But that's what a third rewrite is all about. I can honestly say that for the first time, I KNOW that three passes over this script, it'll be ready to be shown. I can feel it in my bones.

Change in Word Count...

Just found out that the publisher does want Money Shot to come in around 80,000 words, so it doesn't make sense to strive for 100,000 words. So I changed the progress bar. I'll write a bit tonight and get the meter up to around 3,500 words. I'm rolling along pretty good. The way it looks right now, I'll definitely be done around mid August. I can edit during September.

First Life Story...

So I know what my first 434 for the next quarter will be. I've just acquired the rights to a story that I think is inspirational. Sorry, but that's all I'll say. I'm going to start writing the story, fleshing out the characters, and then do a scene-o-gram by September. I'm really excited about this story and I can't wait to start writing it. But now, back to the book.

On a personal note, today is our 14th wedding anniversary, and we had a great meal at an Italian restaurant on the Third Street Promonade. She's still the most beautiful woman in the world and I'm still the luckiest cat in the world.

Contests...

I'm not really big on entering screenwriting contests, for the same reason I'm not interested in entering literary contests. I write scripts and books for market, not for contests. My philosophy is that the art happens when I'm writing the script or book, but as soon as I turn it in, the marketing starts, so I put on my business hat. But I have entered two different contests. One, is the Final Draft screenplay contest. I don't know why, but I just thought I'd do it. It was cheap and easy, just like me. The other is an ABC Diversity Contest, where the prize is a year at ABC and fifty thousand schmackolas. Just as I write fiction and non-fiction, I want to write for both film and television. So a paid internship at ABC is nothing to sniff at. I'm still waiting, and waiting, on who won the NBC/NAACP Fellowship, but it doesn't look like the news is going to come quickly. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

BTW: World Cup update: Loved the Ghana win. England looked a bit better, but still not great. My favorite player of the World Cup? The Brazilian player named FRED. You've just got to love a player whose one name is FRED, on a team of Ronaldiho, Ronaldos, Kakas, Cafus, etc.

Goals for the week...

This Week:

1. I meet with Dave to go The Yardies Go Boom Boom on Wednesday. We'll go over all of the issues in the script and it will give me a starting point for my rewrite. I try to get three people to read my scripts so I have three different viewpoints. I sent it to my friend Michelle who graduated from Tisch, and I think I'll shoot it to another classmate. I think I have something with script.

2. Last night, I wrote until 2:30am, but not on Money Shot. I was working on the story for my next 434 in the Fall. It's going to be a comedy, and I think it's funny.

3. This week, I'll meet with Howard Suber, who taught our film structure course. A great guy, and it'll be cool to listen to him talk about film. I may have an opportunity to TA for him next year, which would be kind of cool. I've never TA'ed for anyone, so I don't know what's involved, but I'm interested.

4. Money Shot: The goal is to get to about 7500 words by the end of the week. I think I can do that before having to do more interviews. Chapter One is flowing well, and I think it's a good start to the book. I missed going to the Lex' shoot last week, but I have plenty of shoots.

5. We're shooting Hoodietees models in my t-shirts next Saturday. We're probably about a week or so away from going live.

6. Father's Day was great. We went to the best Mexican food restaurant in LA, and I'm stuffed. But now, I'm back on the wagon. Getting to the gym as soon as I finish this post.

7. My Friends With Benefits royalty from William Morris is on its way. The amount was a nice surprise.

8. Just keep plowing along...

Ouzo and Belly Dancing!

Last night, we did the daily double. First, we attended the graduation dinner for my boy MK Asante. It was really cool to see everyone honor my boy because he's the LeBron of the academic world. We had a great time, eating rice and peas, fried fish, and plantains. After that, we hustled to Orange County to kick it with my boy Tony, who was celebrating his 40th. Our destination was a Mediterranean restaurant, complete with ouzo, olives, sausages, kebabs, the most fragrant rice you could imagine, and beautiful belly dancers! It was a great party, everyone was dancing, including me, as I tried to shake my hips the Persian way. We've gotta go back soon.

It's Father's Day right now, and I'm kicking it. I may write, or I may not. We're going to a Mexican restaurant later, and then I'm going to sleep. lol So Happy Father's Day to everyone.

BTW, we got Langston's report card: OUTSTANDING in every catagory. It's the best Father's Day gift I could receive.

Producers Showcase...

I decided to go to the Producers Showcase, and I'm glad I did. The producers basically pitched their projects in front of an audience and in front of three producing execs. One indie, one from the Weinstein Company, and another from a production company I can't recall. All were damn good, and made me proud. My boy Nick won, but I must say that they all were excellent.

It's important to go to Showcases other than your own. Not because of the schmooze factor, but because your classmates are working just as hard as you, and you should get off your self centered ass and support them. I'm kind of bummed that I missed the short films from the directors.

UCLA Film School Softball Team...

Again, with Dave Whelan and me on the team, the UCLA Film School Softball Team aka the Bad News Bruins, defeated our opponents in a rout. Of course that make Dave and I 3-0. We're basically available to play whenever someone else can't make it, but I think we're the reason we win. lol

Bout to start flowing on Money Shot, watch England play Trinnie, and then send off a bunch of contracts and faxes I've been lagging on. Tonight, I'm going to roll to the Producers Showcase and check them out. The finalists in their competition have to pitch shows before execs.

Money Shot Restart...

Okay, so I decided to start over with Money Shot. Clean the slate. Get rid of old starts and editions. Just a blank page and me. I'm meeting up with Lex on the 16th for a porn shoot, which is where I think I will start the book. He's just a real cool cat. You guys should meet him.

For the next three months, I'll be hanging with Lex about three to four days a week. I sort of hover, listening and writing. One of the things you figure out is that porn gets as mundane as any other business. They just do a lot of their stuff naked.

I cleaned up the Money Shot status bar so that it's now at zero. My actual contract says I just need to get to 80,000 words, but I don't know. I think I'm going to roll to 100,000. There's a lot of info.

The due date for the manuscript is October 15th, which is exactly 124 days away. Dividing 100,000 by 124 days means that I need to write at a clip of 800 words a day. I should be able to do that in my SLEEP. But if you see me slipping, get on my ass. I need that from time to time.

The main thing is changing my brain from writing screenplays to writing a book. Where spare was good in the screenplay, spare is not so good in a book. Folks tend to want you to paint a picture for them. So get ready for some mad description!

I still haven't heard from the NBC/NAACP Fellowship. Someone sent me info about the ABC Diversity Fellowship, and I think I'm going to apply for that one too.

MK is working on the ole t-shirt website, and it's close to being done. Time to get these t-shirts a moving. That also means that I need to send out a press release. Generally, you want to send out a press release about ten days before your go live. Give reporters a couple of editing sessions to pitch your story. I'll start working on that now.

Oh, got new business cards. I'm the LAZIEST business card person, and for years, I would do a gig and people would want a business card. I'd never have them. But I need them now because everyone pretty much demands them. Mine are pretty cool, red, black and green. Only one thing: I forgot to put my email address on them. So I need to do another order.

Good News...Bad News...

So I get to the Showcase last night and had a great time. Got a nice plaque for getting an Honorable Mention. Cool. So here's the good news: The publicist for UCLA comes up and tells me that we all got a mention in Variety. Wow. Cool. Bet. Now here's the bad news: They fucked up the title of our scripts. See below...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Showcase for UCLA scribes
'Return,' 'Flying,' 'Swamp' among winners

By LAWRENCE MARCUS

Five grad students have been selected as winners of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's annual Screenwriters Showcase.
Winners are Eyal Alony for "Return," Andrew Cypiot for "Flying Start," Phil Guidry for "Home Sweet Swamp," Brian Larsen for "Saga" and Dan Mazeau for "Sirens."

Honorable mentions went to Yule Caise for "Snake Trails," (WRONG! It's called Snail Trails) Fred Hess for "Okisumo," (WRONG! It's called Muchos Problemos) Lori Palm for "Little Green," Lawrence C. Ross Jr. for "Superstar" (WRONG! MEN OF THEIR TIMES) and David Whelan for "The Thinking Tanks." (WRONG! PRICELESS)

Screenplays will be showcased June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Writers Guild of America West. Screenwriter Mike Werb ("Face/Off") will host.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now look, getting anything, any notice in Variety is a nice thing. Not gonna get your script bought, but hey, it's still a good thing. To get your script title fucked up like this, and to not double check, is really inexcusable. But hey, c'est la vie.

Back to the Showcase. It was a great time. We gave an award to an alumnus, Scott Kosar, (The Machinist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror) who was genuinely choked up at the award. The screenings sounded great and were entertaining. We had a packed house. Passed out a few cards, but in reality, just was glad the quarter was over.

What's Goin' On...

Over the weekend, I went back over my first draft of The Yardies Go Boom Boom. Cleaned it up a bit and I'm having it printed as we speak. BTW, if you want to get your scripts done fast and cheaply, there's only one place to go: Digital Express on Wilshire. There's my plug. Anyway, I've got to turn in my draft today.

Tonight, we have our Showcase, and I'm going to help haul stuff from UCLA to the WGA this morning.

Tomorrow, I will work on chapter one of Money Shot. I dreamt about the book for the first time in a while, so I think my brain has released all of the screenwriting and is getting ready to write a book.

I still need to finish that damned questionaire. They're probably pretty pissed right about now.

The US is getting Rice Czeched in the World Cup right now. Too slow, too boring, and too damn unambitious to win regularly on the international stage.

Mo' later...

Finished...

Ah, finally done. Finished. The last essay done. To celebrate, I took the fam to Harold & Belles for a fried fish, shrimp, oysters and creole potato salad feast. So much for the gym. Oh, by the way, the scale was off. Not 217, but 214lb. Still need to get my behind in the gym. But I'se done. Quarter ova. The World Cup has started and I watched Paulo Wanchope, my boy MK's cousin, score two goals. This, of course, reminds me that I need to contact MK. My brain is fried however, so I'll do it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'm getting up at the crack of dawn (5am) to go watch England play at the Egyptian theater. I'm kicking it with some of my best buds from the film school. They're serving breakfast and football, so add sleep deprivation (to substitute for jet lag) and you have a real UK experience. Did I mention that the quarter is over?

On Monday, we have our Screenwriters Showcase. I volunteered to haul stuff all day before the showcase, which should make me nice and thirsty for as much beer as I can drink during the evening. After Monday, I shut down UCLA and concentrate on my book. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to my old friend, the manuscript. I talked with my fiction editor, Kensington/Dafina editor Karen Thomas, and she told me that she'll get to my manuscript in late July, which works for me. Fixing any problems, correcting the copyedit, etc. will be due in mid-September. For my non-fiction manuscript, the due date is still October 15th, which should be plenty time. I'm REALLY interested in when these two books are going to be released. Normally, books take about nine months to publication, so that means they'll be released at the same time. That means I'll have double duties promoting them. That should be interesting, and it reinforces my belief that I need to do a telephone tour rather than a book tour. Still looking for a publicist, but I think I may have a lead.

Did I mention I'm done for the quarter?

Today...

1. I got on the scale this morning: 217lbs. NOT GOOD. But that's what happens when you slip for the past week and eat a few donuts, some ice cream, and other carbs. I'm on that slippery slope, and as soon as I finish writing this post, I'm off to the Wooden Center for the lifecycle.

2. Meeting with MK today. This summer, we're working on a really exciting documentary.

3. Need to finish writing a six page paper for Guber's class and then a two pager for Suber's. After that, I'll be done for the quarter.

4. Need to pick up new business cards. They're red, black and green, ya know what I mean?

5. I need to set my airline travel to NYC and the DC for this July.

6. Later tonight, I'm volunteering to mock interview eighth graders who are looking to enter some of LA's best high schools.

7. Play Call of Duty until I get to the next level.

8. Go BACK to the gym and work out another 45 minutes.

9. Contact Lex about next week. I'm going to shadow him pretty much for the rest of the summer.

10. Get ad done for my Fraternity Convention Journal.

The Washington Post State of the Black Man...

The Washington Post is embarking on a "State of the Black Man" year long series of articles and I'm not sure of what I think about them. On the one hand, there are serious issues to deal with. There's the whole pathology issue with everything from jail, drugs, alcohol, HIV, absentee fathers etc. that needs to be talked about. On the other hand, I HATE being some "species" of man that needs studying. If you talk to educated black men, you'll find that they have the same interests, same ambition, same desires as every other man in the world. But there are things in this society that can derail us from our goals, and as long as the articles balance the concept of personal responsibilty and merit (yeah, as though Paris Hilton needs that) with the systemic and institutional failure of the educational system, legal system, etc. when it comes to African American men, then I'm okay with it.

Script #2 Done...

Well, The Yardies Go Boom Boom is finally done. It came out to 113 pages and a lot of the third act is WP, which is short hand for writers problem. I gave the story a bit of a twist, a bit of mystery, and a bit of a surprise ending. But if there's one thing I've learned at UCLA is that a first draft is horrible. And this is a first draft. In reality, this the skeleton of the body. The muscle comes from many, many, many, many drafts. This draft of The Yardies stands up like a skeleton in a doctor's office. A bit limp, a bit scary looking, but the bones are in the right places. Over the next week, I'll try to clean it up before turning it in to my 434 teacher Dave.

This is the last week of the quarter, so I have a class with Peter Guber tonight. Then I have my last class with Howard Suber. Suber's class has been great. As I always talk about, I'm not a film guy. So it was a revelation.

I think I'll give myself about a week of non-writing and then get into Money Shot.

The daVinci Code...

is really just an episode of Scooby Do. I swear.

My iTunes Writing Playlist When Writing a Gangster Film...

Someone emailed me privately, asking what I listen to when I write. The answer: different music for different works. Here's my iTunes playlist that for the Yardies script. Obviously, I think the golden era of Hip Hop occurred between 1988-1995. lol

Guru Freestyle Funkmaster Flex
Work Part II Gangstarr f Big L
It's My Turn Steezo
Fat Joe feat. Grand Puba & Diamond D - Watch The Sound(1) Fat Joe
Who Got Da Props Black Moon
You Gots To Chill (Original) EPMD
Punks jump up to get beat down Brand Nubians
I Got Cha Open black moon
biz is goin' off Biz Markie
Ill Street Blues Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Take it Easy Mad Lion
Rampage EPMD feat. LL Cool J
The Symphony Marley Marl - Feat. Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane
Best Kept Secret Diamond D
My Melody Eric B. & Rakim
Who's Gonna Take The Weight Gang Starr
So Whatcha Sayin? EPMD
Road To The Riches Kool G. Rap
My Philosophy KRS-One
How I Could Just Kill A Man? Cypress Hill
Ghetto Rock Mos Def
Straighten It Out Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Off the Books Big Pun and the Beatnuts
Let Me Clear Me Throat DJ Kool
I Ain't No Joke Rakim
Microphone Fiend Erik B and Rakim
What's Up Doc (Can We Rock-) Fu-Schnickens with Shaquille O'Neal
Black Trump Mobb Deep
Hostile Erick Sermon
My Name is D- Nice D-Nice
Gravel Pit Wu Tang Clan
Luchini Camp Lo
Ghetto Red Hot [Hip Hot Remix] Super Cat
I Get The Job Done Big Daddy Kane
Ain't No Half Steppin' Big Daddy Kane
Soul Clap Showbiz and AG
Connected Stereo MCs
Funky 4 You Nice & Smooth
Dialated Peoples Dialated Peoples
Mr Big dick Schooly D
Mass Appeal Gangstarr
Here come the lords Lords of the underground
LL Cool J - Booming System LL Cool J
Fakin the Funk Main Source
Dolly my baby (bad boy remix) Supercat ft. puff daddy & notorious big
Bad Boy Sean Combs
Big Ol' Butt LL Cool J
Code Of The Streets Gang Starr
When The East Is In The House (Dj Premier remix) Blazay Blazay
Le Bien, Le Mal Guru and MC Solaar
Vivrant Thing Q-Tip
Take It Personal Gangstarr
The Most Beautifullest Thing in this World Keith Murray
Going Back To Cali LL Cool J
Get lifted Keith Murray
H To The Izzo Jay Z
EX Girl To Next Girl Gangstarr
Made You Look Nas
Rock The Bells Ll Cool J
Bridging The Gap (LP Version) Nas
RE: DEFinition Mos Def & Talib Kweli
Change The Game Jay Z
Umi Says Mos Def
Bring the Pain Method Man
Lookin' At The Front Door Main Source
South Bronx KRS-ONE
Wonderful Night (feat Lateef) Fatboy Slim
Funkmaster Flex How I Could Just Kill A Man Funkmaster Flex
The Big Payback EPMD
Just to get a rep Gang Starr
LL Cool J - Jack the Ripper (Kool Moe Dee Diss) LL cool j
I'm Housin' EPMD
Full Clip GangStarr
Crossover EPMD
_Chief Rocka Lords of the Underground
KRS-One Speech Funkmaster Flex
Ring The Alarm Fu-Schnickens
You're a Customer EPMD
Rockafella Skank Fatboy Slim
This or That Black Sheep
Keith Murray Freestyle... Funkmaster Flex
I Know You Got Soul Eric B. and Rakim
Funky Piano EPMD
Who Shot Ya? Biggie Smalls
Poetry B.D.P.
Funky Enough The DOC
Strictly Business EPMD
Joints and Jams Black Eyed Peas
Gimme The Loot Biggie Smalls
Cause I Can Do It Right Big Daddy Kane
buddy (w/q-tip & jungle brothe De La Soul
Warning Biggie Smalls
Never Seen Before EPMD
say no go De La Soul
Raw Big Daddy Kane
Sure Shot Beastie Boys
Ready To Die Biggie Smalls
Off the Books Big Pun and the Beatnuts
Brass Monkey Beastie Boys
Criminal Minded B.D.P.
Ghetto Story Baby Cham
Tease Me Chaka Demus & Pliers
Murder She Wrote Chaka Demus & Pliers
Funky Dividends Three Times Dope
The Greatest Man Alive Three Times Dope

Just Saw Layer Cake...

Just decided to get a six pack and spend the night working on my Yardies script to get it close to Layer Cake.

The World Cup is Coming...

And I can't wait. I don't think folks really understand how much I love football. I say football, not to be smarmy or because "soccer" sounds so ridiculous, but because I love football. College football, NFL, and yes, the original football (soccer). And with games beginning at 6am, my wife knows to not mess with me during this period. Who do I root for? I have to go in order:

1. Team: England/USA... For the twenty or so years that I've watched soccer, USA were crap. Utter crap. I could have given a better performance than some of the US players in the past. So England developed as my surrogate team. I've been a Manchester United fanatic since '92, and so it's the league I know. I can tell you about clubs in the Football Conference, as well as players in the English Premiere League. The style of play is appealing to the American sensibility of toughness, attack, attack, attack, and heart. So I will root for England too. But now, the USA has finally developed players who can compete on the international stage. Their manager, Bruce Arena, has put the US in the best position possible to win games. And even though I'm not big on the counterattack strategy, it works for the US. So I will root for the Red, White and Blue too.

2. Players: I root for all Manchester United players, no matter which country they play for. Ji-Sung Park for South Korea. Gabriel Heinze for Argentina. Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Rio (why the hell do you get nutmegged all of the time) Ferdinand for England. Ruud Van Niesteroy (sp) for Holland. Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal. All of them, and anyone I missed. Next, I root for the playmakers, no matter their club team: Ronaldiniho, Thierry Henry (my favorite non-Red Devil player), Ronaldo (if he's not fat), Steven Gerrard (although I hate that he plays for Liverpool and he can never be bought by United).

3. The Underdog: I used to always root for Nigeria because they just didn't give a damn about defense. They'd let in 4 goals and score 5. That's my type of underdog team! This year, my underdog team are the Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba (sp) is someone I can't stand when he plays for Chelsea, but I'd like to see the Ivory Coast get some good news.

If you've always wanted to "get into" soccer, but never could, watch the World Cup. Most of the international stars will be there. Just wake up and enjoy!

Writing The Yardies...Watching The Krays...

I'm watching a 1990 movie about the notorious British gangsters The Krays. The Krays were East London (same place my characters are from) twins who pretty anti-social to say the least. They murdered, extorted, yada, yada. But that's not what interests me. I'm interested in the dynamic between the brothers. I need to strengthen the conflict between my brothers, Biko and Tambo, to ratchet up the tension. Right now, they're WAY too cool with each other.

Another T-Shirt...

Obviously, I'm not a model. But I play one on my website. lol

As for this t-shirt, let me explain: This t-shirt speaks to one of those pet peeves a lot of educated black folks have. In describing us, people will inevitably say, "He/She's articulate" as though folks are surprised that black folks can actually speak English. Whenever that word is spoken about a black person, I can mentally hear fingernails on the blackboard. I shouldn't get a special cookie for being able to put together a coherent thought. And it shouldn't be a surprise that I can speak both the Queen's English and my own special black dialect (when around other black folks).