AHNS: Counter-Opinion

The SLH is at it again. I had him read the John Mayer post and he profusely disagreed with his stance. Here is the discussion between him and I. Enjoy.





SLH: Interesting quote
But you're not gonna like my response

me: LOL You’re usually on a different plane as far as everything goes anyway, so I’m not surprised

SLH: I think he's complicating life. Why use 64 colors when you can make whatever color blend necessary with 8. If you go out and buy a small fast sports car for speed, a minivan for size, a 2 ton truck for power and a motorcycle for quick maneuverability, you're (in my opinion) overstocking yourself when all you needed was a Kia Sophia to get you to and from A to B. Searching for that perfect magenta is like looking at a single tree in a forest and wondering why it's not to your liking

me: of course I disagree. John Mayer is talkin bout personal growth. Why limit your growth when u know there’s more growing to do? Why just be satisfied with where u are when u know u can ALWAYS improve

SLH: cause some people can get things done with what they're born with (8 crayons with no sharpener) and rather create than build their arsenal of colors

me: even now youre doing more, with everything you do in your life and the risks you’ve taken to advance yourself. There’s always room to grow. Yes there are those that do well with the 8. They can use the blue and green and white and create cerulean. But there are others that only seee blue and are stuck in that one color


SLH: right but i'm not sitting back saving up all of my money and saying 'one day i'll be ready to buy a house and a camera and find a job' I'm doing things along the way…some I succeed at, some I fail at, but sitting back complaining 'this doesn't feel right' would never get me anywhere

me: THATS what im talkin about. The immobile, not the ones making out what they can with what they have and sitting back and complaining is stupid. ACTION is what im on lol

SLH: but that's what mayer does in the quote. He’s complaining and letting a fine purple walk away cuz she's not on the same level as what he expects. Searching for a 64 pack is a good way to end up unsatisfied and friendless

me: I think you’re reading too much into the quote. You’re talking about accepting people for who they are. I’m not talking about that at all. I’m talking about people limiting themselves from their potential

SLH: but who are you (or john) to say someone's purple should be a magenta

me: not looking "beyond their life's lens" and only seeing one side to their life but not making any progress

SLH: if they work wonders with their purple lifestyle rock on

me: sigh
if they work wonders in purple, then they arent purple. They are magenta

SLH: hahaha. That makes no sense


SLH: This is similar to a talk I had with my dad about teaching. He considers it a waste of my life to want to teach because I have so much potential. He said with my degree and creativity it would be a waste to be in a classroom with some kids who don't give a damn. To me... that's john mayer telling me my purple sucks and I should want to be a Renaissance man about town wowwing the masses. But if I want to teach and I'm good at it in my own opinion... then rock on I shall

me: LOL!!! Well I'm clearly looking at it w/in the realm of limited thinking whereas you’re on some "but if I’m purple, why cant I just take the purple and add a lil black and make magenta?" If you read the whole thing you’ll see I said, "How is purple all you see when sitting next to you there's blue and red and next to them orange and green? And on the ends there's black and white? And when you meet new people and do new things, there's a wide array of ciruleans and mahogoney's abounds? How are you comfy with "just being purple"?" Meaning people that ONLY see one lane of sight.

SLH: key words in your last line 'you' and 'comfy'. If someone's comfortable with themselves... rock on

me: I just feel like everyone should go for their potential and u do too

SLH: That's a different argument. I agree with that too but if their potential is the way they're going and you see them and say 'hey, you should be going that direction!' that's odd to me. They can shine their brightest with their boring purple, why ask them to be something different

me: no I'd never tell a person where they should be going, but if they are say.....good at drawing right? And then they go to an art school--excel and blah blah, then get offered a job like Michaelangelou and they don’t take it, that’s odd. That’s not reaching your potential, that’s wasting time. Like-- why go to school and be an art major only to turn down a top job you seemed to have always wanted?

SLH: ok, hold that thought and think back. Has anyone ever told you 'you should be a professional writer/actress/athlete/model/wrestler! you're so good at it!' and you knew they were speaking out of kindness but you just knew it wasn't where you were headed?

Me: Yes

SLH: Now put yourself into the purple position and imagine that person who suggested that considered you a waste of potential for not agreeing

me: I mean....I’ve had people tell me to do this and that but it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life; modeling is a hobby for me and nothing I see myself doing for my LIFE but yes I’ve had people tell me "you should do THIS with your life". But if I were to act like that’s what I wanted to do with myself and then get offered a spot on ANTM, turn around and win get a contract and when I’m supposed to sign it I go, “I don’t wanna do this for my life", that doesn’t make sense.


SLH: So that artist might not wish to be the Mchaelangelo of her/his time. Nothing wrong with that.

me: I’m saying....people that aim for a goal shouldn’t stop at a certain point when they put all their effort or energy into it

SLH: He doesn't mention anything about a goal

me: Like...why go out for American Idol if you don’t wanna be on the show and win?

SLH: He just mentions someone on a different path than himself

me: Well im talkin bout goals

SLH: He says 'they're doing their purple thing'

me: I took it somewhere else

SLH: they're not idle--sitting back doing nothing

me: You’re right. I took it up a notch. I mean do u still disagree with where I'm coming from though?

SLH: I disagree with the quote in general, not so much your take on goals



**I wish I could color-code my blog so you could get a better distinction of who says what; I have no clue what happened to that feature. Does anyone know? :-/

Always Happy, Never Satisfied

I saw a quote by John Mayer that I stumbled upon from another blog and HAD to post it. Take a look for yourself. And yes, John Mayer is fine as wine, but...read the quote he spits below his picture.

I'll wait....





Doper words on life and social interaction have never been spoken. I feel like with the more people progress as individuals, the more other individuals within a group or a relationship, that are in direct relation to said individual, have a tendency to either 1. stay where they are or B. fall off completely due to "comfort level" within the relationship. It's like a chain reaction of sorts.

Of course this doesn't happen in EVERY interaction/relationship/friendship....but it happens. And when it does, someone is left feeling inadequate or as Mayer eloquently puts it, "...and I'm like, "no--I want magenta!" Someone (if not all parties involved) is bound to feel some kinda way when the individual is "progressin' in the Recession".

As we grow older, we as individuals shouldn't aspire to reach a "peak" (or "desired color") and live in comfort atop our own personal mountaintop. There's always another mountain to climb and a higher peak to reach. Of course there are those that vie for a simple life--middle class and happiness. Nothing major. This blog isn't about the materialistic. It's about personal growth. We should ALWAYS be growing. No excuses. Humans evolve and with human evolution also comes evolution of the mind. We are constantly changing, constantly having to adjust to said changes, and constantly molding into new beings, new positions, better humans. After all, if there was a limit to life (and I obviously don't mean the fundamentals of life and death either), why is the sky limitless? There's no end to it for a reason.

How is purple all you see when sitting next to you there's blue and red and next to them orange and green? And on the ends there's black and white? And when you meet new people and do new things, there's a wide array of ciruleans and mahogoneys abounds? How are you comfy with "just being purple"? How does that work? You don't even want to try out for Magenta? Weird. Very weird. But then again...maybe the 64-count isn't your thing. Or even an 8-count for that matter. And if that's the case.......that sucks. Who wants to just be with "their kind" only day in and day out? No one moves. Everyone remains the same. And all the while, minds deteriorate. As Jay put it...."[that] can't be life".

This reminds me of a book I read when I was in college in a class I was taking over the summer in 2007. In my Children's Literature class, I chose to do my Final Project on "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. The book is about a structured "world" where people are birthed and from then on are handed their "assignments" or roles in life. There are those that have kids, those that do labor work, etc etc. They are "programmed" from birth not to "look beyond the scope" of their Life's lens and for that reason, they are ALL very limited and extremely boring beings. One child was given the "assignment" of "The Giver", the person that knows the secrets to the world and beyond. Only--he can't really question what's out there, though unlike everyone else, he KNOWS there is more out there. The amazing part? He goes above and beyond his duties and UTILIZES his role and goes for more, leaves the world and goes beyond.

Though it's a child's book, the schematics and the mindset is definitely adult. I had to keep looking at it and even went as far as too research this book to make sure that it is indeed for kids. "Children should not be reading this book", I thought. Then again...they should. So they know ahead of time....evolution is necessary for growth. Without it, our souls are dead.

So as Mayer said (I'm just gonna summarize what he meant), since we (should) all change and evolve as humans are prone to do, "purple" shouldn't be as far as the eye can see. Magenta should be what we're aiming for. And after that? Well there'll always be a better, more inventive color after "Magenta".


My homie and I engaged in a discussion to which he countered this entire blog. Click HERE to read it. Enjoy!

Representative Pieces....

Haven't written in a while. Haven't penned a poem in months. I can say that Life hit, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've had a LOT to say and even tried to write a piece over a week ago.....all to no avail.

There's too much in my head to sort through.

Too many emotions going all over the place, making me feel very uncomfortable and dare I say it....insecure.

I am never insecure. Like never ever. This is new.

And this is the song of my life right now.

Kindred - Far Away




And because I actually feel like screaming (but won't), this song also reigns right now:

Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson- Scream



Next post will be better.....

Death of a Legend: That Mean Lean

Okay. I'm back in my "Michael Jackson trance" that I've been in since his passing exactly a week ago. I just viewed one of my favorite videos from him, "Smooth Criminal" and thought I'd post it.......and tell a little story too.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal


This was one of my favorite songs back in the day. The video is awesome and oh how Mike leeeeaaaaans, right?

Childhood memory: I remember back in the day how my little brother and I would watch Michael's videos religiously. You see, our dad has a VHS of nothing but Michael Jackson videos (He might have recorded it from a special shown on TV at the time, Idk) and since my brother and I were heavily exposed to Michael Jackson, we loved this VHS (when I'm done with this blog, I may call dad up and ask him to look for that vhs for me so I can see it again possibly over the weekend).

Whenever the tape got to the "Smooth Criminal" video, I remember my brother and I would both be in our shoes or stocking feet trying to duplicate. My brother was always good with impersonating Mike's moves. Me? Notsomuch. But I tried. (I got better once I got into dance though, but like everyone else, I'm no Mike duplicate).That lean though? I definitely tried. Without question. I nearly busted my head trying to do this lean, lol. My brother actually did bust his head. Good times.

Let's focus on that lean again, shall we?




As I got older, watching the video, I concluded that this was just a mark of camera work at its finest. The rules of gravity don't allow for a 50-degree lean, period. But then he did it in concert and I learned that it's in his shoes. There's something going on with the soles of his shoes or something. Either way, it's DOPE! (I still wanna learn this move, though lol).

One of my favorite parts of the video? Around the 7:47 mark where the little boy is doing the moves. Isn't he adorable?

Another thing I love about this video is how it easily distracts you from the lyrics as well as what's really going on in the video. The song is talking about a "smooth criminal" who comes and attacks a woman named "Annie" and just like any "smooth criminal", he leaves unscathed, yet "Annie" is suffering ("he left the bloodstains on the carpet"..."it was her doom"). However in the video, Michael comes onto the scene and even though people are highly suspicious of him and he causes a ruckus, he's dancing with them (remniscent of the "Bad", "Remember the Time" and "Beat It" videos)........but in the end, it turns out HE was the "Smooth Criminal" all along. Smooth, eh? Smooth indeed :). Because the dancing and the other elements of the video are so entertaining, I doubt people are even thinking about all of this. Of course I did though lol.

It was my intention to post just ONE blog of my favorite Michael Jackson videos and title the blog, "Death of a Legend: The Videos" or something like that. But then as I compiled my list, I noticed that there were entirely too many videos I wanted to include, each with a small personal story/piece attached to it in some way. So I've decided to continue this tribute sporadically and create an official "series" of some sort. You'll see the influence that MJ had on my life and hopefully it'll make you bring out your personal experiences in connection to the world's greatest artist as well.

Isn't it funny...

...how the ones we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the most and the quickest...

...are also the ones we admire the most and tend to lean on with the most ease...

...and are also the ones whose opinions means the most...

...but at the end of it all, we still get the most tongue-tied, disconnected, discombombulated, confused and incoherent when we need them the most?



*I know I promised two more parts to the "Death of a Legend" series I started on Michael Jackson, but that moment has passed at present. I may pick up on it again soon. Or do it in more parts and segments*