Blue Lines Blog Editorial – A Need to Feel

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A Need to Feel, Atlanta, Black, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, California, Cuba, Cuban, Editorial, Empathy, hispanic, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia Walker, New To You Music Sundays, New York, New York City, Racism, Racist, Sacramento, UNC, UNC Chapel Hill, United States, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, White

Recently I read a piece entitled, “Why I’m Absolutely an Angry Black Woman,” and it touched my heart in a way that I could not describe. The plight of the Black woman, and Black and Hispanic people primarily have always affected me, and pissed me off. Seeing a White person call a Black woman a “bitch” or Black “bitch” either to their face, or in response to a public figure as opposed to another has disgusted me, and ended what I thought were friendships.

Reading this piece also offered me a clearer visualization of concepts that I know exist. It also reminds me of the values that is placed on color both within the Black community, and Hispanic community (which I come from). It also lead me to question my reactions or the way that I deal with this world.

I grew up viewing the United States, erroneously referred to as America by an New York and International parent in the South of the 1980’s which was a virtual community of Black and White. For much of my young life I was “Spanish” but at the end of the day “Black.” “Black” was perfectly fine, because I was raised to be proud of such, but whenever we visited New York throughout the year, and the two years that we lived in New Jersey, “Black” was a totally different experience than the repressed values of the South.

Hip-Hop Quotable Wednesdays – Cypress Hill – “Boom Biddy Bye Bye [Fugees Remix]

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1996, Adil Omar, B-Real, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Boom Biddy Bye Bye (Fugees Remix), California, Columbia, Columbia Records, Cuban, Cypress Hill, Cypress X Rusko, Deadmau5, Diamond D, DJ Muggs, EMI, Everlast, Fergie, Funkdoobiest, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop Quotable, Hip-Hop Quotable Wednesdays, House of Pain, Ice Cube, La Coka Nostra, Lauryn Hill, Lyrics, music, New Jersey, Pras Michel, Priority, Psycho Realm, Rage Against The Machine, Ruffhouse, Ruffhouse/Columbia Records, Rusko, Sen Dog, Slash, Snoop Dogg, Sol Invicto, Sony Music, Soul Assassins, South Gate, South Orange, The Fugees, Tom Morello, Travis Barker, U.S., United States, Unreleased and Revamped, vinyl, Wyclef, Wyclef Jean, Xzibit, Young De

[Wyclef] Refugee camp, with Cypress Hill
[B-Real] Yo, bringin it on
[Wyclef] Cubans meet the Haitians
Perfect combination, check it

[Verse One: Wyclef, B-Real]

[Wyclef] You say guns
[B-Real] I say pistolas
[Wyclef] Well if you got beef son
[B-Real] Callate la boca
[Wyclef] Go meet me on the island where the Cubans meet the Haitians
[B-Real] A bullet beats the verbal lyrical assassination
[Wyclef] From L.A. to Brooklyn why you doin all that talkin
[B-Real] Think you got a soul but you’re a Dead Man Walking
[Wyclef] Yo toast the host from coasts’ we boast
When we meet again, I will be Casper that Friendly Ghost
[B-Real] You’ll hear shots, like the show Cops
Things are still the same, I’m still growin crops
[Wyclef] Wyclef with B-Real, let me build better yet
[B-Real] Killa bee kill
[Wyclef] Yo B-Real watch your grip

[Chorus: B-Real, Wyclef, Lauryn Hill]

[B-Real] Hi, boom biddy bye bye
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhhahhh, ahhhahhh
[Wyclef] You open up your eyes you’ll be the next one to die
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhhahhh
[B-Real] Boom biddy bye bye
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhhahhh
[Wyclef] Ohh as simple as they come as simple as they die
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhhahhh
[B-Real] Boom biddy bye bye
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhhahhh
[Wyclef] Yo who told the boy, to pack a forty-five
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhhahhh
[B-Real] Boom biddy bye bye
[Lauryn Hill] Ahhahhhh, ahhahhhh
[Wyclef] Now he rest in the place that they call paradise

Blue Lines Blog – #PhotoADayMay – Day 7 – Someone That Inspires You – The Little Ones

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#PhotoADayMay, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, children, Cuban, daughter, Day 7, family, Japanese, Key Yemaya Walker, Someone That Inspires You, The Little Ones

When I have questions, or need to figure out balance, I look to them and think on how to be there for them.

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 7 – Picture With A Friend

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30 Day Photo Challenge, ACC Championship, ACC Tournament, Atlanta, Cuban, Day 7, FSU, Key Yemaya Walker, NCAA Tournament, Picture With A Friend, Puerto Rican, UNC

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 27 – A Picture of Yourself And A Family Member

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30 Day Photo Challenge, A Picture of Yourself And A Family Member, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Cuba, Cuban, Day 27, family, Happy, hispanic, iPhonagraphy, iPhone, iPhone4s, Key Yemaya Walker, Love, New York, Photography, photoshop, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rico, Spanish, The Bronx

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 1 – A Picture Of Myself With 10 Facts

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30 Day Photo Challenge, 4, A Picture Of Myself With 10 Facts, Atlanta, Blue, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, California, Cuba, Cuban, Day 1, family, Jamaica, Jamaican, Key Yemaya Walker, manuscript, MW, Photography, poetry, Prose, Starbucks

1. My favorite color is “Blue”
2. My favorite number is “4.”
3. I am of Cuban lineage, and I know that side.
4. I am of Jamaican lineage, which I know nothing of.
5. I wrote a fictional manuscript, now over 400+ ppgs, about real people. I have written a bunch of poetry and short stories, and I have had a poem published once.
6. I Love Starbucks coffee. I really don’t drink other types.
7. I think more than I speak.
8. I bore easily when I’m not challenged.
9. I am very family oriented.
10. I am faithful, almost to a fault.
The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Blue Lines Blog – Brunch with Titi y Tío Ronnie at The Cupping Room in LES from iPhone

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Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Cuban, iPhone, Key Yemaya Walker, Life, Lower East Side, The Cupping Room

The Cupping Room Cafe & Restaurant

2nd instance of Eggs Benedict, this time with avocado and smokes salmon.
The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Let the world change you…
…and you can change the world

Blue Lines Blog: Give Father’s their Father’s Day

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Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Cuban, Father's Day, Independence Day, Key Yemaya Walker, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, What I Learned Sundays

At first I thought to write my “What I Learned Sundays,” Blog Post about the phases of Father-hood that I’ve known. Whether it be my Father’s process, that of my late Cuban Grand Father, or even thoughts on my brother and his first Father’s Day. But then after reading one of many posts that happened to be followed by a discussion, I had to change my focus.

I am guilty of this too, and I actually had second thoughts prior to making my initial post on facebook, but I was overly surprised about how when someone mentions “Father’s Day,” the common comment and/or statement is “for all the Father’s that are doing there job, and the Mother’s who are being ‘Father’s’ for their children. As someone pained that at 35, I am not a Father, it is sad that Mother’s Day is allowed to be a day of celebration, however Father’s Day is always served with an asterisk, for those who are being Father’s. There are even “Father’s Day” cards for Mothers. I love Mother’s, and I celebrate Mother’s Day in earnest, however while allowed to be supported by most schools systems still being in session, and a super Hallmark Holiday, Father’s Day falls in June, with no promotion and served with giving ties, or some non-essential gift.

What I Learned Sundays – Reciprocity

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Atlanta, Bentley Hotel, Blue Lines, California, Cuba, Cuban, Dr. Seuss, Dub-Dub, East 62nd Street, Florida, Floridian, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia, Libra, Love, Mom, Mother, New York, Nine Inch Nails, Portishead, reciprocity, Roads, Tallahassee, Tauri, Taurus, The Fragile, The Watcher, Trinidadian

-New York circa 2000.
Some background to this New York discourse – After the end of a two month period of “dating” a writer from Florida (I’ll call her the Floridian), which consisted of us reading each other’s projects and drawing conclusions on the people that we were both from our interactions and our works ended in the culmination of these conflicting ideals, and her move to Atlanta. Writers of different ilk’s, she was a big reader of “Black” fiction, and was looking for her manuscript to be a best seller in that genre, I personally saw Blue Lines as a book that would be in any fiction section of a book store. Her writing used voice inflections, and phonetic spellings, my writing used standard English, at best, and added “regional” words to add authenticity to the characters and time period. Needless to say, she was in Atlanta and the two months of hell, which seemed like two years was over, thus an offer to come to New York.

I knew that in coming to New York, I would have to temper emotions and expectations. These were conflicting times, as a 24 year old thinking he knew everything. I in the initial final stages of a manuscript about a woman that I had recently told I loved her (through e-mail, because she had left Atlanta, I had recently heard back from her to which she responded that my “words were nice” and we were having some discourse, much to the Floridian’s chagrin, I’ll call her Key, since that is the manuscripts character’s name). The Floridian and I had ended our “relationship” that was strife with wanting to live up to Key, although it was through reading and the Floridian asking me about Key, that she was brought up (I didn’t ask about the man in her manuscript). Tempered, because the Trinidadian, a great friend from college and to this day, however we had our misstep and entered into a relationship my freshman year, and now she was bringing me to New York to escape. So while at the Bentley Hotel (a boutique hotel that was a precursor to what we see in Hotel’s such as the W and their Whatever/Whenever mantra) on East 62nd Street we enjoyed a weekend that was enlightening, and helped put a stamp on solidifying and maintaining our friendship. I had to go in, knowing that although I needed this escape, maintaining our friendship, and just that was key.
Early the morning of my second to last day in New York, I sat in the corner of the room, the bridge in the distance of the wide open windows. We had had the coolest dinner at the spot I wish I could remember, we saw a film that had the Portishead composition “Roads” in it, and we had discussed that our friendship would be just that. Though, that’s my girl, I’ll always have her back. I sat reflecting, while I had Blue Lines open on the laptop, and tried to dial into the internet (this was 2000) to check on correspondence from the Floridian (this I expected) and from Key (I still did not know how to deal with the woman of my dreams popping back into reality), as the Trinidadian woke, we began OUR discourse as it pertained to relationships and reciprocity. Reciprocity, being young my concept of love dealt mainly with feeling being reciprocated. Though, I consider myself and observant man of few vocal words, my thoughts and discourses, especially at this time, were verbose. Our conversation about reciprocity had less to do with the Trinidadian and I going forward, or even our past, but more so with love and the future on our different paths. And as the sun cut through that bluish New York morning and into our room and she woke, I placed the computer down. My contacts burned, and the sun was at my back, and we spoke of how you can want something (man/woman) with all your heart, but if that feeling/love/want/happiness is returned to you, then at the end of the day, it is all for naught…it may at best be unrequited love and at worst infatuation. And although, not specific to what she at one time wanted for us, we both knew what would come up, had the option to say know, and continued to forge that mutual respect that allows for us to be the greatest of friends to this day.

Blue Lines Blog: My Blue Print Cleanse Journey Day 3 (2/20/11) Last Day

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Blue Lines, Blue Print, C.A.B., Cashew Milk, Cleanse, Codex, Cuba, Cuban, Detox, Etsy, Front Page News, Green Juice, Key Yemaya Walker, Little 5 Points, New Orleans, New To You Music Sundays, P.A.M., Radiohead, Sassy Raggs, Spicy Lemonade, The King Of Limbs

“We can all learn something else about ourselves.”

 

Day 3 (The Last Day):

After my long Saturday with the fam, I actually woke up, headache free this morning around 7:30.  I don’t know whether that was a good or bad thing as I laid back and wrapped my mind around getting up, preparing my hot water, lemon, and cayenne pepper to drink before my first juice.  I decided to get up, and prepped as I sat at the computer reviewing the night, and deciding whether to go on to the gym to sit in the steam this morning.  The sun was bright, thought the temperature was much lower than yesterdays near 80 degrees.

 

Juice 1: Green Juice

I finished off my first juice while prepping my standard Sunday blogs, and listening to the new Radiohead album The King Of Limbs.  I’m addicted to the song “Codex.”  I decided against any of the new material to make the post of “New To You Music Sundays,” since the material is very new.  I try to reserve that for obscure artists or songs, that YOU should be up on, but are not.

 

Juice 2: P.A.M. (Pineapple, Green Apple, Mint)

My mother had been against this cleanse the entire time, and labeled it a fad diet, not truly understanding my reasoning behind it (weight loss was not a considering factor).  I waited until she arrived for her “model shoot” she wanted me to model her new shirts for her Etsy website to sell.  I walked in with the juice to get a response from her, only for her to say, can’t you make that at home.

 

Juice 3: Green Juice (again)

I drank this before leaving so that she could get a late Sunday lunch…because I knew I would be sitting there watching and waiting to drink my next juice.