What can I say? I think the key themes to this year for me personally have been individual growth, outside the box thinking, realization, family, TRUE friends and of course, LOVE, in its many different forms. It's true when they say time moves faster as you get older -- or is it the contrary? With time actually always on our side but instead us choosing to acknowledge it less as free spirited youngsta'z. Whatever the case, I can't even begin to imagine how much I've changed in the last few years. I remember someone telling me once that the time in between 18-25 doesn't span too much of a distinction in maturity, but the time from 25-30 vastly does. I still don't know how accurate that is, and it's always subjective, but I will say that 3 years ago my mind was definitely somewhere else. Feet still on the ground nonetheless, but ambitions and passions so distinct, you could see what I was thinking and feeling on the creases of my sleeve. I wouldn't say those ambitions and passions have faded in any way, but rather they've developed into more realistic settings and have a greater emphasis on the short term, the here and now. The people in my life have far exceeded quality over quantity, and for that realization, I am grateful. The scene, the people, the limelight...these days, I only seek depth and character in people I selectively choose to surround me.
I sometimes feel like, damn, did I stray off path? The beaten path, perhaps...but who will ever know? This path was meant for me, and I'm going to run with it.
So to all of you who had an impact on me this year...mostly my family, my boyfriend, and my true friends...I thank you with my deepest sentiments. My inspiration came in different forms this year, some of these forms not visible right away, but in hindsight are more clear to me than ever. To all those who have been down for me since day one, I will have your back always. And of course...to music being a constant in my life, and to my faith and to the depth of my life being even more enriched than ever this year. One love.
I can't say it was a bad year for me, and I can only hope and pray for a brighter and more successful future ahead noting where I need to make improvements and strengthen myself along the way.
And to end on this note...Personal highlights of 2008:
The San Francisco Bay...for 10 years of your love, beauty, individuality, memories and good fortune. Thank you. My heart will always be in this city.
Streetwear and the Sneaker Game Goodbye all over print hoodies and loud pastels. Please leave us forever, although we will forever engrave your name in 2008.
And to the beautiful timeless pieces...
Greatest Rapper Alive in 2008? That's a blanket statement. But I will give it up for his originality, innovation, and to his crown as the king of collabos this year:
Affinity of Travel and Passion to discover more about myself and the rest of the world:
To our brighter future ahead
To my constantly growing career...gratitude and appreciation of the old and optimism for the new
For loving me unconditionally and through it all
To keeping me down to earth
...and to the love of my life for everything that he is to me everyday, every hour and every second...and to the little man who brightens my everyday!
Peace out 2008, and many blessings in the new year!
In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio.
So our presidential elect wants to spend some well-deserved time off before his inauguration in Hawaii shirtless....so what?! He's human...so let him! Plus, he looks good doing it!!! First Black President, Check. Hottest First Black President, checkmate.
in⋅spire /ɪnˈspaɪər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [in-spahyuhr] Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -spired, -spir⋅ing. –verb (used with object) 1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers. 2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others. 3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust. 4. to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts. 5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future. 6. to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God. 7. to guide or control by divine influence. 8. to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility. 9. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that inspired a revolution. 10. to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale. 11. Archaic. a. to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually fol. by into). b. to breathe into or upon. –verb (used without object) 12. to give inspiration. 13. to inhale. Origin: 1300–50; ME inspiren < L inspīrāre to breathe upon or into, equiv. to in- in- 2 + spīrāre to breathe
Do you ever wonder why musicians like Automator come up with sounds/production like this? It's the creative genius behind the creative genius. Hope you get it.
In 1999, I had the honor of travelling in China with RZA and his shifu, Shaolin Monk Shi Yanming. We journeyed to Wudang Mountain, the inspiration for Wu-Tang Clan. It was a pilgrimage for all of us. Recently, I've reconnected with RZA through his participation with the Hip Hop Chess Federation, a non-profit organization that explores the confluence of hip hop, chess and martial arts. The HHCF has held invitational tournaments and awarded scholarships to at-risk youth participants. RZA has been an avid supporter of the project.
The day after Barack Obama won the election, I had the chance to catch up with RZA and rap about what's been happening in kung fu cinema, along with his own promising projects. RZA: What up, Gene?
GC: What's this I hear about your involvement with THE LAST DRAGON remake with Samuel L. Jackson? RZA: Yea (laughs). I've always been a big fan of martial arts movies of course and LAST DRAGON was one of the urban films done by Motown back in the day. I'm a big fan of that movie and I had a chance to meet with Berry Gordy's son and some other Hollywood executives, Dallas Jackson. We met up at Quentin Tarantino's house one night – hanging out – and hit it off each other. He approached me with the idea with Berry Gordy's son about two years ago. We talked about it. We kept talking and talking. And you know Taimak, who starred in the movie THE LAST DRAGON, ironically becomes a disciple of Sifu's (Shaolin Monk Shi Yanming).
GC: Oh really?
RZA: Yeah, he studies at the U.S.A. Shaolin Temple. That's some crazy shit, right? Me, him, Wesley Snipes, hanging out and shit. It's pretty funny – pretty weird in its own weird way. But he also always said somebody should do this – Taimak should make the movie over. So it's been an idea that's been floating around in my head and through a few other peoples' heads. We got together with Samuel Jackson about a year and half ago. He's also a big fan of the movie, a fan of martial arts movies and Wu-Tang music and things of that nature. He thought it was a great idea. We got John Davis over, his company, and we all got involved with it and now we're going to do it.
GC: Don't you think that one of the charms of that movie was it captured the period?
RZA: The 80's and stuff like that?
GC: Right, right, right.
RZA: That's definitely the charm of the movie, but I think that the way that Dallas is writing – you know, Dallas, he's a writer as well – he's a pretty smart kid. He knows a lot about hip hop, martial arts films and black culture. He's writing the script over.
GC: So this will be an update? LAST DRAGON 2.0?
RZA: I think it'll be an update. I think it'll capture this generation. I think this generation is just as good as the '80s generation when it comes to martial arts. I think we are into it a lot, you know, compared to when we got a lot of films, like it was in the old days. We get maybe one a year. In the old days, we'd get like 50 a year, you know what I mean?
GC: Oh yeah. But now it's spreading out with films from Thailand and Korea. RZA: Thailand is turning out great films as well.
GC: What do you think of kung fu cinema today?
RZA: I think it's awesome. Of course I'm a big fan of Tony Jaa. Even that other kid, Johnny Nguyen, in the PROTECTOR, the guy with the white suit on (laughs). He did that movie about Vietnam, the REBEL.
GC: I've heard. I haven't sent that yet, but I hear good things.
RZA: That's a pretty good movie, actually. I enjoyed watching it. I think it's real cool that films are coming out of all these different Asian cultures. It's not only coming out from Hong Kong.
GC: And now Mainland China's been doing these huge epics with casts of thousands.
RZA: Exactly. Like the BANQUET, which is a great one. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS of course is a classic.
GC: A lot more special effects too.
RZA: Yeah, a lot more special effects.
GC: Tell us about THE MAN WITH THE IRON FIST.
RZA: Yeah, THE MAN WITH THE IRON FIST. I think your readers know that I'm a kung fu fanatic. I'm a fan of the movies and also a fan of the culture. I study qigong with Sifu Shi Yanming. I read a lot of kung fu manuals, not for the moves but for the principles and ideas. I think I've been able to apply those ideas into my life and my business to a way that has helped me as a man, because martial arts is actually about cultivating the spirit. Many people who hear that about cultivating the spirit don't know what that means either, you know what I mean? I have cultivated my spirit through martial arts. I think Wu-Tang has been a big influence in my life, more than I can imagine, more than I can even grasp. It's like a parallel universe for me. And I want to be a person to help show martial arts on the silver screen. I have this project called THE MAN WITH THE IRON FIST, with my buddy Eli Roth. He's giving me his support and we're looking to make a full feature film. It's looking like it's going in a positive direction. We hope it'll be in theaters in 2010 or late '09.
GC: You once said that comedy martial arts, like Jackie Chan's or Sammo Hung's work, “kind of takes away from the true martial spirit.” Does that mean we should expect your films to be hardcore?
RZA: Yeah. I really appreciate Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, you know what I mean? They're masters. Their movies are entertaining – also Stephen Chow – they're the best movies. Whether it's martial arts or not, they make great movies, you know?
At one point, I was against the comedy in martial arts because I felt that it has such a great spiritual meaning – such a unique, underlying philosophy – that when they made fun of that, I got offended, know what I mean? But going to China helped me grow, I think, because you have a laughing Buddha, a sleeping Buddha, a fat Buddha, a skinny Buddha, a drunk Buddha. And that to me means that these are all different ways that different men have found enlightenment, or found that serenity within themselves. Through wine, through ecstasy, some through women, some do just laughing, some do crying, some do sleeping all day, they find this bliss, this harmony, this wuchi, which is beyond tai chi. There's no extremities. Our bodies, our minds, seek for it everyday. You only get it in your dream world. When you go to sleep, when you're dreaming, you get this wuchi thing. But to have it while you're awake, is what Master Tamo prescribed for us. You have it instantly, when you want it. When you want it, you can turn it on like a TV set, at your will.
Sitting on his stool, the Master was looking more like Buddha than like Bruce Le I think that's what Buddha meant when he said he became enlightened. He's alive. It's instantaneous. It's daily. And when he says you don't want us to be into the cycle of life and death, and rebirth, he meant that when you go to sleep tonight, you wake up tomorrow, you still feel that same blessing. Sometimes you drink yourself, you be in alcohol, be drunk and you may feel happy, but then you wake up the next day depressed. Therefore you're reborn again, back into your hell again. You got to go back and find heaven again, you know? But when you truly realize it, you could be there at will. I think that's what Buddha was able to do and what Bodhidharma was able to do. I think that's what Wu-Tang means. I think that's what General Wu did when he jumped off that mountain and then turned into this great dragon. He emerged from death and became this god. I mean that's the myth of it. He found himself. And once you find yourself, it's eternal.
GC: I'd dub you the leading martial arts soundtrack master. There's you, Lalo Schifrin back in the day, and maybe Tan Dun but he's a different trip. How does that feel to you?
RZA: Well, I love action movies. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to add into action movies. I'm down with AFRO SAMURAI PART TWO. I love making music. It's really fun. And with the martial arts, well, you were there with me at Wu-Tang Mountain. And many of the monks when we were up there had CDs and tapes. Their music – that's part of it. Music, it's all mathematical. It's all flowing of waves and frequencies. They have very much in common. The Buddhist texts would go "the five tones deafen every ear." I think there's some big synchronicity – the resonance between martial arts and music. And I'm glad that I get the chance to kinda do that when I do these action movies. It's been a good experience for me.
GC: And now, Wu-Tang is reforming like Voltron for the 8-Diagrams tour. WU: THE STORY OF THE WU-TANG CLAN is about to drop. How's the feeling there? RZA: One thing that's unique about Wu-Tang that I'm seeing is that it just keeps evolving, reaching new people, even without mass media, because it's real. It's like the old kung fu manual, the Wing Chun manual that Master Yip wrote. It's still in circulation. It's still a popular book. Bruce Lee's JEET KUNE DO book – it's still in circulation. It's still a popular book, because they're good books, good information. With Tamo and the 12 postures of qigong that he first taught the Shaolin monks – yijinjing – it's still relevant a thousand years later.
Wu-Tang Clan, for western society, is a way to introduce young people into the eastern society and philosophies. Wu-Tang music borrowed from the kung fu movies. From the kung fu movie, they check out a kung fu book and from a kung fu book they join a kung fu school. I see some guys walking around with– Mexicans with Asian wives, Asian women with Black husbands, seeing all these people from different cultures expressing. There's also chess, you know, the Hip Hop Chess Federation, where you see a big, big, big movement of the Asian culture. All these things are so connected, man. We all knew it was and we all felt it. I'm happy to be somebody that's helped to add some cables to that bridge.
GC: So I got to ask you about how you're feeling about Obama.
RZA: Ah man. Actually I've been up all night (laughs). It goes back to what we do in the martial arts – about the principle that's written being practiced in a different way. At one point, the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and all these documents, they were not being practiced. But this is an example of us practicing our principles passed down by our forefathers.
I had a conversation with a cab driver the other day in New York City. I said, "The one thing we should realize is that when the founding fathers wrote these words – the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence – they were men that were well into mature age." It's not until you get to the mature age of a man that you realize these things anyway. That we are all created equal – that things are not based on color, height, male or female gender. You realize that, but as a kid you don't know these things. You don't understand it, you know? It's like, "Why's that baby crying?" Because he can't say what he wants to tell you. As an adult, we forget, you know? Then you get this re-growth as a mature man. And they wrote these documents as mature men. I think when they got old, they missed it. But then, as time went on, these young men and women who get it again, who just don't understand it and grow up with these bad ideas and bad practices. They don't practice the principles that we've had for hundreds of years. They were not being practiced in this country. I think yesterday showed that this generation is willing to practice the principles of the founding fathers. Give everybody a fair chance, you know. Not because he's Asian or Black. Who's going to say that Lucy Liu is not one of the prettiest women in the world? Before they thought that slanty eyes were not beautiful. With cosmetic surgery, you can get rid of that (laughs). To think that Tony Jaa can be a sex symbol. Even Bruce Lee. I was watching Bruce Lee with my girl, and she says, "You know, Bruce Lee is a handsome guy." You know what I mean? Now I don't like guys but I can see what she means. He has a nobility about his face. He's not just a martial artist. He's a great man. That's what martial does for him. I think that's an example of what we had yesterday when people looked at this particular man, his nobleness, his stern way of reflecting the way that he feels, like he feels for all sides, you know?
GC: Obama looks very presidential.
RZA: He looks like the leader that we need, not only for our country, but places around the world respect him. It's like, no matter what, you wouldn't mind having a meeting with this guy, you know what I mean? Some of these other guys, you wouldn't want to meet. You can't judge a book by its cover, but it's great to have a nice cover sometimes.
In this devastating and volatile economic recession so many of us are facing, it is a time of giving and thankfulness. I am thankful for having a job and office to sit in everyday giving me an opportunity to make money, pay my bills, have food to feed me and my loved ones, and to afford the luxuries of this Hallmark-created holiday season. These and so many more reasons this should, instead, be the season of giving...
A skeleton crew boxed up the booze at the TGI Friday's in San Bruno Tuesday after their Florida-based employer abruptly closed that restaurant and two others in San Mateo and Cupertino, firing dozens of people without warning.
Eyob Tibebu, general manager of TGI Friday's, pauses on t...TGI Friday's: the San Bruno restaurant has locked its doors.TGI Friday's employees gather in the San Bruno restaurant.
"We went from contributors to liabilities in about one minute. I guess that is the new way," said Cesar Arguello, who had been bar manager at the San Bruno restaurant until he and several dozen fellow workers were handed their final paychecks Tuesday morning.
The closures come at a time when employers are handing out pink slips instead of Christmas bonuses amid a global recession.
The closures also stunned Sherwin Chin, who had worked at the San Bruno restaurant for 25 years. "Basically I was a lifer here," said Chin, who was a host.
The three TGI Friday's were closed by their owner, CNL International of Orlando, according to property owner Eric Brandenburg, who had leased the San Bruno location to the Florida firm.
"A hundred families have now gotten about the worst Christmas present I can imagine," said Brandenburg, who said he hopes to find a new operator to reopen the restaurant.
Calls to CNL's Florida office were not returned. The three closed locations were franchises of TGI Friday's, a restaurant concept that began in New York in 1965 and has spread to more than 900 locations in 62 countries. The franchise is ultimately owned by Carlson Cos. of Minnetonka, Minn.
"These closures were not authorized by TGI Friday's Inc. and we are still in the process of gathering facts," a Carlson spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
A handful of managers lingered at the San Bruno restaurant, taking the chairs down off one of the tables as they gathered to share their shock at the unexpected shutdown.
"It never would have crossed our minds," said general manager Eyob Tibebu, who got his first inkling of trouble Monday when he was told not to order or accept any supplies and to summon the entire staff of about 75 to a 10:30 morning meeting Tuesday.
Cinthia Lowry, who managed about three dozen servers, bussers and hosts, clutched a plaque that lauded the San Bruno restaurant for breaking $20,000 in sales on Mother's Day this year.
"Business was off about 5 percent, but you don't believe this would happen for that," said Lowry, who can fall back on a part-time job as a dental technician. "I feel really, really sad for the people who don't have another job. The timing is just terrible."
Kitchen manager Bayardo Martinez said he has worked for the TGI Friday's chain since 1990, when he immigrated to the United States from Nicaragua. This is his second closure. After the February 2002 shut down of the TGI Friday's near Fisherman's Wharf he was able to transfer to the San Bruno restaurant without any significant unemployment. This time he isn't sure he will be so fortunate.
"It was good luck and good riddance, as they say," Martinez said.
The managers said they handed out final paychecks to the staff, some of whom cried, others of whom simply took them and left. Lowry said they got no severance, nor any notice, raising questions of whether CNL complied with California law that requires employers of more than 75 full- or part-time workers to provide 60 days advance notice.
The managers estimated that as many as 75 people may have worked at the San Bruno location and that the staffs of the other two restaurants were of similar size.
San Francisco labor lawyer Michael Bernick, who ran the state Employment Development Department from 1999 to 2004, said the 60-day notice is intended to give employees time to look for work and to alert the local job-finding authorities to help those affected file claims.
Bernick said employers who are responsible for giving a 60-day notice and who fail to do so can be required to pay employees for 60 days. An EDD spokeswoman said the state labor commissioner is responsible for policing these notices.
A Labor Commission spokeswoman said the commissioner will look into the matter. "We will be auditing the employers' records," said Erika Monterroza. Reporting labor woes
Employees or others can report a failure to give notice or other labor code violation by calling (866) 924-9757 to be directed to the office nearest them.
Haven't danced the night away like this in a long, long time. It was a mixed evening for us...the cold, winter air bringing cold shoulders and high tides.
Not yoga (maybe I should try it again), not books, not sex (ok, maybe), not hiking, sometimes ice cream, but... always, always music. Ever since I can remember, music has always been my therapeutic release. Put me on a dancefloor alongside a crowd of strangers or my best friends, and the love of a dj, band, or live musician and their music...and all is forgotten. Even just for a few hours.
Big ups to the Wonder himself, Massive Selector, my beautiful SFC, all the folks I nostagically ran into that night to make it a memorable one, and of course my BFF for being by my side always.
And for a "Wonder'full'" throwback, December 2005 - same time, same place, same party...the old crew and us it seems like so long ago, at the prime of our heydeys. *tear*
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt
I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it — I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.
Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know — but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me.
However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me.
I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay.”
BOGOTA (AFP) – Colombian drug trafficker Diego Montoya, whose cartel exported almost 70 percent of the cocaine sold in the United States and Europe, was extradited Friday to the United States on drug charges, a police source said.
"He has already departed. 'Don Diego' (Montoya's alias) is en route to the United States," a police spokesman told AFP, noting the jet had taken off around 1550 GMT.
"Colombia is closing a chapter in its fight against drug trafficking," police chief General Oscar Naranjo told reporters, adding: "This extradition is perhaps the most important in years."
Montoya led a crime ring that over the course of the 1990s gradually replaced the notorious Cali and Medellin cartels.
When he was arrested in 2007, according to Colombian authorities, he was behind 70 percent of cocaine exports to the United States and Europe and blamed for more than 1,500 murders.
In 2004 the US Federal Bureau of Investigation put Montoya on its most wanted list, and estimated he was behind 60 percent of the cocaine exported to the United States.
Now about 50, Montoya had been jailed at the high security correctional facility in Boyaca department.
Colombian authorities say that the extradition came as the price of cocaine in the United States is rising, and its level of purity is sharply down, due to what they say are more successful drug eradication efforts.
And of course, the first lady...NYC...again and again
Yes, traveling has always been my vice. But I'd rather take in all of these experiences then to invest all of my guilty pleasures inside of a designer handbag(Maybe a Marc Jacobs one...lol). Honestly.
Who wants to join us as we embark on our journey around the world?
I hear a lot of jibber jabber from folks about never leaving the old skool behind, not being up on the current times, and the diversion from a lot of new skool music. I don't have any qualms about new school music...I do, however, have a problem with poor quality music. Yes, even I'm guilty. I will catch myself listening to it from time to time when I turn the radio on. I'm not against the radio the way I used to be, but whether it entails the lyrics, the beat, and just the overall composition of a song in general...poor quality is poor quality. Whether it's a product of the old skool or the new, I'm not going to front like I like it just cause its the "hot track" out for the day. We all know there's a lot of wack music out there these days, across all genres, but for the record...I do listen to a lot of the new skool shit that's out there. It just so happens a lot of it unfortunately doesn't fall into the hiphop genre.
The good news is there are still consistent artists out there like Common who keep their music progressive. I can respect his new album being a shift in style from his usual spiritual, soulful sound. He's having fun and keeping up with the times.
A very exciting moment in history...and a possible close to De La Hoya's chapter. A more exciting fight would have been to see De La Hoya in his prime during this pinnacle event...
I was still just a sophomore in college when I got the call. 8 lbs and 12 oz later, this BIG bundle of joy finally breathed her first breath of polluted air into the world...she was my second Godchild. But, the first where I actually knew what it meant to be a real Godparent. She has been a joy and pain in my life ever since...haha. I love this little girl and I only hope to have one of my own as beautiful, funny, smart and "princess-like" as she.
Love you mama! May God grant you many more birthdays to come...
I promise I'll post a more personal blog soon...but here is something rather personal:
Last Friday, after less than a week's training, he was handed a machine gun and ordered to the front line.
The quiet schoolboy yesterday told The Daily Telegraph how he was kidnapped and turned into a soldier by troops loyal to Laurent Nkunda, the rebel leader whose offensive has won him large swathes of territory and forced 250,000 people from their homes.
Thousands more were fleeing again yesterday as government soldiers looted towns north of the rebel-held area as they abandoned their positions.
"It was after school, and my mother asked me to go to buy soap for washing our clothes," Patrick said yesterday in a rehabilitation centre in Goma, eastern Congo's main city.
"The rebels found me on the road and they and ordered me to carry their bags, they said I was not going home anymore, I was going to be a soldier.
"I said I am too young, and I am the only boy in my house and I have to help my mother. But I could do nothing. I have heard that if you refuse them, they just kill you straight away."
He was marched to a rebel base, where there were 'many, many' other children being trained close to a field hospital receiving the injured from last week's fighting between rebels and a pro-government militia group.
At night, as equatorial downpours flooded the hills, he slept in the open under scraps of discarded uniforms. Each day, he was fed only one small bowl of maize-cake.
"We were taught how we should run forward and how to hold the gun, how to shoot at the enemy and not be afraid," he said. The rest of the time, the boys and girls had to carry milk to wounded soldiers.
"There were many of them, some had gunshots in their faces, one had lost his arm. We had to carry the dead people and bury them. When I saw them, I was so afraid because I knew that soon this would be me."
Five days later, last Friday, he was given his gun and ordered to march into the bush towards the fighting.
"I knew that if I went there, I must die, but I knew that if I tried to escape they would shoot me," he said.
Eventually, he plucked the courage to tell his troop commander that he needed the lavatory. Once into the bush, he ran, dropping his rifle and tearing off his uniform as he fled towards the safety of a United Nations military outpost nearby.
He was lucky to escape. Of the 33,000 children forced into Congo's myriad armed groups since its first civil war erupted in 1996, it is estimated that more than 3,000 are still on the battlefields.
The recent surge in fighting, which started in August and intensified in the last fortnight, has raised fears of fresh use of child soldiers by all sides, Save The Children said.
"We are extremely concerned that this is going to increase dramatically cases of new recruitment," said Emma Fanning, the agency's child protection coordinator for Congo.
"It is exceptionally difficult for us to intervene at this point, but it is exactly when it is most tempting for children who have been disarmed to go back to the armed groups, simply to protect themselves and their families."
Patrick is now one of 244 former child soldiers staying at a transit centre in Goma.
"He cannot return to his mother, because the people who took him will find him again," said the centre's director. He refused to be named in order to obscure Patrick's whereabouts.
"We will care for him here, but until there is more effort to stop this war, and to stop the poverty which forces some children into armed groups, I am afraid we will see many more children here like him." telegraph.co.uk
We’re talking about “The Dream Match” - Oscar De La Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao. The five-division world champion Manny Pacquiao is here with us. We were with him in Los Angeles yesterday for that wonderful turkey giveaway where fans lined up from 8 o’clock in the morning till noon to see Manny and get their Thanksgiving turkeys. It was just a wonderful thing and Manny was thrilled.
My boss, the hall of fame promoter Bob Arum is with us and he will talk about the dream match and introduce Manny. Take it away Bob.
Thank you Lee (Samuels). I just returned from a trip to Dubai where a friend of mine opened his fabulous new hotel. And I must say the excitement about this fight has even extended there. There’s been articles in the paper, local paper that I brought back to Lee, there’s...
Lee Samuels: Hey Bob let me read the first headline...In Dubai. “Manny Pacquiao Says He Can Tarnish the Golden Boy” - huge headline. “Manny confident about fighting Oscar.” And there’s a big picture of Manny Pacquiao in the Dubai newspaper.
Bob Arum: I was really gratified to see how much excitement there was in a place as far off as Dubai for this fight. There’s certainly great excitement here in the United States and really all over the world.
Everybody can’t wait to see the bell ring - to hear the bell ring and to see this fight start. And we expect a tremendous pay per view audience and a really large audience of people watching television around the world.
So thank you very much for being on the call. And now it’s a pleasure to have him say a few words - the champion himself, the pound for pound best fighter in the world - Manny Pacquiao.
Manny Pacquiao: Good afternoon. Thank you, Bob and thank you, Lee. I’m Manny Pacquiao and I’m here in LA right now doing my training. And I’m ready to do the fight.
TK Stewart: Do you feel more pressure as you prepare for this fight or does this feel just like any other fight to you at this point?
Manny Pacquiao: Well, the pressure is there but, that has given me the motivation to train hard for this fight. And to motivate me to gain more inspiration and train hard - hard training for this fight.
TK Stewart: Can you compare your training for this one to any other fights or are you preparing? Is this the most prepared that you’re ever going to be I guess is what I’m asking?
Manny Pacquiao: I have had a great, great training camp. I’m very happy. We have trained hard for this fight. I guess this is the hardest training I’ve done in my boxing career and I can see that this fight…it will be great…the biggest fight in my boxing career.
Michael David Smith: The question is kind of follows up on the last one you answered. But specifically with regards to your weight does it change your training much? And if so, how that you’re going to be significantly heavier for this fight than you’ve ever been before.
Does that mean - does it change your diet? Does it change things like lifting weights or any other aspect of your training have you changed because you’re moving up in weight class?
Manny Pacquiao: We didn’t change our training. We’re still there and we just apply some exercises for this training to build the muscles. And we have applied some exercise for the fight.
There have been no changes in our training for this training camp but we have applied a lot of techniques and strategies for this fight.
Michael David Smith: And then I also wanted to ask if you watched Ricky Hatton’s fight on Saturday night and generally what your thoughts are on him and if you think you might fight him some day.
Manny Pacquiao: I watched the fight happen in (unintelligible). It was a good fight. I’m ready to fight him. I’m willing to fight Hatton but right now I’m just focused on this coming fight. And I don’t want to to change something that can affect my concentration to that fight.
Dan Rafael: Manny I wondered as you followed along the way that the promotion has gone a lot of the discussion has centered around the kind of back and forth between Oscar and your trainer Freddie Roach.
And you sort of stayed out of that discussion. What are your thoughts about the sort of back and forth between the two guys?
Manny Pacquiao: I don’t have a comment about that. I’m out of that and that’s between my trainer and Oscar, I’m just focused on my training.
Dan Rafael: Have you heard what they’ve been saying about each other and the back and forth? Because it seems like Oscar is sort of blaming Freddie for what happened in his fight with Floyd Mayweather, Junior. And Freddie has been awfully derogatory towards the abilities and skills that Oscar has.
I can’t imagine you can go through this whole promotion and not at least be aware of that.
Manny Pacquiao: Well for me I never blame my trainer in my boxing career - I never blame my trainer if I lose. I’m just blaming myself because in training, you know what you’re doing you can suggest to your trainer that we’re going to do this, do that because this is his style and I think this is good for the fight.
I don’t think you need to blame your trainer.
Dan Rafael: So you think that Oscar’s sort of wrong for saying basically that Freddie’s the reason he didn’t win the Mayweather fight?
Manny Pacquiao: Well I don’t know, I don’t know. But for me I would never blame my trainer if I lost.
Dan Rafael: One other thing was when Oscar spoke on his conference call last week one of the things we talked about was that we all know this is a big fight, you guys are two big stars, pound for pound and Oscar’s so popular and everything.
But that in some ways that he viewed this as a little bit of a personal thing because of what had happened between yourself and Oscar about a year and a half ago when they tried at Golden Boy to sign you to a promotional contract. And he basically said that no, Manny Pacquiao is not a man of his word and I’m going to take it out of him in the ring.
Can you address that situation and where that falls in your thought process going into this fight?
Manny Pacquiao: Well if that is what he believes, let him do that - to say that. But for me in the ring I don’t want to make it personal. Nothing personal for me. Just do my job in the ring and win the fight. Nothing personal.
Dan Rafael: Manny, you’re going to be 147 pounds for this fight. I’m told you’re weighing as much as in the mid-150s as you come down in weight to make the weight for this fight.
Do you envision in your later part, after this fight whatever you may do that you’ll be at 140? Would you go back to 135 where you have one of the titles or do you think you can stay at welterweight? Where do you think about that?
Manny Pacquiao: I think my plan right now … I’m going back to 140.
Dan Rafael: Okay so your days at lightweight are over after just one fight?
Manny Pacquiao: Yeah - 140.
Chuck Johnson: I just wanted to ask you Manny as far as moving up to welterweight do you expect the power as far as power - the punches to be harder than any you’ve ever felt and do you expect you have to bring more power than you’ve had in the lower weight divisions?
What do you think power plays as far as the punching moving up to that weight class?
Manny Pacquiao: What we’re doing in training right now is focusing on defense and head movement and strategies. I understand he’s very strong but I believe I can handle his power. I can handle that power.
Chuck Johnson: Manny, are you still serious about being a singer? Do you still sing or are you still recording?
Manny Pacquiao: Yeah, you know, that’s my part time job. After the fight, you know, I’ll be doing recording. But I have a fight to train for so I stopped my singing and focused on the training and the fight.
Chuck Johnson: Oscar’s also put out some recordings. Who’s the best singer you or Oscar? What do you think?
Manny Pacquiao: Well for me I won’t compare my ability to other people - even to the other boxer.
Robert Morales: Manny why do you give so much money and other things away to your Filipino countrymen and countrywomen?
Manny Pacquiao: You know what? Our mission in this world - because I believe our mission in this world is not only to make money but we have a big responsibility. If you get the blessing from God, we are to give some of to your people and especially the poor people.
Frank Garza: Hedgeman Lewis was talking about the upcoming fight between you and Oscar De La Hoya. And he said that he feels that people are too wrapped up in the size of De La Hoya and they’re not taking into consideration the fight strategy going into the fight. And he said that if anything that he learned from his old trainer Eddie Futch was that you had to have a plan going into the fight.
Without giving any secrets how big do you think the strategy that you have is going to be in this fight?
Manny Pacquiao: You can see in my last few fights that my style is always changing. So I think for this fight we have a couple of techniques that I can’t talk about right now but you will see in the fight. And maybe people will be surprised there.
Frank Garza: There’s a lot of talk on the street among the Mexicans and Mexican America up here. And it seems as though the ratio was favoring you or they’re taking you over De La Hoya.
How do you feel about the Mexican fans coming over to your side?
Manny Pacquiao: Well thank you to all the people who believe in me, rooting for me, especially Filipino and Mexican and American - all the people love boxing. For me it’s nothing personal - I’m just doing my job in the ring.
Karl Freitag: Last week Oscar did one of these calls and he told us that if doesn’t knock you out that it would be a total disaster and he would be extremely disappointed. How do you feel about that?
Manny Pacquiao: Like what I said it’s easy to say the words but to do that it’s not easy. And I don’t want to have a comment on his prediction and I don’t want to make a prediction.
I’m just doing my job and I’m prepared for this fight. I have done everything for this fight to make people happy. I want to surprise the people.
Karl Freitag: And also last week Oscar claimed that he felt that you had cheated him. Do you feel that you’ve cheated him?
Manny Pacquiao: I don’t think that I’ve cheated him.
Dan Rafael: Manny I’ve been watching the 24/7 series on HBO and they did a little about the fact that your wife is pregnant with your next child. First of all when is she due with the baby?
Manny Pacquiao: This coming January.
Dan Rafael: So I guess it’s pretty close - your fight is only a month before or a month and a half or so before the baby is due.
Has that at all - the fact that she’s having a baby been at all a distraction for you in your camp or how do you, you know, deal with than that you have her dealing with that while you’re trying to, you know, keep your mind on this big fight?
Manny Pacquiao: No it have given me more inspiration to train hard for the fight and to focus on the fight. So I’m so happy that my wife is here and beside me and is very supportive.
Dan Rafael: Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?
Manny Pacquiao: Girl.
Dan Rafael: And how many kids do you guys have now?
Manny Pacquiao: Four.
Dan Rafael: How difficult has it been for her to be pregnant and be in this country while you’re getting ready for a fight? I’ve heard a lot of boxers they don’t like having their wives around the fights at all because it’s a nerve wracking experience. But then to be pregnant also have your husband also dealing with the fight I would think might even be more difficult.
Manny Pacquiao: Well for this fight, you know, I’m little bit worried because my wife she likes to watch me fight but I don’t let her watch it live because it’s (unintelligible). It’s good for her to watch it on television.
Dan Rafael: So she’s not going to be in the arena on December 6? She’ll be in the hotel somewhere watching?
Manny Pacquiao: In the hotel, yes.
Dan Rafael: We’ve talked a little bit about the whole weight situation. So much of the folks who have been negative towards this fight they say, “Well Manny Pacquiao he’s such a smaller guy. He started his career fighting as a 106 pound fighter. Oscar has fought as high as a middleweight.”
Yet you are almost - or maybe even a few more pounds heavier than Oscar is right now. Does it surprise you that you are basically, you know, other than the height a couple of inches but basically, you know, a couple of weeks before the fight you’re weighing the same amount of weight as Oscar De La Hoya is.
Manny Pacquiao: Yeah I’m not that small. I’m not like that small. I’m 149, 150 right now so I have two weeks more so easy to come down to 147.
Dan Rafael: How much has Freddie told you or talked to you about the things that he knows from having trained Oscar to tell you the things that he has picked up from being in his camp at least for the Mayweather fight?
Manny Pacquiao: He applies some techniques that we have not done in the last few fights in training. So (unintelligible) some techniques he applied right now. So it’s good for me.
Dennis Prinicipe:: Before moving up in weight and when you were still younger (unintelligible) did you ever become a fan of Oscar?
Manny Pacquiao: Yeah, yeah. You know, in his prime I was always watching his fights when he was twenty-something years old..
Dennis Principe: And what was the best thing that you liked about Oscar when he was fighting inside the ring?
Manny Pacquiao: He’d throw a lot of punches. He was an exciting fighter.
Dennis Principe: And how is it fighting him - you’ve said you’re a big fan of Oscar and how is that fighting one of your idols so to speak inside the ring?
Manny Pacquiao: Inside the ring I’m doing my job. This is the fight of my life so I have to do everything during the fight and to make people happy.
Johnnie Falgoust: Where do you see a fight of the nature in the sense that if you were to beat De La Hoya that you would have come all the way up from - you started your career at 106 pounds and you’ve torn through, you know, so many divisions and you became the champion.
This will kind of put you in elite company with guys like Roberto Duran. Even Roy Jones, even Thomas Hearns - guys who move up in weight and they’re not only effective but they carry their power with them.
Can you kind of look at your career to sense where this puts you in terms of history if you’re able to pull this off? Is that important to you?
Manny Pacquiao: You know, it’s going to be boxing history. You know, it will be boxing record if I beat De La Hoya and (unintelligible). So that’s why I’m so focused on this fight.
Johnnie Falgoust: is boxing history - is that important to you though? How great you’re considered - not just being great right now but all the time? Is that important to you - how you’re viewed 20, 30 years from now?
Manny Pacquiao: Well what’s most important to me after my boxing career, 30 or 40 years from now, people, they’ll always remember me as a good fighter.
Robert Morales: On ‘24/7 ‘Freddie Roach said that he thinks that sometimes you’re too generous; that he’s afraid that you’re going to end up giving everything away that you have.
What do you think about that comment from Freddie Roach?
Manny Pacquiao: I have a big responsibility. All things that I have right now are from God and I have to give them back to the people that need help.
So I believe the more you give you get. I believe that. That’s my heart. That’s what I feel. So nobody can change my feelings.
Robert Morales: Bob - correct me if I’m wrong. I think one time a while back you told me that Manny is overly generous. And you weren’t saying anything negative about him. You were saying that it was a positive thing.
As his promoter do you have that concern that Freddie voiced on ‘24/7’ about Manny giving away too much?
Bob Arum: No. Manny keeps referring to God. And, you know, God touches certain people. And when He touches those people and gives them great ability they then feel that in response they have to give back. And the only way they can give back is to their fellow human beings.
And so I know Manny feels that way and I think he’s blessed that he has that view about life and his place in the scheme of things. So I'm very, very supportive of any and all kinds of charity that Manny does because I think Manny knows deep down that God will provide.
Muhammad Ali was a very, very generous man and all the writers said, “Oh he’s giving away all his money, giving away all his money.” But Muhammad Ali never had a want for material things because God provided. And today Muhammad Ali has material wealth and he still gives to people. And so I commend Manny for everything that he does.
Bob Arum: Okay I want to thank everybody for being on this call today. The excitement builds. I think you’ve gotten an insight into Manny Pacquiao the person. You know and you’ve selected him as the pound for pound best fighter in the world.
But I think more important is the type of person that he is. And it’s great for we people in America to meet somebody from another country like Manny Pacquiao and to hear from him he views life and his fellow human beings.
I think it’s been a great call. I want to thank everybody for participating.
Manny Pacquiao: Thank you to all the press and media and to all the people who listened today. Thank you for all your support.
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HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning all-access franchise “24/7” returns with Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao in starring roles. The four-episode series “De La Hoya/Pacquiao 24/7” continues with a new episode This Sunday! November 30, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Episodes one and two are available on HBO ON DEMAND.
"The Dream Match," the 12-round welterweight collision between two of boxing's biggest attractions, De La Hoya and Pacquiao, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 6 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, the bout will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. It is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., presented by Tequila Cazadores and sponsored by Ceverza Tecate, DeWalt Tools, Full Throttle Energy Drink, and Southwest Airlines, the fight sold out in hours, making it the second largest grossing gate in boxing history.
The De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao pay-per-view telecast will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
Oh my god! I found this in my old files - written Dec 2004: (LOL!)
YO YO / I feel like bustin a flow / on the freestyle tip/ thats usually how it goes/ a verbal assassin/ or like a skater in thrashin'/ music blastin / tis the season'/ lets get these reindeers dashin/ you see its kinda funny how it all plays out/ im not a rapper/ or an emcee/ so dont gimme no clout / jus mesmerized by a feelin / as i let it all hang out / why dont you gimme a shout / loud/ thats how i like it/ twist it around/ shake it up/ yeah / bask in the joy ive found / the sound/ emanatin through your ears/ like cutting shears/ to strip away your fears / tears / yeah those too/ take the testosterone right outta you / haha/ like del, theres no need for alarm/ whoever said being true would ever bring you harm / gentlemen stand up / quit frontin/ when you gonna give the ladies a reason to stop huntin' / for some truth in your actions / all the nonsense you blastin'/ my intellect you're harrassin' / all your pipe dreams you flashin / get back to reality like soul 2 soul / take the time to stop diggin through them bottomless holes / why dont you set some goals/ stop using us as validation for them endless rolls/ you got on your stomach / cuz you lazy as fuck / got a cousin named buck/ tooth billy that is/ who you roll with daily/ in your broke ass el camino you didnt even pay for you see / haha/ naw, im not trying to clown/ there are brothers out there/ who never fail to hold it down/ respect / to you and your passions / you're integrity stands out / like a stick of long lastin / strut around in the most attractive fashion / not with your clip in your seat / you bring a different type of heat / prepared to tackle on the most dangerous of feats/ love / your kin and your girl/ do everything to make her emotions twirl/ seeks/ this woman I am / for an opportunity to meet the most unpretentious of men/ not looking for a gem / cuz thats the man in the mirror / like michael jackson / all i ask for is a number one thriller / gimme a pillar/ of hope/ hopefully he's not broke/ but even if he is, ill still embrace him like a comedian to his jokes/ like janet/ i'll wait awhile/ theres a few in my mental file/ no, not to coin denial / more like a streak of long trials/ like the boys/ its my heart you need to dial/ word/ looks like its time to jam/ but before i leave/ herez a shout out to my homegirl PAM!
And as a tribute to the old, and a toast to the new...the feel good jam of the day:
5K/3.1 Mile Run & Walk 10K/6.2 Mile Run 1/4 Mile Kid’s Run (for Kids 9 and under)
Starts at Stockton Arena, Finishes INSIDE the scenic Stockton Ports Ballpark 404 W. Fremont (at Lincoln St.)Downtown Stockton Waterfront.
Join 3,000 runners and walkers, burn calories, have a great time on the scenic Stockton waterfront, and help raise money for holiday nutrition programs of the Emergency Food Bank!
8:00 AM, Kids 1/4 Mile Run 8:20 AM, Opening Ceremony 8:30 AM, 5K Run/Walk, 10K Run and Team 5 K Run 10:30 AM (approx.), Awards and Closing Ceremony.
Scenic, flat and fast 5K Run/Walk and 10K Run begin at the Stockton Ports waterfront Ballpark and proceed along both sides of the Stockton Deepwater Channel past the Weber Point Event Center and out the Deepwater Channel along Weber Street, returning on the same route, finishing by circling the beautiful Stockton Arena, with Finish Line INSIDE the Stockton Ports Ballpark next to Home-plate! Runners and Walkers share the same scenic waterfront course.
Yes, folks...it has been a long time. Welcome. I guess I needed some quality material to talk about first. Let's start with this.
In our capitalistic society, we objectify material possessions as representatives of our success, our fortune, and our class in society. All the while socialist and communist countries suffer from the strains of oppression, poverty, and the ignorance of freedom.
And to the beautiful timeless pieces...
