Lord of the Ring: The Fantasy Failure

You would think that a company as enormous as Microsoft would put of better products... Bethesda came correct with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on the ol' X-Box (4 years playing...), so I was kinda hyped when I heard that the next installment was going to be on the 360. I eventually get one and am fired up to get down with some The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Now this franchise is open-ended, so the game can go on forever, doing whatever, going where ever, just like the previous one. I would put mad hours into the game, and yeah, I had to use some cheat skills here and there. Shiiiiiiiit, that game is insane type hard if you trying to play normal. I don't have the patience for that.

Harry Pottah and the Horrendous Bootlegs

So, I'm down in the 'burg (Orangeburg) one Saturday on a quest that ended in a fail. Instead of just hitting the reset button I decide we might as well look around this vast market of cheaply priced goods. It's amazing the items that people have and want to get rid of, which reminds me, make sure you're checking out my Craigslist postings. I go up and down the "aisles" perusing the goods; junk, junk, fake, junk, stolen, junk, probably expired, junk.... oh wait, what's that? I could use one of th.... oh.... junk. I wonder where people acquired some of these things, besides from their garage or shoplifted from Food Lion. Some tables are piled with so much stuff... what are you doing with all that? I mean if you want to sell stolen goods at least have the decency to make everything look presentable, and not in just some big heap on a table, and you with a cardboard sign saying "6 ITEMS for $5" or something like that nailed to a post behind where you are sitting.

Facebook Rant

Damn man...I know I'm guilty of doing it myself, at times, but why is it that some cats are on facebook ONLY for attention and to get comments to boost their egos?

Strip Club

I grew up in the south, so I've know the fast food place Hardee's by that name. I get over to California and it's called Carl's Jr. Both the same places with the same menu, just different names. I hadn't seen ish like that since I was in Australia some years back, and I was trying to tell these cats over there that the place is called "Burger KING", not "Hungry JACK". Come to find out that Jack has been jumpin' out the box in Cali for years. Around this time of year McDonald's decides that the people of America may be blessed by the presence of the almighty  McRib sandwich. It ain't that good, it looks like something you would be served in summer camp or middle school, with chips and cole slaw...a soda, or a juice box.

I've been seeing the commercials for Hardee's/Carl's Jr. hand-breaded chicken strips and didn't give it much thought. After years of eating sub-standard chicken strips you become less and less enthusiastic about the next time you have to eat them.

Goodwill, Son!!!!

Back when I was younger I would go to the thrift store with my mom. I remember it being full of old clothes, broken and yellowed with age toys, books, and many other odds and ends. Look, I did not come from a wealthy family, but my parents still managed to get me a few name brand items when they were able to. In school I would see these other kids in entire outfits. When I was barely able to get one piece of anything these kids would rock this style everyday. I remember telling myself that one day I want to get nothing but name-brand gear.
Now, after boot camp, after school, stationed in Okinawa, Japan I began to bring this dream to fruition (fruition, I like using this word). Suddenly all my clothing became Nike, Reebok, Guess, items I could never afford a year earlier. I belief that this, and being taken under wing by an individual that I hold in very high regard, I was able to start working on being the person that I wanted to be, not restricted by my opinion of myself. I began to step my ensemble up to what the style was at that time. A lot of things I had never even heard of, but I saw the people my age wearing them, and they looked cool, and on top of that I was ABLE to afford the same things. I liked to mimic the look of east coast rappers at the time: hoodies, big jackets -leather, of course-, and Timberland boots... suede Timberland boots. I only had one pair of the regular leather Timberland boots, and I used those to climb Mt. Fuji back in '98. On a side note, the first pair of Timberland boots I ever wore were a pair borrowed from the high-regard individual. They were leather, black, and were worn to the point where the ankle/shin part and tongue of the shoe were relaxed down like you would see in an old worn out pair of boots. Still, I rocked those boots just about everywhere! I just liked looking down and seeing that tree emblem on the side.
Arriving home in late '99 I was like a new person, on the outside at least. More confidence and a bunch of nice clothes. I was "Tim'ed Up" like it was nobody's business. Timberland gear from head to toe! I remember that when tallied up, the clothes that I wore daily would be around the $500 dollar mark.
Let's flash forward about 7 or 8 years. I'm living and working in California and I DEFINITELY understand the value of a dollar. I still manage to get a nice shirt of a pair of jeans when I can, but no more "Tim'ed Up" times. I do have maybe 7 or 8 pair of suede Tim's (abb.), but I don't wear them like I used to. Right outside of the unit in which I lived were two dumpster, and falling back onto what I remember doing as a youth (when the opportunity presented itself), I began to dumpster dive to see what I would be able to get my hands on. Growing up in all-black areas that were more so lower middle-class, and then moving to a community where the whites are the predominate race is a real "culture shock". These people discarded some nice things, and I mean some REALLY nice things. The list would go on and on. It's like, if I had something that was old, worn, or broken, I would throw it out 'cause in a matter of time someone would throw out a similar object that was newer, less worn, and most times, in perfect working order. I would dive at night, thinking that the white people would have issues with a black man rummaging through the dumpsters and taking things. Come to find out, they do the same thing!
Ok, let's jump forward about uh... let's say 2 years. Living in South Carolina, nice little place, apartment, not too far from an army base. For those not in the know, living near army bases, or in an apartment complex with many military persons is like hitting the jackpot in dumpster diving. The things that some of those guys tend to just throw away. If you're there at the right time you can get your hands on NICE things. Since those guys have to deploy at times, they will just discard things instead of selling or storing them. You usually have that option when you have guaranteed paydays.
So, how does all this relate to the title "Goodwill, Son!!!!"? Well, I veered off somewhere, but the point I'm trying to get across is that I am not above seeing someones trash as treasure. Now, I had been to a Goodwill in California, but really didn't see anything that caught my attention. I think that my focus was more on games and electronics. I go into the Goodwill here and it's a completely different story! I did, of course start off looking at electronics, but my focus began to shift towards other things; housewares, toys, clothes. I know there are people out there that would not be caught dead in a second-hand or thrift store for whichever reason, and that's their prerogative, I'm not going to hate, that's just more things for me. I walk into a Goodwill a couple of bucks and walk out with clothes that I couldn't afford even when I was wearing $500 dollars in gear. Hell, with $500 I could probably buy out a store! The prices and so CHEAP! I'm buying sharp looking, and in a lot of cases, brand new, clothes. Gortex jackets, shirts by Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, just all types of things! Shooooot, for the retail price of just one Brooks Brothers shirt, I could buy like 15 of the same name brand and in near mint condition at the Goodwill! I am up in there for like hours seeing what they are going to bring out from the back next. There are people that bum rush the carts of gear that come out from the back. Make friends with them, they can get some of the "good stuff" for you before anyone else nabs it. Before I ever go to a retail store for something (depending on what it is) I will hit up the Goodwill. You learn to appreciate the generosity of others, and when someone spends all their money to look nice or have the nicest things, you can do just as well, all while keeping a good amount of money in your wallet. I should get paid for plugging those guys! Goodwill, Son!!!! (son, as in man, dude, bro, etc.). Peace.

The Beginning...

Aight here we go, the first post. I know I'm a bit behind on things technology-wise, better late than never, huh? A lazy Sunday, chillin' back. You know the one where you sit there at the computer with nothing to do, just surfin' the net or channel surfin' the t.v. You'd think that with all that's online and with the HD t.v.s with all them channels there would be something slightly entertaining to watch. ....really? There's nothing to do? ......oh well.