Man, under-destruction?

 I have a bit of a confession to make. Certain icons of pop culture, such as in music and film, I've stumbled upon by accident. Had it not been for these accidents, I probably would never have known of the greats of music and film that I've come to know, love and respect. Case in point, Jimi Hendrix. Most people learn of this pioneer through his countless records and apperances, but I personally learned of him through an episode of Dinosaurs (which was a T.V. show from the '90s about domesticated suburban dinosaurs) or Redman, who I discovered by playing one of my favorite videogames "Def Jam; Fight for New York" (which lists as one of my all-time favorite games....yes, I'm a gamer...feel free to judge). The specifics I will not mention for the purpose of maintaining some dignity and "cool"-ness, but I will simply stick to the aforementioned confession that I did not learn of these people through conventional channels.  I share one common trait with

 Does anyone remember any of the fairy tales that they were told as children? The typical "knight-in-shining-armor-saves-the-day" type stories that are supposed to teach us that life works out for those who work hard and try to be good? Ever notice how a lot of them include a "perilous journey" with danger at every turn and almost certain death waiting at every corner? When you hear it like that, it's perceived as exhilarating, adventurous, even fun. Of course, that's just the perception. The reality is much different and harsher.  This entry is not going to be some random monologue of whatever inane topic that tickles my fancy for the moment. Instead, I'm going to try a different tact.  Last Thursday, a boat sank off the coast of Lampedusa, which is one of the largest islands of the Italian Pelagie islands in the Mediterranean sea. This boat was carrying refugees, mostly Eritrean and Somali. Of the presumably 500 people that were on-board, only 155

 What's up, folks? I trust all is well. My apologies for the disappearance. Just trying to have a good summer (and failing miserably). But hey, no excuses, right? So....where do I begin.....??  Anybody ever enjoy MacGyver? I did. I loved that show with a passion that could only be described as obsessive, were it not for the fact that I was a 9-year-old with way too much time on his hands and way too much freedom with the T.V. remote. Like the rest of the fan base, I was amazed by how the protagonist could take regular household items and turn them into lord knows what. Of course, seeing that inspired me to attempt similar endeavors, which resulted in quite a few trips to the emergency room. I guess that'll teach to let my brother shave my head with a razor blade, whipped cream, a pencil and 5 kgs worth of gauze. But sometimes, you gotta "MacGyver" some stuff and sometimes, it turns out just right.   Despite repeated labeling as "Eritrean", there're ha

 My apologies for the disappearance, folks. While I wish I could say it was because I've been out and about, having a grand ol' time on this auspicious and truly liberating time of the year.....truth be told, I just got bored, tired and monumentally cranky. So, for those who've been waiting anxiously for this recent installment, while I do regret the delay, I seriously urge you all to get a new hobby.  So, now that I got that out of the way.........those of you who know me know that I got stories. Seriously, I've got some of the craziest, most insane stories you will ever hear. And truth be told, as fantastic as these stories may be, I literally have no way of proving they actually happened. I can only tell you that this shit is just too crazy, too weird and too stupid to make up.   I am about to tell you such a story. However, this happened to someone else, someone near and very dear to me and who has given me their permission to tell this tale (for any lawyer/leech

 I honestly don't know why I dog on Jean-Claude Van Damme. As far as diversity goes, he's practically a Renaissance man. The man's Belgian, speaks fluent french, has studied both Shotokan Karate and Kickboxing & was a bodybuilder (who still looks remarkable at age 52). And if that wasn't enough, he studied ballet. Some might scoff at this, but as the man himself once said, "Ballet is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport," (having seen virtually every episode of "So you think you can dance", which displayed more than its fair share of ballet, I'm inclined to believe the man).  For his entire career in action films, he only has 2 pieces of work that I haven't outgrown. The first being his contribution to the "Street Fighter" soundtrack, when he was in the video for the song "Straight to my feet" (by M.C. Hammer and D

 Picture this......a young boy sitting next to his younger sister at a playground, both of them staring off into space and having meaningless conversations about the inanities and absurdities of life. No, we're not talking about 2 pot heads who got baked in a public area. We're talking about 2 small children just doing their thing. The younger sister produces a pack of skittles from her pocket and offers to share them with her brother (yes, quite a Kodak moment, right?). Now, the brother, being somewhat of an oddball, graciously accepts, but has difficulty deciding on which skittle he likes the best. The red had a potency that he found delectable, the orange felt natural and nutritious (did I mention he was an oddball?), the yellow had the same direct zest of lemons, the green was unique, the blue was a disappointment despite it being his favorite color and the purple was......well, who doesn't like purple? After trying each one and not being able to reach a decision, he pr

I don't know why, but for some reason I'm not really a fan of the Family Guy. I guess it could be because I've always preferred The Simpsons for as long as I could remember. That is not to take away anything from Seth Macfarlane, who  successfully  took a knack for voices and turned it into an animation-empire, for lack of a better term. And, like any other story, a certain evolution and sense of character development has occurred, which has included the strengthening of the relationship between Peter Griffin, Cleveland Brown, Glenn Quagmire & officer Joe Swanson (I think, as far as openings go, this is probably the most appropriate for this subject matter).  Before I continue, I must  reiterate that this piece is not a cheap shot at anything or anybody. It's simply me expressing an observation of what I've experienced during my time here. It is NOT an attempt to disrespect anyone nor is it me singing praises about anything. As I've mentioned countless t

 Every country, every culture, every people on this rock that we inhabit has its own drink or beverage that they make. It's not only part of their culture and tradition, but one could make the argument that it's also an element of their identity. The Russians have vodka, the Greeks enjoy ouzo, the Irish with their whiskey, the Italians with their vino, the Germans got beer (thanks for Oktoberfest, by the way) and the Americans with..........well, I'm sure the yanks have made their own contributions in the field of adult beverages and alcohol addiction.  We Eritreans are not picky with our liquor, though the older generation are partial to Greek Ouzo. But, traditionally, we enjoy home-made beer called Suwa and a honey-concoction called Mess, which are both fixtures at any random celebration in any random house hold in both Eritrea and Ethiopia (with whom we share a great many cultural similarities......*sigh). And if there ever is a time for it, today would be the day.

 I've always had a fantasy of being on Saturday Night Live, a.k.a. SNL. I think it started when I was a little boy. Of course, in order to get the full picture, you'd have to imagine me as a young boy. Simply take a mental image of me as I am today, but instead of a 5'10'' Eritrean man, imagine a small, chubby, nappy-headed kid with droopy eyes and a safety blanket. Seriously, I went everywhere with that thing. I wonder whatever happened to it??   Yes, I'm nostalgic like that sometimes.....DON'T JUDGE ME!!   Anyways, I've always appreciated stand-up comics and I've never been one to stick to one particular genre or artist. I've enjoyed white, blue-collar humor from the likes of Robin Williams, Bill Engvall & Jeff Foxworthy, foreign-influenced, culturally diverse humor from Russell Peters, Ahmed Ahmed & Maz Jobrani, provocative humor from Margret Cho, political satire from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert & Lewis Black, just to name a

 Did I ever tell you guys the story of how I met the love of my life? It was in a hospital gift shop. She was this beautiful, charming, sexy........oh wait, that wasn't me. Lemme start over.  Once upon a time, I collapsed in a bar and was rushed to the hospital where I spent a few weeks under observation. While there, I was attended to by a male nurse, who was pretty cool, except for one small detail. He spent quite a bit of time whining and moaning about a girl that he like, who happened to work at the hospital gift shop. He spent 3 days, tending to my requirements, while offering such detailed descriptions of how wonderful she was and how he would deem himself lucky to even spend one evening in her company, stressing that he would be a gentleman and respect her. Eventually, I had finally had enough and I, politely, suggested that instead of telling me all this, he should tell her. He responded by saying he had no idea how to profess his desire for her. So, I naturally suggested

 When I woke up this morning, I had expected a mundane Sunday, where I would simply start off my day with a batch of fresh-made french toast (which I like to dress up with various ingredients, toppings and colors.......I tend to get bored with my food) and a cup of kick-you-in-the-head-'til-you-see-stars black coffee, followed an afternoon of "vegetating" in front of my T.V., channel surfing because I really have nothing better to do on a Sunday. So, after breakfast, I log on to Facebook to find my friend or homegirl re-posting "inspirational" quotes on her wall, though some might argue her misinterpretation of the term "inspirational".  When discussing this among ourselves, homegirl told me that they were a representation of how some people believed that it was a shame to be so cynical at such a young age, but she confided that it was just, and I quote, "fucking smart". Of course, that pretty much sums her up. She is a smart young lady wit

 I once heard a story when I was 16. I think it was some random anecdote that was meant to impart some wisdom while at the same time mildly entertain the audience. If there's no objection, I'd like to share this tale....   There once were two neighboring farmers who lived on their respective plots of land. Being the hard-working sort, both would be working their land from sun-up to sun-down, toiling and tilling, hoping to get an honest reward for an honest days labor. Everyday, like clockwork, both farmers would meet at the fence that divided their lands, pausing to speak with each other, swapping stories, talking about their lives and just conversing with one another. This went on for many years, until one day, they had an argument of some kind, resulting in them walking away being rather cross with each other. That night, both farmers had a dream, where a light told them to go out to the fence and to hammer a single nail on their side of it. The next day, both of them went t

  "Given that St. Valentine was a 3rd century Roman priest who was stoned and beheaded, wouldn't a more appropriate celebration of the evening be taking one's steady gal to witness a brutal murder?".....aw yes, the ever present wisdom of Dr. Sheldon Cooper never fails to inspire and provoke us towards thought and question (by the way, forgive me for jumping right into a quote, but seeing as I'm recovering from a stomach virus that has made me literally vomit my own weight in bodily fluids, not to mention that piece of gum that I swallowed back in 2009, I'm really not in the mood to bring my A-game).   For those of you who never saw that particular episode, or who may have had a portion of their brain removed, today's theme is the popular misconceptions of Valentine's Day. Personally, it's not a day that I hold in high regard. Perhaps it's because I fail to see the point in shelling out and fully expressing my love for someone on one particul

 Growing up, one of my favorite shows on T.V. was "The Wayan's brothers". For those unacquainted, it was a show based on 2 brothers, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who lived together in Harlem, New York, trying to "make it big" in the world. Now, like any show, it would've been incomplete without the colorful assortment of cast members, particularly those billed as "Family". In this case, the "family" was their father, played by John Witherspoon, who played his role to perfection with his outdated clothes and his odd demeanor, which in retrospect, was quite hilarious.  Shawn and Marlon are elements of a dynasty that's spanned the better part of 2 decades, starting from their collaborative work with the rest of their siblings (Damon, Keenan Ivory & Kim) on "In Living Color", to their individual films such as "Requiem for a dream" and collaborative films, like "White Chicks", "Little Man" and my pe

 I haven't gotten that many  Christmas  gifts in my life. I dunno if that comes as a surprise to some, but it's true. It's not due to some general dislike that I've been faced with over the years. I guess I can just chalk it up to dumb luck. But, I've had a few and I've been grateful for them. One of my favorite gifts has been a book that I got from a person who has become quite a fixture in my life. It was a novel entitled "Shantaram". It's the true story of    G regory David Roberts , a convicted Australian  bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from  P entridge Prison &  fled to  India. T he novel was commended by many for its vivid portrayal of the tumultuous life in  Bombay . Personally, I've found refugee in the fact that, despite his unorthodox life, Mr. Roberts has, and continues, to bestow remarkable wisdom upon me.   I open with this because of an incident that  occurred  earlier this evening involving my friend from my pre