This year, halloween fell on a weekend, me and the geto boys trick r treatin

I don't get down with halloween like I use to. I remember runnin with the NY crew and we was snatchin chains/gaffling whips in buckhead(shout out BIG JUS LUNE TNS). On halloween, The freaks come out at night. It is do or die time tonight as Dalton vs. Northwest Whitfield goes down. Who ever loses, their season is over and no playoff glory. On saturday, the dawgs and dem gators do battle at 3:30. It is November and gettin cold. This is football in the south. Today is pay day and I already had my bills paid so I got some loot to blow. Magic City and Dancers Elite, watch out, I am comin thru. Shout out to Cinnamon, CoCo, Passion and Ms. Nu Booty.

Pay Day and the GA/Fla game!

I get paid tomorrow and the ga/fla game goes down on saturday. I am still in tifton finishing up another part of job training. The test is friday and I haven't studied. I been hanging out in the hood here in tifton. A woman long time ago told me that confidence is sexy on a man. I been flexin my confidence in tifton lately. It's been a testing site. I tried to holla a few times.I met this sista at the mcdonald's drive thru and she asked me to take her shopping. I ordered a cheeseburger and a large iced latte with light ice. I pulled off. I been hanging out in the hood at the pool hall and guess who I see hugged up in the corner, the mcdonald's gurl and some army dude.

Anyway, the dawgs and dem gators are gonna battle this saturday. This is a SEC showdown and this is what football is all about. We play real football here in the south and it is apart of life from birth. I bleed catamount red and remember my days of running out onto that field on friday nights back in the early 90's. Football in the south is life. When I have kids, they will have a dalton catamount jersey on after birth.

There are 2 things the woman who becomes my next wife MUST have.
1.) She HAS to be a die hard football fan.
2.)She MUST be able to make southern pecan pie from scratch just like my grandmothers.

Back to the subject. It is football season and this is around the time teams realize it is battle or go home!

After the after party on november 5, 2008!

Fixin to be honest! I aint hatin. I am keepin it real. Before black folks get happy go lucky, there are some things we need to realize. Down here in the south, we still have to deal with Mr. Charlie and his goon squad jim crow. First, Mr.Charlie aint gon bees toos happy if we be hoppin round and hoopin n hollerin on lection day. Mr.Charlie is gonna be mad when he see us doing the running man up and down the streets. Mr.Charlie is gon do everythang he can to tarnish this. He has relied on his homeboy Willie Lynch for many years and now a change may be comin. I am voting for obama cause he is black. I hope this brotha gets in the white house and finally paints it black. Aretha Franklin get ready to sang your heart out baby! Ay, Bootsie, it's chocolate city, crank up the bass guitar. In reality, I have never liked authority or any form of government. I only conform in this society cause I have to in order to survive. In reality, I hate government, religious figures and those in authoritive positions. Yes, I do have issues! The purpose of government is to keep people deaf, dumb and blind to their underhanded dealings in washington and the world. I support non racist anarchists and their belief of overthrowning government. I use to be a socialist and I realized that any form of government is worthless. I have voted over the years out of respect for my grandparents and what their generation endured for me to get to where I am at. When Obama wins, people still need to hold back on making him their savior. Black folks don't need to place him so high cause he is still a human. He will be under pressure to do things to satisfy alot of people and that is gonna be impossible. It is an exciting time and a great moment in history. I know some of the ancestors will be sangin and givin each other high fives saying we made it and others will be happy but still embracing the notion that we still got a long way to go. We should be excited at the facts surrounding this election and whats about to go down. On the wigflip, I read alot about subversive organizations and I use to listen to groups like "Screw Driver" and "Hate Breed". Under the surface, these types of people have always existed and they don't like anybody. The after party I am talking about aint the same type they got in mind. As yall seen in the news recently about the skinhead plot, they see this a a way to start their race war. I am from a mountainous region of north georgia and there are militias and various types of groups. There are some black folks like my inner circle that took steps to protect ourselves if something ever went down years ago. Anyway, go Obama. He win, We in! I am callin in sick november 5 and I am leavin kool-aid packets in the water fountains at work on Monday. Fried chicken, murray's hair grease and watermelon for everybody! It's a celebration.

Friends, time, space and life CHOICES.

It has been mad crazy the past couple of days. I got folks coming at me saying that I am throwing my life up in they face. To an extent, I do talk about being free to do what ever the f*%k I wanna do since I have no restrictions. I am a young brotha just chillin and I realized I don't want any kids now, controlling women/needy women, extra bills or BS in my life. Folks comin at me cause I got this thang going on called "IT's All About Jody". This particular person made choices of their own that got them in the situation their in with a bunch of kids and 4 different baby mamas. We been homeboys since elementary school. I got alot of homeboys and family members in the same situation or worst and I feel sorry for them sometimes. I got one person to worry about and I am taking care of myself just fine.IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WANT ME TO FEEL GUILTY CAUSE I AM DOIN ALRIGHT IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW AND WALKIN WITH MY HEAD TO THE SKY WHILE THEY STRUGGLE WITH BABY MAMA DRAMA, CHILD SUPPORT MOB STYLE SHAKE DOWNS. On the wigflip, I am back doing training in tifton,ga. It appears that my over seers have put a block on access to sites like myspace, facebook and facebook. I got another facebook page. Yall check it out.

Breast Cancer Day @ my job!

I will be wearing a pink ribbon on thursday for my Aunt Sammie. She lives in Chicago and has been battling this disease like a warrior for years. I pray for my aunt and all people affected by this illness. I know she gon make and she gon be just fine. I know it! We are a strong, close knit family and we got her back. I also have a co-worker who was given the all clear sign recently and she doesn't have to take chemo anymore. I always thought pink was a girlie color. For this occassion, I was gon rock a pink jumpsuit but realized that wouldn't be a good PR move with the possible future wifey prospects in this day and age. I aint tryin to go out like Cameron did with the pink land rover, the pink fur and the big ass pink earrings he use to rock. I will have my ribbon on my shirt and my Aunt Sammie in my mind and heart. Yall stay jazzy!

The New New

Check out the pictures below. This is from the Art Fusion 40 event this past saturday. Today is tuesday. I went to the doctor for a check up. I have lost 3 more pounds and feelin great. By this coming spring, I wanna be able to walk around on the beach in my wife beater showing off my tattooes.

R.I.P. Rudy Ray Moore aka DOLEMITE

If you don't know who this man is then you are a sucka! And I will tell yo mama to her face that you are a sucka! Rudy Ray Moore is the human tornado aka petey wheatstraw the devil's son-in-law. He is one of the greats and his contributions will not be forgotten. Thank you Rudy Ray Moore for making us laugh and feel good.

ART FUSION @WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER this past saturday/10-18-08

This event was put on by good brotha Jason Orr, founder of the Funk Jazz Kafe. I came out to this event and really enjoyed seeing old friends and showing off the new Jody Harris. Everybody was surprised and it felt good getting compliments about my weight loss. I got pictures with alot of good folks and got some more coming.

Punch Drunk Arms

My arms use to brag to each other,
They use to brag about how soft she was,
And how they miss her,
My arms use to brag to each other,
They use to brag about how they use to hold her closely,
And shield her from the bitter cold,
My arms use to brag to each other about her.

Art Fusion@ The woodruff arts center and my connection!

It is going down this saturday. I went to ACA from fall 1994-1999. I had a chance to meet and hang out with some good people like netifa, chaka aka I Self Devine, fahamou, eric mack, eric hudson, juan, j-dogg, angelbear, will canty, chelle, Joe wheeler, chelle #2(the one that went with will), anika, angela, stephanie, mike jones, terrence, cx, Ryan newman, caleb scott, kagan, obie, born, melanie, larry larr from jersey, andre moore, brian and napeleon, eugene byrd, Dre aka the wal-mart pimp from college park, kevin sipp, honey goode, frankie skates, ash puu(will), del, charles, leo, derek, nique, kish barrington(R.I.P.) and many more cool people. I use to let eric mack shape up my afro back then and we listened to diamond d's first album like 20 times. I also use to smoke some good weed with some of these cats over at the A.U.C. during the zulu nation meetings.

ON THIS SATURDAY, IT IS GOING DOWN AT THE WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER. IT IS ART FUSION. IT WILL HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS GOING ON SIMILAR TO THE FUNKJAZZ KAFE. DJ AND SOUL BROTHA TABONE ALONG WITH OTHERS WILL BE THERE AND THERE IS A 500 POETRY SLAM CONTEST, 6 LIVE ARTISTS CREATING ON THE SPOT, A VENDORS AREA AND MUCH MORE. THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. YALL PLEASE COME OUT.
ALL ATLANTA COLLEGE OF ART MASIVE WHO ATTENDED ACA DURING THE GOLDEN AGE SHOULD COME OUT AND THINK BACK TO OUR DAYS FROM FALL 1994-1999. R.I.P. TO GOOD BROTHA "KISH BARRINGTON".
IT IS GOING DOWN THIS SATURDAY AT THE WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER FROM 8PM-2AM.
THERE WILL BE FREE HUGS FOR ALL SINGLE LADIES WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Book will be here by Christmas Holidays! Yippee!

A puzzle called Black Women.

I am about to keep it real again! I am a single brotha back on the dating scene. I have been working on getting my inner house in order before I really try to get into another long term relationship or any kind of relationship for that matter. I have alot to offer a sista. I have found out the hard way that the dating scene has changed. It is a puzzle trying to figure out women. Throw in trying to figure out black women. When they say this, it really means something else. When she does that, she really means this. Then they get mad at us when we don't figure out whatever message they tryin to communicate. I am a man and I think like a man! Sometimes we don't catch on to things. I admit that I am usually thinkin bout something else like when the game come on, do I need to finish grad school, is the beer cold, should I buy that new king magazine, will I get some this weekend, do I buy bread & milk or some rubbers and when is pay day. On the wigflip, I am having fun. I have only 1 person to take care of and I am taking care of myself just fine. I sincerely hope I put this puzzle together someday and find my soulmate. I know she is out there.

Relationship Quote from The Dalai Lama
Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.
Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness but they also lessen our experience of suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others' happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace -- anxiety, doubt, disappointment -- these things are definitely less. In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves. When we worry less about ourselves an experience of our own suffering is less intense.
What does this tell us? Firstly, because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others' happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Secondly, it tells us that genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness and so on. For it is these which provide both for our happiness and others' happiness. [Ethics for a New Millennium, by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama]

LIFE

"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations." ---Anais Nin

NORMAN WHITFEILD(R.I.P. Brotha)

If you have heard of the Motown Sound, then you know who this brotha is. We have lost another great black contributor to the world. If you seen the movie about the Temptations then you know who this soul brotha is. Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War," "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," died. He was 67.
A spokeswoman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said Whitfield died there Tuesday. He suffered from complications of diabetes and had recently emerged from a coma, The Detroit Free Press reported.
The New York-born Whitfield was a longtime Motown producer who during the 1960s and '70s injected rock and psychedelic touches into the label's soul music.
Many of his biggest hits were co-written with Barrett Strong, with whom he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. He and Strong won the Grammy in 1972 for best R&B song for the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone."
Many of Whitfield's songs from late '60s and early '70s have a strong political tone, including the Temptations' 1970 "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)," and Edwin Starr's 1970 "War."
In his only No. 1 hit, Starr sings in an anguished voice that war is "a heartbreaker, friend only to the undertaker. ... What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" Whitfield produced as well as co-wrote the song.
Among Whitfield's other songs were "Cloud Nine," "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)," all hits for the Temptations; and "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," a 1969 hit for Marvin Gaye.
The group Undisputed Truth had a top five hit in 1971 with Whitfield and Strong's "Smiling Faces Sometimes."
Whitfield "was able to go beyond R&B cliches with punchy melodies and arrangements and topical lyrics," Joe McEwen and Jim Miller wrote in "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll."
Whitfield won another Grammy in 1976 for best original TV or motion picture score for "Car Wash." The movie's theme song was a No. 1 hit for Rose Royce and a Golden Globe nominee for best original song.
In a statement, Motown great Smokey Robinson hailed Whitfield as "one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers of our time. He will live forever through his great music."
Just last week, Gaye's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," from 1968, was ranked at No. 65 in Billboard magazine's compilation of the top singles of the past 50 years.

THANK YOU NORMAN WHITFIELD AND WE WILL MISS YOU BROTHA!

I PASSED!

In the past, I had a wife in my corner to support me and encourage me when things got dicey. Now we are divorced and in different places. It's been almost 2 years. I am my only form of a support system right now and this morning I thought I missed her or missed her being in my corner. Then I started thinkin about how far I have come. From trying to commit suicide to depression to getting a new job to gettin a new ride and a new crib. I have passed some hard tests in life so far and this little test for certification can't scared me. Today, I took the first test for my job training certification in Tifton,GA. I was lounging last night tryin to get with this honey in the lobby but she kept talkin about studying. I wanted to study also. I am a man and I think like a man! I can't help it. Anyway, I went to my room to watch the wake forest/clemson game and chatted on the phone with a new friend to about 3 in the morning. She is cool and really down to earth. I got up this morning realizing that I had messed around and wasted my thursday night study time. We took the test today in the training course and I ended up making a 84. I passed the test and got the first part of my certification for this job. I am happy and ready to get drunk. The only thing is that I have to go back to tifton next week for more training all the way til november 7. Yo, I still get bad vibes sometimes but in the long run, I think my life is gonna stay on this current track to improving and I am gonna be alright. The biggest test here was dealing with emotions from my divorce and ex-wife. I am over her and have moved on. I feel I passed that test. I'm stronger.

When keepin it real goes wrong! Pt. 1

Keepin it real! I woke up today breathing. I thank the most high for letting me see another day regardless of the BS I know I'm gon deal with. I am in tifton,ga training for my job certification. When you give a lady a compliment, it is supposed to be in good faith. I am a cool cat who is laid back and when I see a pretty woman, I sometimes let them know. It is funny how somebody can change the way a person feels about themselves with a compliment. Words do have power. I am respectful and never rude or nasty with it. Anyway, it rained like hell down here today and got dark outside. I am gonna leave this blog entry right here!

A feeling of uneasiness

Since I been in tifton, ga doing my training for the job, I have been getting a slight feeling of uneasiness. It is centered around work. People are acting funny. I got alot of shit coming at me all of a sudden. It's aint cool!

TeMika Grooms(yall check her out)

Temika Grooms is a cool sista that does alot. She is active in the arts community and I have known her a couple of years now. She is mad cool cause she always speaks and treats folks warmly. She is a visual artist, wife, full-time angel and mother doing good things. She is working on a book as a illustrator and also helps run a A-AFTA( African Americans For The Arts. If yall wanna find out more about Temika, just scroll down and click on my muse arts in my contributors section. She is also in my top 32 on my myspace page. Other than that, I had to drive back down to tifton,ga today to finish some training for my job. Yall be easy!

Training Day Part 2

I am still deep in durty south georgia in week one of my job training. It has been a learning experience and I've made some new friends. I been eating out and gettin full. This evening, I went to go ask this sista stayin at the hampton inn if she wanted to get a movie. She wasn't there so I went to dinner with some trainees from Macon. They were cool. I paid my car insurance bill over the phone and it was more than I expected. It is funny cause I was briefly dealing with a sista who has the same name as this sista I am training with. I can't wait to get home. I got bills to pay and some other stuff to handle. I hope everything goes smoothly and I get to work this job for years to come. I still got some side dreams.