Author: fivesixer

100, Mental Health, Playlists, Poetry, Stigma Fighters

Let’s keep this machine goin’!

fivesixer

Hey! How are all of you doin’ today? I know (again) it’s been awhile…but I’ve been busy, and I’ve got the receipts to prove it!

Just a couple days ago, I wrote an article about my dealings with Fibromyalgia for Stigma Fighters that’s received an excellent response so far, My Roadmap To Fibromyalgia: Everything or Nothing; and sometimes both. Please take a look-see and feel free to share it with anyone else who’s living with this…spreading and sharing information is one of the best ways we have right now to not only combat this, but feel comfort.

Yesterday, I recorded a short promo clip for Eliezer Tristan Publishing in the hopes that they can find sponsors for our launch party in September, as well as investors to take the company to the next level and signal boost the messages to a bigger, wider audience. I just wanted to bang it out in one take, but as I started talking and saying what I really wanted to say, I looked down at the timer on my laptop’s recorder and I was well over 30 seconds yet halfway through the whole thing I’d been playing over in my head for hours. I guess not only do I think too much and babble on sometimes when I write, but I also take too long to say what needs to be said (especially under the duress of a timer).

And today, I took the bold step of adding two more videos to the ever-growing cult of 100…the first is a combination of two poems that really mean a lot to me. They were written shortly after my brother’s suicide at the age of 39, almost two years ago. I’ve written more about it since, but Sinspiration and Cometosis were a couple of the first I was able to do while still processing the grief and helping out mom handle his affairs, left-behinds, and the overall overwhelmingness of it all. It honestly took me some time before I was able to start processing it, let alone get the ability to start writing about it.

Unsure of what I wanted to record next (because I was totally into the mindset of recording), I flipped around and found one of the first ones I truly liked as I was beginning to get fully involved in the process of writing this “Give It 100” project. Not only was it one of my early favorites, but it was fairly well-received when I added it to my portfolio on Writing.com as part of the project. It’s called Major Bomb, and I remember entering it in my local library’s “National Poetry Month” contest…it lost to a very blah, cheerleading “yay America” flag piece that I guess the townsfolk here are all up into instead of my antithesis of that. But I’m not bitter about it…wellllll…no, I’m not. I’ve already gotten my validation several times over.

So that’s where I’ve been lately, friends and lovers and haters and everyone in-between. Once I get the motor runnin’ it doesn’t stop til I drop. Whaddya say we dip into a machine-oriented playlist, in hopes of keepin’ the gears turnin’ through my West Coast jaunt? And if you want me to show up in your city, drop a line…I’m still in the planning phase and and after the ETP launch party and my Seattle visit, I’m open!

  1. Rage Against The Machine, “Bulls On Parade”
  2. Pink Floyd, “Welcome To The Machine”
  3. The Tragically Hip, “Man Machine Poem”
  4. The Beatles, “The Long And Winding Road”
  5. Sponge, “Miles”
  6. Queens of the Stone Age, “…Like Clockwork”
  7. Soundgarden, “Never The Machine Forever”
  8. Regina Spektor, “Riot Gear”
  9. Bush, “Warm Machine”
  10. Radiohead, “Paranoid Android”
  11. Pixies, “Bone Machine”
  12. Our Lady Peace, “In Repair”

Alright y’all…you’re flush with my life up to today. Hope it makes you as happy as it’s made me over the course of a long time coming. Thanks for listenin’, and don’t forget to listen to others and take care of yourselves. Peace!

100, Getting Published, Playlists, Road Trip!

NO SLEEP TIL…PORTLAND!!!

fivesixer

Yes yes y’all! What’s happenin’? The flight is booked, the couch has been made available, and come September 6th I’ll be in Portland, OR for the Eliezer Tristan Publishing launch party! The West Coast Summer Of Norb Tour is in full effect…don’t get a late pass; be on the go with me!

From Portland I’m heading to Seattle to sightsee and chill with a friend. I’d love the idea of swinging down to Vegas to meet some people I know there and then to Cali for a day or two or three, before trippin’ back with a stop at Indiana for more people, and then heading home before I plot the East Coast trip.

My life is mad wicked crazy right now.

You can’t front on that.

So hey, hook me up with your city and let’s hang out, West Coasters! Tell me where and when in September is good…I imagine I’ll spend a few days in Seattle after the 8th, so name your options and let’s see what happens!

In the meantime…let’s bang around to a little West Coast playlist, alright? Alright.

  • Interpol, “Heinrich Maneuver”
  • Modest Mouse, “The World At Large”
  • Nirvana, “Lounge Act”
  • Soundgarden, “Room A Thousand Years Wide”
  • Jawbox, “Breathe”
  • 7 Year Bitch, “You Smell Lonely”
  • Alice In Chains, “Grind”
  • Felt, “Bass For Your Truck”
  • Beastie Boys, “High Plains Drifter”
  • Pearl Jam, “Hard To Imagine”

That’s my word, individuals doing your own things. Peace, and don’t forget to get at me if you want me to read in your city yo. Much love…ttyl.

100, Getting Published, Playlists, Road Trip!, support your locals

The “Summer Of Norb” Tour Continues!

fivesixer

 

Hey folks! What’s happenin’? So much goin’ on lately…I don’t even know where to begin! Just got back from spending another week hangin’ out at my mom’s…

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl0wSYLA20X/?taken-by=fivesixer

…because birthdays are good and oh also there was a little matter of catching up with some friends and signing some books. Played a round of miniature golf with an old friend and her adorable little daughter, ate tons of WNY staples (Sahlen’s hot dogs, chicken wings, Bison chip dip, etc.), dropped off a copy of 100 at the Arcade library, and took in many of the familiar sights and sounds of home.

Along the way, there was no shortage of good news!

I finally received word that my website is (for the most part) complete and ready for your viewing! Norbaikin.com has links to this blog, my Writing.com portfolio, my publisher’s site, Amazon’s 100 link, and other assorted goodies…and we’re in the process of setting up the means to buy signed copies of the book directly from there. How sweet is that?

And if you’re disappointed that I didn’t get to see you this past week because you don’t live close, fear not! Eliezer Tristan Publishing (located in Oregon) is having their launch party on September 8th…West Coast, here I come! Forty-three years after I invaded the eastern portion of the United States and set up shop in NY, I’m finally getting over to the left side of the country. Besides Portland, Seattle is on the itinerary as well…and if you want me to make a stop in your city and it has a bookstore, cafe, or other venues interested in hosting a slightly irreverent and occasionally aloof poet from the part of NY hardly anyone talks about (but when they do they’re talkin’ proud) then you need to get at me so we can set somethin’ up! I promise I’ll try to be as well-behaved as I possibly can be.

So yep, that’s been my life for the past week or so…couch-surfin’ at mom’s and talkin’ books and gettin’ tatted up at a longtime friend’s tattoo shop…

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl84v5Vg2xj/?taken-by=fivesixer

For those curious, “Na Zdrowie!” is basically a Polish toast, and Doug is my brother who passed away almost two years ago. It was important to me to have a way to remember him that we could both appreciate, and having the work done by someone we both knew well was imperative. It was one of his favorite things to say when hoisting up another shot (usually Jack Daniels Fire), with the other obviously being “Drink up, fuckers!” While we may not have always been raised proper or right, we were raised fun and mom’s still proud.

Alright, how about a launch playlist? It’s my favorite part of each entry!

  • T. Rex, “Spaceball Ricochet”
  • Atmosphere, “The Arrival”
  • Pearl Jam, “Light Years”
  • Beastie Boys, “Intergalactic”
  • The Who, “I Can See For Miles”
  • Jimmy Eat World, “77 Satellites”
  • Something Corporate, “The Astronaut”
  • Aesop Rock, “Bring Back Pluto”
  • Radiohead, “Subterranean Homesick Alien”
  • Smashing Pumpkins, “Rocket”

I think that’s all there is to say for now…thanks to everyone I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with this week, whether talking writing or reminiscing or just being. Peace! I’ll catch up with all y’all again soon!

100, Getting Published, Playlists, Road Trip!

Let’s take this road on the show!

fivesixer

Hey y’all! I know it’s been awhile since we’ve been here…I’ve been trying to soak it all in and see what’s coming next for me. Let’s do a quick recap, if you don’t mind…

Mom got her copy of 100 and she’s mega-proud, because I’ve finally done something with my life.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlOj28rAKyF/?taken-by=fivesixer

The book is doing well…so well in fact, that I’m gonna take a trip out to Portland, from Central NY, for a launch party. And there ain’t no party like a Portland party cuz a Portland party don’t stop. Or something. It’s fitting though that this long road I’ve been on between struggle and grief and sacrifice and pain and the doubts of not knowing…will get not only a showcase but a decent full-scale celebration as part of the Eliezer Tristan launch. Crazy, I know…but still a lotta work to do on my end, promotion-wise.

Then there’s these…thanks to my man Aaron, better known as Cultural Savage…postcards and handouts. Yes, it’s a 5-picture IG album. Get on it or get over it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlWQwIFAaKu/?taken-by=fivesixer

It’s all so overwhelmingly awesome. And it’s also scary…dealing with depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia means travel can often be uncomfortable and hella stressful. I usually travel by bus (primarily from CNY to my mom’s in Western New York, so relatively short distances), but it never fails…something always seems to go wrong when I take the Greyhound, which makes me even more miserable and uncomfortable. I’m not happy and settled until I get to where I’m supposed to be, and it drives me nuts, which also drives me nuts in turn that it drives me nuts. Call it a perpetual cycle of nut-driving, if you will.

But flying? Flying definitely freaks me out, and I don’t know why. Add to it that I’ll be meeting a lot of really cool people for the first time…and that’s like anxiety’s perfect cocktail. But hey, let’s throw in the unpredictability of fibro…waking up not knowing what’s gonna hurt, or when or why or how much and for however long (for example, a few days ago I managed to cramp up both my calves just trying to get out of bed and I’m still working through that) so yeah, super-sized cocktail. Yesterday I was fine until I took a shower, and one side of my neck started bothering me. Today, it’s the other side…the kind of pain where you have to turn your whole body to look to the side, and that’s really inconvenient when you’re trying to cross the street. My body’s a roulette wheel and the house always wins.

But fuck it…I’m determined to make this one of the best experiences of my life, one way or another. I’m gonna get to see the Pacific Northwest, hang out with a great team of people who have all contributed to this new saga in my life in one way or another, and I’ll get to share my words with an entirely new audience. I’m not gonna let my body stop me as long as I can manage myself long enough for the trip, and I’ll figure out a way to override my brain when the creeping doubts and toxic thoughts about backing out begin to seep in. This is my shot. I’ve got to make the most of it and see what happens…it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience in an existence dotted with negative “only this would happen to me” situations.

With that said, let’s launch into another playlist, huh? Good tunes…anthem-quality sing-alongs and road trip essentials (well, at least my essentials), and just me, trying to remember the things I’ve learned about Mindfulness and staying in the moment:

  • Eminem, “Lose Yourself”
  • Redman feat. Erick Sermon, “Whateva Man”
  • The Beatles, “Help!”
  • Wilco, “Sunloathe”
  • T. Rex, “Thunderwing”
  • The Killers, “This River Is Wild”
  • Better Than Ezra, “Normal Town”
  • The Drifters, “This Magic Moment”
  • Further Seems Forever, “Hide Nothing”
  • William DeVaughn, “Be Thankful For What You Got”
  • Karen O and the Kids, “Rumpus”
  • Hail Mary Mallon, “Knievel”

As always, this is my music and if you don’t like it, remember, I didn’t invite you! And I’m pretty sure my iPod is still louder and cooler than your Spotify or TIDAL or whatever it is the cool kids do for music these days. But I still love you! Thanks and peace and hope you’re all well!

100 WIP, Getting Published, Playlists

#ItsHere …and what it means to me.

fivesixer

This is friggin’ amazing, y’all.

Got some copies of my book, which you can get here from Amazon on your Kindle or in print. Now the struggle has a name!

Poetry has kept me sane the last six years, if not the last 25 or so. It’s given me a voice against my mental health, coworkers, companies, and crazy situations I’ve found myself in…even if it wasn’t heard. It’s my art; putting words on a page like a painter uses paint. This is my skill, and this is how I document my reality. I’ve got notebooks full of poems that have been a crucial release point in terms of dealing with myself. Some are good, and some are trash…but the point is to always keep writing, and keep everything you write.

But I often struggle when asked what poetry means to me. Different writers have different answers and comparing one to another is ridiculous. We all write for different reasons, and in the long run this isn’t a competition…we need to support each other no matter what. And I don’t write for solutions necessarily…it’s just my way of dealing with the world that doesn’t always take kindly to strangers in it.

Can I share with you a short sample? Will Eliezer Tristan Publishing mind?

This is how I feel safe and how I feel like I’m contributing to society. It’s how I view the world and make it less awful for me in a corrosive era of our existence. Maybe I didn’t want to be on a team but they threw me a uniform and I had no choice but to be the best I can be, which turned into reaching the pinnacle of the conquest. Maybe this is what I was meant for all along, and my posturing of “good life” was just for show (like so many of you). All I wanted was to get in where I could fit in, and I’ve been able to do that often enough that I don’t hafta worry about who my friends are, even if I’m a shitty friend at times. My body is full of pain, but my heart knows no boundaries. And if that’s who I was born to be and have been lucky enough to survive and spit words, I’ll take it.

Let’s bang out to a published playlist, shall we? Let’s appreciate and support one another!

  • The Tragically Hip, “World Container”
  • Moneen, “The Passing Of America”
  • Faith No More, “Sweet Emotion”
  • Modest Mouse, “Sleepwalkin'”
  • Public Enemy, “He Got Game”
  • Beastie Boys, “Egg Raid On Mojo”
  • Dana Fuchs, “Don’t Let Me Down”
  • Street Sweeper Social Club, “Mama Said Knock You Out”
  • Reggie & The Full Effect, “Your Girlfriends Hate Me”
  • Temple Of The Dog, “Times Of Trouble”

Ok you guys…I’m waiting on a tech support call so I can get my website feeling right and the way I want it…I can only scratch that scab for so long til it becomes infected. Anyway, today’s been awesome and thank you all for joining in on the ride!

100 WIP, Getting Published, Photos, Playlists, support your locals

#ItsHappening

fivesixer

Yes yes y’all! Let’s update you on the last couple of days, since so much has happened between the last time I looked at this blog and now. Follow along!

    • The results of the photo shoot are in! I’ve got a back cover headshot, a back page photo, and of the 67 pics maybe five to ten I actually like (though not the fault of the photographer…after all, he did his best with what he had to work with).
    • The front/back covers are live! 100 front and back cover
    • And here’s a sneak preview of the dedication page, clipped from the editing proof… kickass job by my crews!

dedication

So I had a late night and tried to sleep in a little this morning. Well past my usual wake-up time, as I’m slowly coming to, the Aesop Rock ringtone goes off and it’s the amazingly talented and lovely Sarah Fader on her way for some donuts, checking in. I keep saying things like “Shit’s getting real” yet each day shit keeps getting more real. And we’re going over the list of things I still need to work on, which is crazy because it’s the last hurdle I need to get myself over. Things like Press Release info, newspaper and radio contacts, email addresses from interested readers, finishing off the website and changing the hosting. Life comes at you fast, yo. I told Sarah I had to run some errands and do some packing for a short trip home starting tomorrow, we did a lot of YaaaYYYY!-ing, and I got up to take care of my bizness. And this is what I came home to…

BOOM goes the dynamite!

It’s hard keeping up with the social media posts…the Facebook and Instagram and Twitter love. Cuz like I said, I still have a ton of work to do…and we’re not even in the promotional stage yet where I’m gonna be doing interviews and signings and all that that entails. Plus, I’m taking a weekend off (but not really) to see my mom and hang out at a family friend’s kid’s grad party…which I’m looking forward to, because it’s time off but it’s also some networking opportunities. Gonna bust out the memo book and the nice pen to jot down some email addresses. Gimme yours now and save me some trouble! That way I can send them to my balls-out team of indie warrior women at Eliezer Tristan Publishing and you can be updated as to where I’ll be and how you can get the book. Buy it off the site, get it from Amazon, stuff it on your Kindle, or see me in person and say hey…get you a signed copy! It’ll be nice to see some of you again! It’s been way too long.

Let’s go out on a strong note and see what kind of playlist iTunes wants to generate for me today as I get out of here to bang out work and get ready for some family time…

  • Reggie & the Full Effect, “Mood 4 Luv”
  • Jawbox, “Savory”
  • Atoms For Peace, “Dropped”
  • Jimmy Eat World, “Futures”
  • Joe Tex, “I Believe I’m Gonna Make It”
  • The New Amsterdams, “Without A Sound (Eleanor)”
  • LL Cool J, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”
  • Wilco, “Company In My Back”
  • Deftones, “Feiticeira”
  • Radiohead, “True Love Waits”

That’s all I got for you today, kids…keep watch on your email, this blog, and my Facebook and Twitter for now til I fix up the website. You are my inspiration, my key, and my love. Peace y’all.

100 WIP, Getting Published, Playlists

The Nuts and Bolts!! (a 100 update)

fivesixer

Hey guys! Hope you all had lovely weekends, whether you were celebrating dads and grads or chillin’ at your pads. I have more exciting news that came in the form of text messages and tweets last night that have just kept my world turning at its current whirlwind pace.

So…let’s sort this all out:

  • Eliezer Tristan Publishing purchased 1,000 ISBNs…meaning books can be sold in retail, cataloged in libraries…it’s basically a book’s identity and barcode. One of those ISBNs is going to be 100. Hopefully another will be it’s immediate follow-up, and the one I’m working on now after that. But let’s go down one road at a time.
  • How cool is this cover, done by the amazing Michelle Hammer (who is also working on the layout of the inside of the book as I’m typing this): 100 Cover
  • Speaking of the layout…I just reviewed and sent back the edits for the insides. Meaning: I just saw what my book is gonna look like in print. I know it’s probably not the same thing and it’s a bad comparison, but this must be what it feels like when parents expecting a baby for the first time see the initial sonogram, or hear the heartbeat. Shit is getting real, and with the quickness.

So that’s where we stand today. Please excuse me for having a Holy shit!! moment (y’all know you’d do the same) and let’s blast some good-time celebratory tunes…

  • Queens Of The Stone Age, “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer”
  • Beck, “Readymade”
  • Run DMC, “Together Forever (Krush-Groove 4)”
  • Wellwater Conspiracy, “Of Dreams”
  • Jay-Z, “Moment Of Clarity”
  • Public Enemy, “Black Is Back”
  • Atmosphere, “Modern Man’s Hustle”
  • Stone Temple Pilots, “Glide”
  • 10,000 Maniacs, “Because The Night”
  • Kanye West, “Celebration”

That’s my word, friends and lovers of this. Tell your people, share share share, like and support the gott damm amazing team at Eliezer Tristan Publishing on Facebook, and keep on keepin’ on being your kickass awesome selves! Peace…#100 #ItsHappening

Getting Published, Playlists

Coming Clean

fivesixer

Hey y’all…have fun!It’s the weekend! Sorta slow day around here actually, compared to the rest of the week…got out of the house for a change and ran a few errands like I was on a waterslide to get nice and press my luck a little. But let’s get serious for a moment.

For those who haven’t figured it out yet, or felt like not giving a fuck about my passive/aggressive alluding, I’m in the process of getting a poetry collection published. So yeah, #itshappening and all that. I’m nervous, excited, stressed, panicky, and hellbent on this being fucking sweet…even if the material isn’t quite as up to par as I remembered it to be (even though it won a Writing.com Quill Award for Best Poetry Collection in 2016). I’ve got a second manuscript in the works as well, which upon reflection while getting into this process is buttloads better. So yeah homies…buy this first one and it’ll help finance the breakout sequel. Ain’t nothin’ but a party y’all…let’s get it on!

I’m hooked up with Eliezer Tristan Publishing and as soon as we get the cover settled and the results of my photo shoot in, we’ll have a mawfuggin’ book ready. Still tinkering with the actual website with the hope that you can buy it from there, get it on your Kindle from Amazon, or maybe show up at one of the functions I’m hoping will fall into place once I’ve got a book in my hand to sign and sell. Eliezer Tristan wants to put me out soon, and feature me on their website as well, which is sick and I’m eternally grateful for that opportunity.

I’m going to be a published author.

Just typing those words is surreal. An indie press wants to put me out, and they want my poetry. Years of battered self-confidence have led me to believe this can’t be happening, or accept that I’m good enough for this. I’m scared that it all might go away and leave me wondering how I fucked something up again. But I acknowledge that yes, this is real, and I need to start believing in it a hell of a lot more while I’m working at doing my part.

And make no mistake…I’m not harboring delusions of being some sort of “overnight success” where I’m suddenly famous in the large poetry world. I have meager goals, realistic expectations, and an honest mentality. I’m doing what I love and I now can expose it to a wider audience than I could with WDC (which I still love and support and you should too). And I get to do it with a company that’s artist-first and takes full interest in my thoughts and wishes for this book (at least I hope they still do…working on the cover has been a bit distressing but we can work through that). I was starting to consider self-pub days before I got the call from Sarah Fader that literally changed my damn life.

“We’re going to make this happen.”

Like, how do you even respond to that when you’re on the phone?? I hate talking on the phone as it is, so dammit…I had no one around to hi-5 or hug or just be like “Hey man, that’s awesome!”. And I suck sometimes at spontaneous conversation. Like, really suck. My phone specialty is a 30-second “I’m on my way” or “I’m here” or the automated calls from doctors’ offices reminding me of various appointments. When “Thank you!!” is all you can muster, how do you really feel, and how do you convey that over the phone? I get lost easily in that respect.

So anyway, let’s recap…I’m being published!!! Let’s get it out there for the world to see, so I can stop being shady and pretend-sneaky about it. There’s my info, there’s my things, and there’s my feelings. Let’s go full-blast into the weekend with a sunny June Saturday afternoon playlist supplied of course from my iTunes library, my friends…

  • The Get Up Kids, “Coming Clean”
  • Rick Derringer, “Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo”
  • Johnny Cash, “Cool Water”
  • Incubus, “The Warmth”
  • Anthrax, “Among The Living”
  • Helmet feat. David Yow, “Custard Pie”
  • Nirvana, “Big Long Now”
  • Moby, “Find My Baby”
  • Marvin Gaye, “Come Get To This”
  • OK Go, “What To Do” …mediocre people do exceptional things all the time!

Alright, that’s all I got for you cats today. I got other stuff to catch up on and do and make prettier than they are. Peace y’all…motherfuckin’ yeah, gonna be published bitches!

100 WIP, Photos, Playlists

I’m a model, baby!

fivesixer

What’s up y’all? Another day, another new experience for your boy over here…just got back from my first ever professional photo shoot. I know, right?! And I mean, hey, well, I’ve had professional portraits taken at school, but that’s practically mandatory. And I’ve stood up in weddings and had pics taken for that too, but those were never about me and to be honest, I don’t recall ever seeing most of the final shots. So yeah, this is a first for me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkAzMgsALjz/?taken-by=fivesixer

So yeah, it felt pretty crazy! And my friends who know me know that I hate forcing myself to smile, because I wind up making the Chandler Bing face. But about halfway through the whole click-clickery I taught myself a little trick…every time the photographer asked/pleaded/desperately bargained for a smile, I’d think about how terrible my fake smile is, which in turn made me chuckle a little, and that produced a legit-looking expression of at least partial joy on my face. *points at forehead* Quick thinking y’all…this pretty-when-it-wants-to-be head isn’t just a hat rack.

And the pics will be ready in about three days. I know I should be excited and I am to an extent, but this is all coming together so fast that I don’t even know if this whole experience of everything going on has really hit me yet. It’s surreal…tell me a week or so ago that by this time next week I’ll be working on all the details that go into getting a book published, and you know I’dda told you to lay off the crack, homie. Yet, here we are, and I’m glad you’re here with me, following along.

With that said, let’s bang out to a kickass photo-based playlist and call it a day.

  • The Cure, “Pictures Of You”
  • Taking Back Sunday, “This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know)”
  • Spoon, “I Turn My Camera On”
  • The Tragically Hip, “Pigeon Camera”
  • Camper Van Beethoven, “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”
  • Ice Cube, “Who Got The Camera?”
  • Wilco, “Kamera”
  • Atmosphere, “Camera Thief”
  • Def Leppard, “Photograph”
  • The Who, “Pictures Of Lily”
  • Felt, “I Shot A Warhol”

Hope your day’s fantastic, loves. Let’s keep the wagon wheels rollin’ on through the rest of the week, ok? Peace!

Homies, Playlists, support your locals

Let’s talk about people other than me.

fivesixer

What’s good, people? It occurred to me earlier today that I still have a lot to do both here and at norbaikin.com and I haven’t even filled out a bio or “About Me” section thingey here. And that’s mainly cuz I hate talking about myself, which is something I’ll need to get over with the quickness…basically you could legit say I need to get over myself.

Anyway, I want you to meet the wonderful Sarah Fader. Aside from the amazing work she does with Stigma Fighters, there’s the intriguing matter of Eliezer Publishing.

And I can’t say enough about Sarah, to be honest. She’s a wonderful woman, stronger than she knows, and she don’t just have a lot on her plate…she’s basically got a fancy china cabinet full of all sortsa great shit goin’ on. She’s a fighter and a dedicated mom; she’s savvy and smart and she’s always like one or two steps ahead of me in my journey, making things happen. I wanna long-distance high-5 her and hug her and hug her and hug her, because I do not know how to thank people. Saying “thank you” isn’t strong enough and it doesn’t convey the depth of my gratitude.

So hey y’all…give her a click and a shout and say what’s up to my homie from across the country. Support the causes, because they affect you and me and you and your friends more than you might be aware of in your day-to-days. I’m open like a screen door that won’t shut in a brutal windstorm when it comes to talking about Mental Health…and the more we all start and continue conversations about it, not only can we normalize and understand depression, but we can also shatter the stigmas surrounding lots of different types of MH topics. But yo…it’s gotta start somewhere, and Sarah’s made available an incredible avenue for that with her books and fancy special adult stickers for grown-up kids like me who need a special award some days for getting certain shit done without totally breaking down or losing it. (Ed. Note: Homeboy’s getting better about losing his shit because he has less reasons now to lose shit over. Thank you.)

Alright…let’s top this off with a short playlist of what I’m going through while I wait and anticipate the professional photo shoot I’ve got lined up tomorrow. Let’s hope the weather cooperates, as it’s planned to take place outside.

  • Beck, “Novacane”
  • Radiohead, “You”
  • Dollywatchers, “Lucy Leave”
  • Thursday, “Where The Circle Ends”
  • Metallica, “Escape”
  • Eyedea & Abilities, “Sky Diver”
  • Franz Ferdinand, “Take Me Out”
  • Atmosphere, “Party Over Here”
  • Boysetsfire, “Parasite Candy”
  • Death Cab For Cutie, “Soul Meets Body”

Let’s celebrate art of all kinds and those who create it…art comes in many forms, serious and topical to abstract and wandering in a mental desert. One thing I’ve learned from supporting local artists in Buffalo over time back in the day is please…don’t ask for free shit. These are your friends and neighbors, making a few bucks off their hard work/practice/suffering for their art. Most likely they put a lot of their own money into their projects, whether it’s buying their own instruments and self-financing a cd, or buying the laptop they type this very same shit on that you’re reading right now, or paintbrushes, or woodworking materials (which are not cheap). Support your friends. They’re not busting their asses to give their hard work, labor, and experiences away. And chances are, they’re making pennies on the dollar versus what you pay…so you get cool, quality material your homies dropped and maybe they’re grabbing a slice of pizza instead of wallowing in ramen noodles again. That full belly of goodness may lead to more incredible material…you never know.

Alright kids…let’s recap: Check out Sarah, and support your friends. I’d add in something like LOVE ME!! but if you’ve made it this far chances are you already do. And if that’s the case, you better know I love you back! Peace, stay tuned, and wow I really need to expand my base…not that y’all aren’t wonderful enough already, but stipulations in my head suggest I need not only you but your friends, relatives, neighbors, and that one dude at the office everyone avoids (probably because he reads my poems in a locked closet and comes to work early just to *wink wink* watch the ladies walk in). Share the fuck outta me…I really don’t mind. <3

And that’s all I got for today folks. Peace, sharing, and eventual relief. I love you ’til you no longer love me, and I’m determined to not let that happen. Ever.