Wednesday, April 30, 2003

 
”Out here we don’t crip walk; Man, we get low”


Yo, check out Patrick’s shit. It’s the straight dope.

And if anyone else is interested in being down, take notes and lessons: here and here.

Now go get your read on!

Just got back from Kaiser cause Nook is sick, and now I’m just killing time and updating til the Triple Threat show tonight. Neil should be there (high five for the free vinyl yesterday man) and even the little homie Ai is finally gonna come thru and check out a show (prepare to be inspired). Tonight should be pretty dope. I hear that they'll be filming for a Live DVD tonight too...

Speaking of clubs, Erik called me back again. Seems like we finally got a solid date: July 12th

Keep the date open! The shit is gonna be off the chain! (did I really just say that?)

Anyways, it's gonna be the shiznit...

I'm pretty excited. Not only about our upcoming Formula parties, but things are really looking up. There's the small raise at work, more hours, more freelance (AS hired me to videotape and edit next week's Multicultural Week... and Coral from the Real World is gonna come thru for a Q&A too!), I've started on some scripts for some short movies that I wanna work on, things at Triple Threat and HYPE! are moving along nicely, more gigs coming up... I'm just really thankful for the way things are going right now...

I was kinda bummed though when my sister told me that she saw Roland, Ed, Roger, Elmer and a bunch of other folks at Bad Abbots over the weekend. I kinda wanted to go, but everyone else didn’t really look like they were down to go that night, so we winded up just chillin at the house watching tv.

Ever since I got done with school, I’ve been trying to reconnect with a lot of friends from the City cause frankly, although my friends from the east bay are cool as hell, they aren’t always willing to come to the City at a moment’s notice, and I’m not always to willing to go to the east bay. Maybe this is one of the reasons I’ve been thinking about how things would’ve been if I had gone to SFSU, rather than go to Hayward. Being on campus at SF State a few weeks ago, bumping into a few folks and talking to Rey for a little bit has had me thinking about that a little more recently.

I guess I just miss how things were back then: Folks just dropping by at any given time, yelling through the mailbox to see if I was home; having people to go record shopping with at any given time (I mean, I can do that with let’s say Neil or Ai, but those guys live all the way in Vallejo and aren’t always in the City all the time); making stupid freestyle/mix tapes at the house; or even just having someone to bum around the crib with, either just watching TV or just bullshitting (and no, Nook doesn’t count).

My first couple of years at Hayward, I always had Ryan around, and we would always get into our little capers. It’s like we had each other to keep us connected to things back home. When he left though, I adjusted and made friends with a lot of folks from the east bay, but at the same time, lost touch with some folks back home.

I mean, don't get me wrong, when I see old friends, it’s not like things aren’t cool anymore: I still see people at the clubs and other functions, I just chilled with Ryan last week, and I still talk to other folks online. We’re always glad to see each other and we seem to pick up where we left off and all that, but I always have this feeling that I’ve missed out on a lot that’s been going on here since I was gone: Ryan’s been rhyming with Actual Facts for a minute, Roland is MIA (but then again, he always seems to pop in and out from time to time), Derrick’s doing his thing with Ver5e, Mario’s been doing his thing for a minute, other friends have started throwing parties and others have been making some major moves here… I guess I just feel like I missed out on being involved with some of those things.

But I really can’t complain though: I’ve made a lot of dope friends, been fortunate enough for the opportuinities thrown my way, and made a lot of memories at Cal State that I wouldn’t ever give back.

But oh well, life goes on. I’m not going to dwell on it. We’re bound to hook up again sometime soon…

And so I ramble on:


Saturday, April 26, 2003

 
”I cut heads off at the knees and leave em all defeated”

True… Free hotel and free drinks all weekend in Reno sounds tempting… But, how the hell am I suppose to pay for food, the club and gambling? Huh? So I guess I’m not going to Reno this weekend.

Damn, after a month of playing email tag with Erik, he finally gives me a call back about Milk. There seems to be a conflict with availability, but he offered to see if we wanted to host Neil Armstrong. But it looks like plans will be postponed a few weeks. But no worries, that’s just more time to make things even more doper.

Checked out Neil and Travis (otherwise known as DJ Gods to you mere mortals) at Pier 23 on Thursday night. Neil told me to come thru cause he had something for me. Damn, he hooked me up with an original copy of Total Devastation’s “Many Clouds of Smoke”. Dope shit!

Man, I’ve been trying to dig for a lot of Bay Area stuff and I had just missed my chance at this one while I was at Open Mind by a minute (literally). I was pretty pissed (I was even more pissed when I had just missed on an original copy of the Luniz’ “5 On It” Bay Area remix…). Oh well, my day will come. But maybe you have to be a DJ (who actually digs for originals) to understand and relate…

Anyways… I finally saw the Flip Side yesterday (especially after Christine has been hyping it up so much for so long). It’s really not a bad movie and it had its moments. A little heavy on the stereotypes, but hey, it’s satire. Watching it kinda motivated me even more to start following thru with some of the projects I’ve shelved in the back of my head… But we’ll see…

On a side note: they showed a preview for another Asian movie, “Charlotte Sometimes”, and I was surprised to see the homie Cody Chesnutt in it.

Okay, enough rambling. I better clean up this messy ass room. Some folks are supposed to be meeting up here to watch “Better Luck Tomorrow” tonight.

Oh yeah, and if you’re over 21 and don’t have anything to do on Wednesday, check out Triple Threat at the DNA Lounge. I hear they’ll be filming for a new Triple Threat DVD. Get at me if you wanna go.

Peace

Ben spoke on it at 3:00 PM


Tuesday, April 22, 2003

 
“Call the crib,
Same number, same hood
It’s still all good”

Wow, it’s been a whole week since I’ve updated this thing. But then again, I was sick last week (it’s NOT strep, thank God) and I didn’t have my computer for a few days. On a side note: CompUSA sucks ass. Those guys don’t know shit. I think going to CompUSA to have something special done to your computer is like going to the Student Health Center on campus for open heart surgery.

To save everyone from any technical jargon that you really don’t care about, let’s just say that I asked them to do something, and they did something else. And when I called them on it, they said that they didn’t know what was wrong and tried to make it seem like the shit was broken when I brought it in (I just bought it last week fool. If you don’t know how to do the shit, tell me you don’t know. Don’t make up excuses and tell me you have lots of experts working in the back cause everyone else I’ve talked to said it was some easy procedure that took like half an hour, and you’ve had my shit for 4 days). I was so pissed off at the guy that I just wanted to karate chop dude in the neck and watch him choke on himself. I can just imagine this pimple-faced kid tinkering with my computer in the back room, not knowing what the hell he’s doing with my computer.


But anyways… let’s talk about more happier things that have been going on in my corner of the universe this last week… Hmmm…


Finally hooked up with my best friend Ryan and chilled at his house. He was going to be performing at Contact this weekend and he wanted me to critique his rhymes. He’s really not bad and has improved a lot. Too bad I won’t be around to watch him perform.


My sister finally left town in an airplane. I say that because ever since I came back from Vegas, and she was an hour late picking me up (and keep in mind that she: 1) knew exactly what time I was coming in, 2) was STILL in San Francisco while I had already been waiting outside in the cold for 15 minutes, and 3) didn’t even apologize for being late!), I’ve been waiting for my chance to pick her up an hour late too.

Anyways, she left for LA to visit JR for a few days. I called her while she was in LA, offering to pick her up when she gets back. She got in at 8:10 and I was still in bed when she called. When I got there though, she wasn’t mad like I was hoping she would be. I think she kinda suspected that I was planning on coming late on purpose when my mom warned her that I might be doing something like that to get back at her. Oh well. Maybe next time… Insert evil laughter here


Things are finally starting to get better financially. I got a raise at my admin job, and they also gave me extra hours to work as one of their graphic designers (woohoo!) More money, experience and stuff to throw in the portfolio…


Damn, I must’ve racked up quite a bit of miles on the Rav this weekend. We drove almost the exact same route twice this weekend: on Saturday, we drove from SF, to my cousin’s house in Vallejo, then to Paul’s confirmation in San Jose, to Peppermill’s in Santa Clara , and finally back home to San Francisco at like 3:30 in the morning. Then yesterday, it was like déjà vu: drove to Vallejo again for Easter, then to Milpitas to eat and chill at Paul’s spot, then back home to the City.

I finally saw “The Ring” last night too. That’s some pretty scary shit. I was a little disappointed with the ending and how the movie left a lot of unanswered questions, but I can see how it would be good in leaving it open for a sequel in the future.

The movie really got me thinking though. I think I’m gonna try and make up an urban legend, along with a video of some sort. Leslie said maybe if I’m lucky and it blows up, it’ll be on MTV’s “Big Urban Myth Show”. I say most likely, but that would be dope if it did. Hmmm… if any folks out there wanna help, get at me.

By the way, who the hell called me up tonight playing that “7days” line off the movie? That shit is getting old sucka.


In other random news:




Ben spoke on it at 2:22 AM


Monday, April 14, 2003

 
”Trick love the kids”

Damn, it’s a small world. Before I get too ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning:

Let’s rewind about 5 or 6 years ago, I was checking my email when I got this one email where the subject line was something like “Are we cousins?” My first instinct was “Aw man, this is porn mail”, so I deleted. A few days later, I got another email with the same subject heading, so I decided to open it. Someone named Dulcie from Canada who had the same last name was asking me if there was any way that we might be related.

I would not have really got down to finding out for sure if we were really related if it weren’t for my lola (grandma for my non filipino speaking people). You see, my dad goes to the Philippines every year, and the last time he went, I asked him to ask my lola if she can put together a family tree for me. Well, to make a long story short, my lolo (grandpa) and her lolo were cousins (or something like that) and came from the same town in the Philippines (In my best Jamaican accent - Biggup to my Pangasinan massive! Boh, boh, boh!)

Anyways, Dulcie also has a sister named Kris, and we’ve all been corresponding for the last 5 years through email and IMs (damn, technology). We’ve always made plans on visiting each other, either me flying up to Vancouver or them coming to the Bay, but we’ve yet to meet face to face.

Now fast-forward to this last Friday. Lynelle IMed me a couple weeks ago about doing a small presentation on Filipino American filmmakers for a middle school class in Milpitas. I show up to the spot and start chatting with one of the teachers in charge of the program. He asked my for my contact info, so I gave him one of my business cards. He looked at the card and asked, “Your last name is Basto? Are you related to anyone in Vancouver?” And I was like, “Yeah. Dulcie and Kristina?” And said, “Yeah! Those are my cousins!”

Damn, this world is getting smaller and smaller. What a trip…

Anyways, the presentation went well. This group of kids were pretty cool. They were friendly, outgoing and made me laugh a few times. Maybe I can be fortunate to teach sometime. Who knows…


I’ve had plenty of experiences with telemarketers, but this one has to be the strangest:


Thursday, April 10, 2003

 
"Thank you Jesus for my mama,
Thank you bitches for my money"



Woohoo! It’s been one week since I started this site. Thanks to everyone that reads this sorry shit (all 9 of you). High fives you pathetic losers (jk). To celebrate this occasion, I have made a sort of FAQ (cause it seems like I’ve been getting the same questions from different people). So here goes:

What made you want to do a blog?
Hmmm, I don’t exactly remember but about a month ago, I was talking to my cousin Winny who IM s me from cause she’s always bored (You’re bored? Trying working. You’re at work, so work!). Anyways, I don’t remember what the hell we were talking about but one of us brought up the subject of online journals. I was joking and said something like, "Man, I should start a blog." And she said something like, "Yeah, I’d read it."

Coupled with the fact that I always tell Nook that sometimes funny things happen to me (and I always forget to tell people these stories that happen to other people) and I’m such an insomniac, it kinda gives me something to do hella late at night besides surfing niketalk or eBay. Plus this gives me an arena to talk about what’s on my mind. Anyways, it took me a couple weeks to finally get things up. Actually, it’s not close to complete yet. Eventually, I really want to add links to stuff like a profile, pictures, links and all that other stuff (If I ever have time). But yeah, that’s my exciting (sarcasm) story of how I got this thing started.

Damn, why do you have so many links on your site?
Well, I guess adding the links kind of adds to the interactivity of things, especially since the site’s really not close to being completed. Plus, sometimes I see some funny stuff on the net. Personally, I hate forwarding stuff like that, so I guess people reading can check it out for themselves if they want to.

Where do you get those quotes from on your site? Do you make them up?
All the quotes are song lyrics. I’d post up the artist and song title, but sometimes I forget one or the other.

What are you saying? I can’t understand a lot of your slang.
Sorry, in an effort to keep you up to speed with what I’m saying, I offer to you the slang dictionary. But first thing’s first, you must come up with your ghetto name.

Ok, this shit is getting boring now. Let’s shift gears and speak on some other shit:

I went in to the office yesterday and got a chance to burn copies of Photoshop and Illustrator. I was chatting with Christine for while and getting some advice. Me and some friends are currently planning on throwing monthly parties during the summer (which will hopefully lead to bigger things) and she really gave me a lot of good advice and put me at ease about things (I’ll talk about this more when the time gets closer, but I’m pretty excited about this). Also, I’m helping to do a small presentation on Fil-Am filmmakers this Friday for a middle school in Milpitas and she hooked me up with some materials to pass out. Oh yeah, we also just got in a couple boxes of shoes and shirts from Gravis, and I got hooked up with a pair of wannabe wallabees. (I’m a shoe junkie)

Speaking of shoes, Nike has been releasing some serious heat the last few weeks. The third set of SB’s are out, Atmos is out, and the pythons are out too. And it doesn’t look like they’re letting up either: JIII’s are being rereleased on the 19th, Asia dunks are set to release in the US, and Stash has a couple shoes set for limited release (1, 2). Too bad I don’t have any money (Note to self: steal from my neighbor).

I wish Shoe Biz would call me back to DJ there again. $80 cash or $100 credit... That's how I got my splatters for $24... Ahhh, I'm addicted...

In other random news:


Wednesday, April 09, 2003

 
"Out here we don’t crip walk, Man we get low"


I had a funny conversation with Maritess today. We talked about AOL and the war, old school folks, and softball.

Damn, I missed most of the new episode of "Crank Yankers" last night.

The second episode was a rerun from last season. The homie Spoonie Gee was trying to put an ad in the Village Voice:

Haha, Spoonie kills me everytime. Speaking of badonkadonks, who watched J-Lo’s "Making of the Video" on MTV? Damn, that ass was just out there. On a side note, the bboys in the video were raw as hell. But whatchu know about this?

And while we're on the subject of asses, are you ready for the earthquake?

In other random news:


Monday, April 07, 2003

 
"You sold platinum around the world, I sold wood in the hood"

I spent a little time and had lunch with Nook over at SF State this afternoon. I know I've said this before, but sometimes I think I shouldn't have gone to Cal State Hayward and went to SF State instead. I mean, I don't regret going to Hayward cause I've met a lot of cool people and had a bunch of dope experiences, but I think that SF State would've fit me more: I love the broad spectrum of people and personalities, the facilities blow Hayward out the water, better food (I love to eat), and just the overall atmosphere. I saw some folks here and there, including the Cha Cha Queen herself and I got a chance to chop it up with Rey for a minute (By the way, check out the show: Mondays at midnight, SF public access). Good times...

I even got a chance to see the new mural. Dope stuff, but can someone answer a question for me? Why the hell is it located in the cuts in the back of Cesar Chavez?

Me and Nook went to go see "Old School" over the weekend. I guess it was pretty funny, but I was more in the mood to check out "Hidden Wars" since it's suppose to be playing in SF for this week only. If anyone out there reading this is wants to check it out, get at me!

Speaking of the war, Saul adds his own two cents to things. "Pledge of Resistance" is dope, but I think he really lets loose over Nas' "Made You Look".

Damn, now that's fire.

My sister also rented "Jackass". I saw a little bit of it at Jeren's spot last weekend, but left early with Gabe to test out Final Scratch. On a side note, Final Scratch is some dope shit. I don't think I could ever bring myself to make the switch from vinyl to mp3s, but I was pretty impressed. It was almost scary.

But back to "Jackass", it was cool. Almost like seeing one long ass episode.
What's more gangsta? Steve-O having a tattoo of himself on his back or those Japanese Elvises wanting to throw down with Party Boy?

Note to self: Where can I buy a midget?
Second note to self: If my child ever does any shit like kick my ass while i'm shitting or light fireworks inside the house while I'm sleeping, put a whoopin to that ass... twice.

Yo, I've been telling Nook for a while that I need to get a digital camera. I see some funny stuff a lot and people probably wouldn't believe me if I told them. (If you would like to donate to the "Help Ben get a digital camera" fund, please send all payments to my paypal account.)
While we were stopped at a red light at Geneva and Mission, some hardcore Mexican dude at the bus stop gets up from his seat and pulls out one of those brass telescopes, that sailors used back in like the 1400's, to see if the bus was coming.
Then, on our way home from having lunch at the beach, some guy on a moped wearing a furry dog head/mask type thing on his helmet, was swerving in the lanes.

Ah, I guess it's one of those "you had to be there" type things cause reading this must be like "what's so fucking funny about that?", but it was pretty damn funny in my opinion (and my opinion is fact).

In other random news:



Ben spoke on it at 11:57 PM


Friday, April 04, 2003

 
"Put your dick in your ear and fuck what you heard"

Ok, I think I'm getting the hang of things here. I haven't really decided on the format for things I'm gonna write about but we'll just see how it plays out. Anyways, things have been pretty hectic for me the last couple of weeks.

We were out in Vegas a couple of weekends ago.


Just this last weekend, I checked out the Zion I show at Storyville on Friday and the Triple Threat show at the Downlow on Saturday. Both shows were pretty dope and Zion I even showed up to the Triple Threat show and ripped it at the end. I'm just glad they had plenty girls there and that this wasn't another smelly, hippy, backpacker party.

In other random news:


Ben spoke on it at 12:38 AM


Thursday, April 03, 2003

 
"Kaboom, guess who stepped in the room"

Damn, it took a minute (almost 2 weeks) but I've finally got this thing up and running. It's pretty plain right now, but I'll work on somekind of layout when I get the chance. By the way, peace to Ai for letting me use her scanner and high fives to everyone (all 2 of you) reading this.
Ben spoke on it at 9:44 PM

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