See pictures from New York Comic Con 2018. Hey, better late than never!

I decided to get there 2 hours ahead of time, managing to be nearly first in line both days of the sold out event. Although my first concern was food, the main need on that hot weekend was water. Lots and lots of water. Early performances were not too crowded, allowing for some room to sway to the talented performers. All of the most popular acts this year were concentrated on the larger green stage, which had to biggest area for the audience. This was in response to complaints from last year when they spit big performers between the green stage and the smaller red stage.

See pictures of the Afropunk Brooklyn Music Festival 2018

I was able to stand close to the stage this year for the exciting final acts, Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu with special guest Angela Davis reading poetry. Securing that prized spot meant standing in place for around 3 hours in the sun with little water. Some people passed out before and during the climactic performances. The organizers did hand out some bottles of water to keep us alive. It was sucked up from far beneath the sea near Hawaii and desalinated according to the label, although at that point I was too thirsty to care.

Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu were both amazing, but they had two different approaches. Ms Monae danced up and down a central pyramid of steps with several backup dancers and musicians. Ms Badu sang alone for much of her set in front of a plain white curtain, which hid the musicians. The most touching part of her show was when she went into the audience, returning with Janelle Monae, who was secretly watching from the fenced off section in front of the stage. Ms Monae lovingly held Ms Badu while she sang one of her final songs. You can see pictures of the event here.

I celebrated the weekend before my birthday by going to Afropunk Brooklyn 2018, the annual music festival. It featured Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu with special guest Angela Davis.

My actual birthday was spent sitting in the dentist’s chair for long overdue surgery. Although this confused the dentist, I figured taking care of business was a great way to spend the day. Besides, the days of balloons and pin the tail on the donkey are long over.

Before sitting in the chair, I was presented with 3 choices. 1.) I picked a local anesthetic over getting the gas. 2.) Santana’s Greatest Hits was the theme music, chosen from his vast collection of CDs. They offered to hook up music from my phone, but I didn’t want to shock or offend the people drilling in my mouth. He liked the choice because he saw them live in the 70s. 3.) I declined the teddy bear at first because I am a grown ass man. It did come in handy as something to squeeze when he injected me 3 times with numb numb juice. There are no pics of me holding it during the procedure. Sorry.

Not seeing the first movie wasn’t a barrier to enjoying Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer 2, where he plays Robert McCall, former government assassin. The plot immediately establishes his need to help other people in trouble with both extreme force and uncanny intelligence. He is still mourning the death of his wife by getting involved in the lives of other people. The death of a close friend drives him and the movie toward a violent climax.

McCall’s empathy for other people in trouble is always evident even when he is kicking ass. At one point in the movie, he mentors Miles, an artistic troubled youth played with sly charm by Ashton Sanders who has also been in Moonlight and Straight Outta Compton. The mixture of humanity and action helps you maintain your interest throughout the film.

The main lyrics for Boots Riley’s song The Guillotine are “We got the guillotine / We got the guillotine, you better run”, an obvious reference to the French Revolution. The radical attitude of the song is reflected in his first movie called Sorry to Bother You. This funny political satire about the perils of capitalism is the story of Cassius Green, a man desperate for a job so he can move out of his uncle’s garage. Cassius becomes a very successful telemarketer when he starts using his “white voice” to make sales calls. The money making voice isn’t simply a nasally stereotypical Caucasian whine, but encompasses the sound of carefree success that customers find attractive. The tension increases and the plot becomes more surreal as the film proceeds. One example of the absurd atmosphere is a show where contestants get beaten to hell and crawl through actual shit for fame.

Cassius’ sudden promotion presents him with numerous moral challenges. It also starts to alienate him from his girlfriend Detroit, played by Tessa Thompson who was the tough Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok.

Give this indie movie a try if you can find it in limited release, even though the ending was not completely successful.

I hate shopping. There are so many variables to consider, such as size, color, cost, and fashion. Sneakers are especially hard. It’s difficult to get a comfortable fit and shoe designs get more ridiculous every year to make them look different from the previous year. But after buying Soul Food takeout, I reluctantly stopped by a sporting goods store to shop for a new pair.

Having made my choice, the clerk retrieved one shoe with a big round security device attached. Not a box containing both shoes. Just one shoe. When I asked how to lace them up since the security device was bolted through one of the top holes, he only shrugged, saying it couldn’t be removed. I tied the lace around it. Fortunately the next one I requested didn’t have a big assed button stuck to it.

The line wasn’t very long, but they only had a single register open. One employee kept yelling “hurry up in there” at the changing room before stepping up to the second register and motioning me over. A father and son finally emerged from the dressing room. “You should make another dressing room” said the father. “You should go faster” replied the clerk while processing my order. They went back and forth this way 2 or 3 times until the customer said “and you should shut tha fuck up!” “What tha fuck did you say to me?” the cashier tactfully responded.

That was my cue to step away to a safe distance, leaving the shoes and the food on the counter. Right after they stormed each other, a big imposing security guard and several coworkers rushed forward to keep them apart. A woman behind me in the gathering crowd wisely cautioned “don’t loose your job over this.” The father and son were escorted out by security while my purchase was completed by the cashier who had thankfully regained his composure. I almost forgot my food when it was done. Right before leaving, one of the employees told the next person in the changing room to take as much time as they wanted.