Category Archives: Blog

Fidel Castro is Satan. Period. End of sentence.

Pres. Obama’s recent trip to Latin America gave me a thrill. Not since, maybe Clinton, has there been a president who was popular enough and charismatic enough to sweep Latin American leaders off their feet. Even Hugo Chavez, whom I consider Castro-lite, didn’t raise a ruckus.

And that’s what you need with the Latin American leaders, at least when you meet them at first. Going in there saying we are the United States and we’re awesome and you’re not, doesn’t really go fair for diplomacy.

Especially when dealing with Cuba.

So much bad blood. So much history. So much to discuss.

So when the "president" Raul Castro said everything was on the table to talk about.I thought "okay, a jumping off point for diplomacy".  Raul has been making moves that are a bit contrary to the revolution and therefore his brother Fidel’s ideals. They haven’t been big things but they’ve made my eyes open a bit longer. Don’t get me wrong, there still isn’t democracy in Cuba. My family still suffers.

But este guay con su cigaro de horror y su pinche track suit, is pumping the brakes on diplomacy.  Even retired, he still runs that damn country.

Isn’t he suppose to be dead already?

Fidel Castro: Obama ‘misinterpreted’ Raul’s words | ShreveportTimes | The Times

But I don’t think they’re the cutest couple.

In the truck with homeboy adam n he told me about an ad w/ l.l. Cool j. Totally funny. Will look 4 it n post later.

• Most of us have really bad diets. Seriously. We eat what tastes good and give little regard to the calorie count. We also grab food that’s cheap and fast because we’re poor and always on the run.

• Our lives are in disarray and sometimes, for most of us anyway, our desks, cars, and apartments show it. I’ve only met two, maybe three reporters whose desks, cars, and apartments weren’t like that. They work at it, hard. It’s a conscious effort to pick up their desks. Most of us, however, don’t have nice clean desks. We don’t grow out of it either. It’s been my experience that the longer you’re in the business as a reporter the worse your desk gets. Don’t know about what happens if your promoted to an editor. I think the rules change a bit.

• There is always a seasoned reporter, usually male, that’s part of the old guard. This guy has the best war stories and the best reporting techniques ever. Those are the reporters I seek out because they didn’t get that good by sitting at their desks. They work their beat and know EVERYONE and EVERYTHING.

• There is a war between the print folks and the new media/Internet folks. It’s different in every newsroom but there is always some tug of war between them. That’s because its the old guard and the new guard–where newpapering was and what it’s becoming. Where am I in all this? I’ve made my opinion known but I’m probably one of the few journalists who embrace both. I love newprint but know it’s dying. I also think that the principals of newspapering can be applied to blogging. But that’s another blog entry for another day.

• The thing that was most spot on was my profession’s heroism. Yes, we are heroes without a cape. We defend the first amendment everyday. We challenge it, we protect it, and we shine a light on people who wish to destroy it. What we do everyday is nothing short scaling a tall building. Some might say that firefighters, police officers, and military personnel are heroes. Yes, they are. They give their lives for us. But they’re lucky. They deal with enemies they can see. Journalists deal with things that aren’t easily seen and find things that are lurking under rocks.

Journalists are the walking wounded. We know, see, and hear things that the general public doesn’t. We take that home. We live with that. Everyday. We suffer for it, too. My profession has a high rate of divorce. Health wise we get little sleep, our personal lives happen between stories and not after work, and the stress of the job can be overwhelming. And let’s not get into the low pay, being attacked by our parent companies, and having to answer to editors who have their own pressures to face. It’s a damn thankless job and anyone with any kind of sense will stay out of it.

But then again, there are those that do stay out and those who can’t because it’s what they are built to do.

This weekend I started a story that my work editor and I started during a casual lunch at an eatery here in Shreveport. It’s about two women killing their lover. Simple to the point and not a bad story to write in a short amount of time.

Of course, it’s not that simple. It never is. I start the story a couple of weeks ago but finished the beginning part of it during my trip home. I have to say, it is tons of fun to plan on killing someone…a character not a real person. Making these characters come to life has been fun and interesting. This is a type of story I don’t write often so flexing those muscles has been an education. Love switching genres.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Dear esteemed members of the hip hop community and lovers alike,

I am writing this letter to clear up some misunderstandings. It seems that there has been some confusion on the meaning and the spirit of hip hop, a genre of music held dear by millions of its fans.

You see, I was there when hip hop hit the air waves, when it was an after thought at the Grammys and when it was labeled as a fad. I supported it when it was attacked by non believer and stood by it when it twisted into dark, commercial territory. Hip hop and I are like best friends and we’ve been together a long time.

But I worry about it, where it’s going, its evolution, or rather, its de-evolution. Hip hop for me is air and for the past couple of years, I’ve been suffocating.

Here are my worries.

1) Little Wayne DOES NOT have to be on every song on the radio. I mean seriously, is he the only MC available? Granted he has his fans but I can’t ever understand what he’s saying and what I do manage to hear is unimpressive. Please change MCs immediately.

2) T Pain can’t sing nor can he rap. If he could we would know what the brother sounds like. As of now, he is liked to one of those electronic voice boxes, which is an insult to those who have to use the device. Now other artists are using that “technique”. Stop wasting studio time on non-sense an actually do something!

3.) Soulja Boy ain’t hip hop. Period. He’s marketed and package well, yes. But after that, he doesn’t say anything. Real hip hop says something about the world, and its realities no matter how harsh or not they are. After that damn Superman dance (if I were Marvel, I’d sue.) which I thought FOR SURE has one hit wonder writing all over it, what else is there. I don’t want to kiss you through the phone. You’re gross. Go away.

4.) Overall excellence and dropped faster than the stock market. I know we’re in a recession but would it be too much to ask for some quality. Where are my lines of originality, verse so sharp it cut deep, prose so tight it’s impenetrable. Where is it? I know where it’s not, on the radio, where it’s suppose to be. And I’m NOT a teen and will NOT shallow the garbage on the radio passing for hip hop. I’d rather not listen to anything at all than crap. Please step up your game.

These are only four things that are aggravating me about hip hop. There are more but, seriously, the thought of typing them all out is depressing. Please save hip hop. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Sincerely,

Icess Fernandez Rojas