Exile on San Pablo Avenue

From SFist.com: grainy camera-phone shot of Dave Chappelle, on Market Street in San Francisco a couple of days ago. Dave Chappelle. He pretty much held the title belt for funniest man on the planet for a cool couple of years. And then he dropped into an epic, self-imposed exile that few if any could comprehend, much less understand. But this week he showed up in the Bay Area. And last night he dropped an epic four and a half hour set in Oakland. FTB was there. I was there. The Dalai Lama was in Berkeley on the same day. I watched as his motorcade sped up University Avenue with all of the ironic security posturing any visiting royal would command. Meanwhile, some hours later in downtown Oakland, Dave Chappelle announced that he had taken BART to the gig. And in some circles his arrival probably carries at least as much weight as the arrival of a religious leader, so great is his gravitational pull. Yet, I can believe him when he said he took BART to his own show. Because of what else he had to say. And to whom he was talking. When he left that epic $40 million dollars on the table in his negotiations with Comedy Central and decided to go underground, I always had my own suspicions as to why. Last night, he offered a rare glimpse into this decision. First, he was performing at a venue that was opening for the first time in its renewed form. Formerly called Sweet Jimmies, the spot was known for its pure Oaklandish-ness and pimptastic improbability. Now, it is reborn as Oakland Town Hall, a perfect forum for a public hearing and confessional. But why were tickets only available through Twitter and then passed out in a bizarre, circuitous ritual? Why an unknown, unopened venue? Because. This is how Dave Chappelle plans to reclaim himself with his core constituency. To hell with the Eddie Murphy plan and the blockbuster films. He took his ten milly from Comedy Central and thats enough. From here on out its about reclaiming his authenticity. And that starts at root level. On the bare, close-cropped stage of the old Sweet Jimmies. Starting at eleven thirty and ending at four. Telling stories to his disciples. Revealing just as much as this particular audience deserved. Bridging the gap from Saturday night to Sunday morning. When the dawn broke as I got home, I realized where I had been. I had been to church. What did he say? Oh, he had jokes. For days. Literally. Somali pirates. Gay Bin Laden. The personal call from Obama asking him to lay low in Ohio during the election. That shit was funny. Delivered by the funniest motherfucka on the planet at the top of his form. But it was the after-hours dilligence with the audience that was surreal. There was Supernatural, the epic freestyle-rap king, in an impromptu rap battle with Oaklands own (and former Meschery disciple) Do D.A.T. On D.A.T.s birthday. Which was also Nats birthday. Digital Undergrounds DJ Fuze on the ones and twos. Then there were the stories. Eddie Murphy as the genius in repose. The unanswered call from his seven year old son at 3:30 in the morning (kids get up early, man!) that spawned a 45 minute riff. The one about watching an argument in the Tenderloin between a pants-less man and a shirtless man. From a limo. With Mos Def. The call and response with the audience (the Iraqi-war vet!). The inspirational stories told directly to Do D.A.T. about what it was like for him getting started in show business (getting booed off the stage at the Apollo at 15, Martin Lawrence talking shit to his grandma at a show). It went on and on. And on. To the break of dawn. There is no possible way that I can capture the totality of the experience here. Besides, Im really, really tired right now. But there is one thing that I am now certain of, where before I could only speculate. And it is this: Dave Chappelle chose a different reality because he wanted to reclaim his life, to choose who he wanted to be, and to disseminate his message to those of his choosing. He has done so. And early Sunday morning, he let a few of us make a pilgrimage with him. On his terms. And at some degree of sacrifice. His time for ours. His reality for ours. Because hes a funny motherfucka and he can demand that. But to get the full message, he wanted something in return. A taste of normalcy. Some real talk. With real people. And this dialog was the real-est shit that comedy can ever deliver. True freestyle. Off the top of his dome. Chain smoking on the stage of the old Sweet Jimmies in the middle of the goddamn night to a couple hundred folks. Church. Turman

Coupons = Free Cash

.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;} Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyI have always been a big fan of coupons...when they are used the right way. Some people say they save a lot of money using coupons, but the truth is they are using coupons to purchase things they would not otherwise buy. That is not the proper way to use coupons.In short, coupons are like using "free money" when they are used to buy things you would normally put in your shopping cart. Combine the manufacturer's coupons with store coupons, buy items when they are on sale and use the coupons during the store's "double coupon" day, and you can get some great deals.My wife is the "coupon queen" in our house. I have literally seen her buy $120 worth of groceries for about $15 using coupons. When we left the store, we felt like we had broken some kind of law, but of course we hadn't. She also gets some great deals with her CVS card and "extra value" bucks that are printed on the store receipts.Coupon usage is up these days, which is no surprise considering the state of the economy. I used to clip coupons from the Sunday paper, but to be honest many of the coupons I find in there now are for things I would not otherwise buy. I now pick and choose my coupons online, and I make use of the coupons and discounts available through UPromise.com, which also puts money into my kid's college fund. There are also many sites where you can find coupon codes for making your online purchases.In short, use these methods for proper couponing:1. Combine manufacturer coupons with store coupons and sales for maximum saving.2. Don't use coupons for things you would not normally buy.3. Search for coupons online.4. Don't forget coupon codes for online purchases.5. Find out the sales days at your local supermarket. At my local supermarket, the sales always start on a Wednesday.

Kandovan

SUNDAY MIX TAPE - NUMBER 117

Hey, in case you haven't noticed, my website broke. I don't even know if anyone will be able to read this, but have no fear, I'm trying to fix things. And by that I mean I'm crying and jerking off and submitting questions to support forums across the Internet, and waiting for some kind soul to help me. The page might be fixed at any moment, or it might never be fixed. Who the fuck knows, really?By the way, if anybody reading this knows anything about WordPress, Blogger, 1and1, and subdomains, now would be a really good time to e-mail me and offer your assistance.Now here's a mix tape. The theme is, can anybody hear this?RULES for uninitiated noobs: With roughly 100MB of webspace, I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be deposited on your iPods or Zunes or Kingklangs or whatever the industry is currently pushing on you. Sometimes there will be themes that link all the songs together, other times I'll just throw songs at a wall (not literally) and see what sticks. As always, these songs will be removed if desired by the band or those who represent them. Let me know and I will gladly comply. The goal of this endeavor, as always, is to pique your interest in these artists so you'll support the artists and buy their albums.Sunday Mix Tape Number 117"I'm In The Mountains, I'll Call You Next Year"Tracklist:01. Unwound - Caterpillar02. Dinosaur Jr - What Else Is New?03. The Jesus Lizard - Waxeater04. Kevin Ayers - Lady Rachel05. William Basinski - Cobalt Pools06. Bark Psychosis - Big Shot07. Albert Ayler - Heart Love08. Deerhoof - Milking09. Alice Cooper - Raped And Freezin'10. Blur - Globe Alone11. Einsturzende Neubauten - Negativ Nein12. Mark Lanegan - Woe13. Aphex Twin - To Cure A Weakling Child14. Danielson Famile - My Lion Sleeps Tonight15. Michael Gira - Purple Creek16. The Beta Band - Inner Meet Me17. PJ Harvey - A Place Called Home18. Faust - So Far19. Prurient - December Man20. Cat Power - You May Know Him21. Air Conditioning - Citizen's Band / I'm In The Mountains, I'll Call You Next Year

Friday Night

is going to be lots and lots of fun... why not come and join in the first ever Scraploot Blog cyber crop... has there been a cyber crop on a blog before??? mmm not sure i have heard of it but anyway we are going to do it LOL... so come on over and join us... lots of great fun challenges (and you have a week to do them in so no hurry) some fun prizes also including a voucher to spend at the Scraploot store (wish i could win that one with so much yummy new stuff that is in)...so starting tomorrow night 6th March at 7.30pm join us at the Scraploot Scrappers blog.... there will also be chatting on MSN if anyone has it and wants to join in just let us know your user name and we will add you on....Ok so apart from getting ready for the CC i have only managed to do one page and its an 8.5x11 (havnt done one of those in ages LOL)... but it was alot of fun and i also joined in on the colour combos challenge... these are fun challenges go and check it out for inspiration... here is my page for challenge #111 (the layout is straight irl LOL)so im hoping to do some scrapping tomorrow night... im working all weekend at the shop so bit busy to do it then...ok im off to have an early night (think tomorrow night might be a late one)... hope to see you there...xxxx

One Building one day

Millennium Tower World Business Center