amber wanted to go to the movies so we went to the movies

traffic was bad, issues occurred, it was crowded, but the thing was i was comfortable

why?

because i was dressed up as a guy in his pajamas and robe and slippers who was with a sexy lady.

amber was the sexy lady.

she had a slinky dress, clear heels, and this fuzz faux fur i got her in vegas.

we went to universal city walk because amber suspected that people would be dressed up there

and she was right.

and there were kids, some of whom did not speak english or who were scared of me

because i also smelled like i had gotten high in the car upon entering the joint

which may or may not be extremely true

we were early so we had time to stroll about and we passed this michael myers guy

and then the super cheesy angel wings that have been all around the city for years now

so of course they have one at this tourist trap

and i saw michael was just roaming around so i circled back

and asked him if he would pose for a picture

he grunted. walked over to it. waited his turn. and click.

and when i asked him if he wanted me to text him a copy

he just fist bumped me.

and they were haggard

rough

and

then he was gone into the shadows.

 

i wrote a thing about the thing i went to yesterday

i love that i can talk to my boss and say omg i just saw a great show should i write about it?

and she says yes yes

but because my life is crazy i wasnt able to write it until the dawns early light.

but i do because i know i was gonna be super busy today

and when it’s published,  my mom says, omg it was like i was there.

which is something nice that moms say, but here is the video of the show

https://youtu.be/HIAz_FU8xho

anyways today i got a ticket from a bad cop

and i told him he was a bad cop

so he increased the seriousness of the ticket

which is what a bad cop would do

and i cannot wait to fight the ticket

even though people never win these types of fights

but i want to fight, i dont care.

im pissed

you shouldnt ticket people for ticky tack things like “rolling stops” when you’re trying to get your girl to the hospital.

and you say you believe that. but you give the ticket anyways

and then the bonus punishment for saying he’s bad.

but whatever, when i die, people will say, tony kept it real.

facts.

 

this has been a rough year

i never know if people are trying to make me fail or are just slow or if The Powers That Be just dont care

so i get impatient

and then out of the blue something beautiful like Los Angeleno shows up and it’s so nice

and sweet and wonderful, all the things anyone could hope for

and i go SEE, SEE, this is how is should BE!

but then all the other things are insane, as usual.

for example, our dear friend Jeanine is drunk and fell in her bathroom and needed stitches.

fortunately another dear friend just happened to be there with her.

ambulance came, she got to the hospital, the nurses were “impressed” with how high her blood alcohol levels were

and then a few hours later they released her.

if your booze levels are sooooo high, why not keep her there a day or two? why not ask, hey can we help her get checked into a rehab?

instead they’re all, heres the stitches, adios.

also, her insurance totally worked for them, but hours previously when we tried to get her into a rehab, they said the insurance wasn’t valid.

then there were people who wouldnt answer phones.

then there were facilities that don’t do things on the weekends or after 7pm.

im sorry, youre in the business of saving people’s lives. why do you think that only should happen monday thru friday and up to a certain hour?

which i guess brings us back to God.

He’s the only one who’s all, I got this. 24/7.

even Jesus was all, oh a sick person, lemme heal them.

and the critics were like AH HA! It’s Sunday. The Sabbath. You are the Devil if you “work” on Sunday.

and Jesus was all, check yrself, fool.

Mark 3:1-6 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Man with a Withered Hand

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Hero′di-ans against him, how to destroy him.

if you are in the business to heal people.

then knock it off with this monday thru friday nonsense.

people need help all the time.

i hate everything about this American health care system that we have.

canada is so lucky it’s so cold up there, if it wasn’t we would have all moved there by now.

53 years ago tonight

my mom did the nicest thing anyones ever done

she went through excruciating pain to bring me into this world

when the doctor presented me

he told her, congratulations,

you have a blogger.

the bells of the church rang, pigeons scattered and not far away at the lincoln memorial,

honest abe quietly smiled and wished me to illinois

which is a perfect place to grow up, but

my mom made me cakes, invited my friends over, even sent them home with bags of treats and toys despite it being my birthday, thats just how it was. gift giving. sharing. leading by example.

one of the best gifts my mom ever gave me was patience. for generations our family went to and graduated college. quiet a feat for black families, but then there i was, dragging my feet academically through high school

with no real plan going into senior year other than maybe go to california and maybe go to junior college

maybe.

it must have driven her crazy. even my friends who had crappier high school grades than i, hustled off to state schools and little colleges around the midwest

and that fall i sorta checked in to a city college, only to have to extend my time there beyond two years because

i couldnt write well.

any other parent, including hypothetical me, would have blown a gasket.

20 years old and cant pass a community college history class?

but she hung in there. “no pressure. you got this. you know youre not a dummy.”

i was reading paradise lost for fun while being an ice cream man

she believed in my weirdness, reluctantly, but she believed, and therefore i did too.

soon i was writing every day, for money, for all to see in the college paper.

winning awards, kissing girls.

all because my mom a million years ago said, fuck it, lets get this negro out

tonight.

it cost her $200.

which i should write her a check for one day.

what if my favorite song of the year is by taylor swift

does that make me the 16 yr old girl matt welch says ive been my whole life

i also like the video

my mom doesnt like taylor, or rihanna, or the xbi, or the legalization of 420, or that ive been spending a lot of time south of the 10

but i think deep down shes glad that im doing all these things for the right reasons

and most of it is based in the bible, which she indirectly got me into by never forcing it on me

amber says that her heroes include michelle obama, lady gaga and my mom

how nice is that.

tonight the brothers steve play and ive got hella work to do but i will see them because like taylor swift

theres something about music that just touches my spirit and does something weird to it

how does that work

is it the Lord

is that why he said for us to make a joyful noise?

is that why the caged bird sings?

is that why Angus and Neil and Tom Waits and Ozzy have lived such long, glorious lives

because rock and roll will never die

because it’s holy?

do kids slow dance at dances any more?

if i was in 8th grade i would want this to come on for the slow dance

and id find the prettiest girl in class and be all

wanna dance

and all her friends would go oooooooooo

tony what if it doesnt get better

then it doesnt.

but it does.

it always does.

and always will.

if you think things that are negative

it just means that yr in the middle

of IT

and the middle of it sucks.

so what yr seeing isnt it

it’s just the middle passage

the part where weird stuff happens

which is also the part

where change occurs

growth

magic

transformation

revitalization

rehabilitation

extraordination

your beginning the beguine, cole

yr taking em to the bridge, john paul

im reading the edward snowden book right now. he’s such a smart guy. it’s hard to tell what happened it’s so early in the book but he just mentioned something that i have mentioned here before.

he is talking about how Super Mario Bros taught him so much about life.

i feel the exact same way.

and whats weird about that game is i never owned it.

i was in college when it came out and we were living a block from the beach, classes were incredible, i had a radio show, i was in the newspaper every day,

the streets were literally crawling with the prettiest girls you could imagine

bands were playing on rooftops, in back yards, in front yards, in barns

i had no need or time for a video game, but there it was in my house that i shared with several others

and despite the fact that i was studying zen, romantic poets, the old testament, and milton

while reading every bukowski i could find in the library on the side

there was super mario brothers with its little 8 bit music and the shittiest controller in history

and it was teaching me everything:

life is a dance

watch out for the bosses

shit gets real, then it gets easier, then it gets harder

everything you’re doing is for a woman, so enjoy the journey

might as well jump

but it also taught me that every day that you learn something will help you in your battles tomorrow.

because as random as life is, there are patterns, learn them.

experiment with who you think you are.

everything is relative to how you approach things.

and also: time is not on your side.

so, hustle.

snowden mostly focused on that last part. time. that time is short.

thus, when you feel like you should act, maybe you should.

i know ive been old my whole life but

at my age theres a few reasons to do things

for the love, for the money

or because it freaks you out.

in eight hours im interviewing someone im nervous about.

ive read all his q&a’s, seen his video chats, looked through all of his social media.

and still i feel unprepared.

nardwaur the human serviette is the king of preparedness for interviews

and i think i have an idea of where i wanna take this, but the best conversations are just that

so you dont wanna have an agenda, you want to be able to flow with it.

the other day i interviewed another guy who i was intimidated by, and i think i scared him too.

there were a few questions he didnt wanna answer and i dont blame him.

ive always felt that life is like a pinball machine, it’s good to tilt every now and then

so you know how much play you got.

the worst thing they could do is hang up.

which reminds me of my favorite thing i ever read in SPIN

Exclusive interview with Johnny Rotten

{ring, ring}

Hello?

Hi Johnny, it’s Spin.

{click}

The crazy thing is, this guy is super mellow from what I can tell. And what I have to start off talking with him about is totally current and sorta newsworthy.

but still,

what if

 

 

what if.

 

i guess im snot an influencer

now that i have this job ive been getting fun little offers to try things

the first was this thing down in orange county.

i forget what they wanted me to see but i nearly did it because it included a free uber ride back and forth

and i wanted to interview the driver down and the driver back up

cuz how often would you be able to interview someone for 45 minutes to an hour who couldnt stop the interview?

a total stranger.

also i wanted them to have a good ride for the day.

but i was busy and couldnt do it.

then yesterday a company invited me to a tequila tasting from 1pm – 3pm over by Dodger Stadium

also free uber.

but i have so much to do today i couldnt really justify being drunk / buzzed in the middle of the day and probably taking a nap at 5pm

id never make it as an influencer at this age

you know how many things ive drank, ate, kissed, hugged, barfed, boned, and pooped?

all the things.

whats this tequila gonna do for me?

its gonna ruin my day probs. not make it.

also im addicted to the new taylor swift album so