November Thoughts

Good day early morning readers. 

Here I'd like to jot down some ideas that I've been thinking about lately or within the last time of writing. First, is it just me or has American society become and/or has always been like a pay-to-play subscription? Hear me out. You have to pay for rent to live in a place if you don't own it, you have to pay for food, you have to pay to go to work if you drive there in your car or even take the bus, you have to pay to go out to bars/clubs if you want easy cheap entertainment, and if you're a homebody you will most likely spend money on streaming services, movies, and/or video game computers and/or systems. So where exactly is America, home of the Brave, right now?

I would say not in good place. Think about everyone you have ever interacted with on a personal level, how are they really doing? Would they be mad to hear that you're doing better than them? In this sort of climate, it's hard to even define what a better life would even be. For me a better life would be playing music in bars, making money off it, and not working a day job. Or perhaps becoming a day writer and somehow writing novels that somehow sell millions of copies. Or even running a small record shop in China or Japan, being the only black guy in a small area. Or, this would ironically be the easiest one, to marry a wealthy girl and still pursue all these other things with her. 

But it seems most people I know or have interacted with on a personal basis are not doing good. Neither am I really. I'm living but I'm not thriving. At this middle age of life, I should be doing a lot more and thriving. Oftentimes, we know what we should be doing but we keep getting distracted in life by various things, people, work, family, and friends that we forget the reasons why we are living and what we should be doing and we're not pursuing our true goals. It's like going to a job, it's good because it provides you money in order to pay rent and buy food but overall, a job isn't going to make you reach your goals faster, in fact, its going to be a hindrance to it. For me, working jobs has slowed down my growth and lowered my ability to be creative and think outside the box. Working, ironically, has become a hindrance to me.

It seems the more people you know now and the more people you knew in the past, the more you know about people, their lives, and their goals, and how and if they go about achieving it. Some people inspire you and you can grow with their help, but only for a little while. Other people are sinking more and more into the abyss, even girls you really like. It's hard to figure out where you stand and everyday is a struggle in order to figure out who you truly are. 

It's hard to figure out if anyone is even real or authentic anymore these days, online especially, but even people you know personally and see day to day, a lot of them are living a lie. I've had a few strange off occurrences that make me truly believe than even some of the people around you who you think are really good people are actually working towards and/or trying to hurt you, defame you, or ruin you behind your back. This is kind of dark but last year I was laid off from my job and when I called the work union about it I told them my situation and they told me that so-and-so, a female manager I worked for six years before this incident, had called them and said something to them about my case, even though she wasn't there, and there's no telling what she might have said, it could've been really negative, thus encouraging them to get rid of me. I only say that because when I asked what she said about me, they said some negative things about it. 

There's a darkside to the soft underbelly of Los Angeles. Like sometimes, people from your past, like past jobs or old friends and acquaintances will want to keep tabs on you but not for good reason. They'll ask you questions about what you're doing, what job you're doing now, and that you should be doing this and that instead, and this and that. And you're just wondering, why does this person want to know all this stuff about me? And it makes you wonder who they're reporting the information to. There's this funny black youtuber I've watched and as he says, "We are trying living in the worst times of history, people showing their horns, its like you're truly alone."

I've seen the darkside of the Los Angeles valley over my entire tenure out here, although technically I'm just visiting from the Midwest. I will probably leave when the time is right. But back to the darkside. I was a part of a small friends group where the leader of the pack, my friend, was sort of going off the rails. He lost his girlfriend, was about to lose his apartment, and pack everything up to leave to go live in a different city, kind of far away. He was doing coke and lsd and weed/beer and just in general very scatterbrained, paranoid, and crazy. I mentioned this to other friends of the group and they told him and he instantly came at me hard and said we can't be friends anymore. This is a guy I was friends with for like ten years. All the guys in the group were friends for at least ten years and when he broke the friendship with me, he must've told them to stop talking to me too, because after that none of them ever responded to my messages and calls, except for one guy in the group. Looking back on it, I think I did a good job warning the other guys that he was on a crazy binge and that they should be weary. If I was a spiritual person, I would say that he was a sort of demon, or possessed. Ironically, I was sort of glad to be rid of him, because being around someone like that isn't fun because they're always only seeing the negativity of life and making you see through their demon-infused lenses. 

I'll leave you with another weary tale. I was at work at this clothing shop gig and this guy called out to me in the storeroom that somebody had taken down the clothes off a manakin [it might've been him]. The guy manakin has like a little junk pouch, so I had to put some pants on it to cover it up. The guy took a picture of the naked manakin and he said, "I'm going to send this to corporate." I said, "Okay," calling his bluff. Then I took some pants and put it on the manakin and he took another picture of me doing that and said "look at this picture, I'll use it to blackmail you," I called his bluff again and just said, "Okay," nonchalantly. Then he proceeded to tell me about how he wanted an item off a manakin and an employee told them they couldn't have it until the manager takes it down at the end of the month. And how he had to go through hoops and make a lot of phone calls to get the clothing off the manakin. Okay, so you get where I'm going with this story. This is a possibly psychotic individual, maybe he's even under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, because usually people don't get to this level of pettiness without being altered by substances. 

Why am I writing about all this? It's mostly a cautionary tale. Not everything is a coincidence. And believe it or not, there are people who are out to get you. I'm not afraid to leave my stoop or anything but I do realize that most of the people in my inner circle that I was actively engaging with and talking to, hanging out with, and meeting with at bars/clubs were in fact bad actors. They might not have been straight up demons [demons are mostly people who don't know you personally] but they had bad intentions, and being around them so often dimmed my light. Not that I'm a saint either, but generally I have a much better more positive attitude than everybody I've ever met. It's nothing special, it's innate. 

Lastly, I guess I write this to say, yeah, we're in dark times. Remain in light. 

Work, AI, Music, and the World: The Latest Scoop on Life, Tech, Tunes, and Headlines!

Bienvenue! There's a lot of new things happening in technology, music, work, and politics. Let's get into it. 

First, I'm no longer working as a cashier at the supermarket. This was a big loss for me as I had been working there for about ten years and grew up there. Now, I'm switching from a social public life to a much more personal private life. It has not been easy and I don't think it will be easy to maintain. However, I'm finding that there have been benefits like better care of my body and health. The main drawback though is the fact that I'm not earning a weekly check. Losing my job due to being laid off was one of my biggest regrets. But life must go on. 

Moving forward, the development of AI is the best story of our time. Why? Because its the only exciting story that isn't mostly focusing on the negative. I initially started using LLM's [large language models, chatbots] back in 2022 to do AI art images for fun and relaxation. Now, I'm finding that I can also do AI videos too. And then there's the chatbots usage in and of themselves, for augmenting knowledge based on subjects I already know about. Another fun method I use using AI: I'll use the chatbot to create and edit prompts for images and create the images from those prompts/edited ideas, and then use the images created and turn that into video. There's even AI music and it's a lot better than you would think. 

That being said, I think AI is the only truly positive story. AI gets a bad reputation because workers think they're coming for their jobs, but the reality is that AI just isn't there quite yet. You can create AI movies and images and books and music but its not really quite there yet. Rather, you can use AI to augment your ideas and creations for movies, images, books, and music, but the AI in and of itself cannot create great art, media, business model, or music. Like anything else, AI is just a tool for the artist, creator, businessman in order to enhance their craft and production. I would say, think of AI less as a new emerging technology and more of a tool that will be used in all facets of society mostly for entertainment purposes for the layman but also as a tool for artists, creators, and businessmen to sell and advertise art and/or products. It's an advertiser's paradise.

Next, the news stories have been mostly negative. Gas prices are up. Inflation is at an all time high. Avian bird flu and measles might become an issue down the road. Donald Trump is the President yet again. What else is new? It feels a lot like Weimar Germany Republic right before Hitler's rise to power. You can be jewish in Weimar Germany Republic but you have to be very careful. That's the kind of precarity we live in right now within this moment. It's not to be taken lightly and we, as young people, shouldn't squander all our free time partying and ignoring politics. A lot of young people here in California have drunk the Kool-Aid and given up on keeping up with politics and/or reading/watching the news, and rather, they have given into a lot of bad habits like getting bad information from social media or their goofball buddies. 

However, how long can a democracy really last? America was fighting for independence from the Brits back in 1776, so it has been quite a while. I sometimes like to joke that America is like a poor man's Rome, and in many ways the current moment in this time is a sort of Rise and Decline of the Western Civilization [Edward Gibbon]. You see that despite the fact that we, as Americans, have more technology, more education, a better richer nutritional economy, and more money than most other people in all other countries, this has not been to our benefit. Rather, you could even argue that it's been to our detriment. With this said theory, you could say that in the long run AI could be a bad thing for American society. But the technocrats would say, "it's all about how you use it." 

Lastly, the best news. I've been keeping up with a lot of music practice. I play piano decently now and I'm still plucking on the guitar too. I taught myself sight reading [reading music notation] from studying Mozart scores and writing it out by hand. I do a lot of ear training listening to music. I use classical scores to practice rhythms on piano. Also, I've discovered that there's been a new jazz age but its hidden online on YouTube. There are tons of old jazz records, some that may have only had limited printings and never saw the light of day in record stores [1958-early 1960s recordings], and they're all now appearing all over on YouTube all of a sudden. As a musician, I decided to go more in the jazz direction because jazz offers more variety in music playing and listening and performance, so it's amazing to see that the artform can somehow still keep its heartbeat alive, even if its a small niche audience on YouTube. I play jazz but I  use classical, rock, and blues as a template to build upon improvisation. It's been a journey, as I first started playing and performing on guitar when I was a teenager. 

Heraclitus: A man cannot fall into the same river twice, for there are ever new waves splashing upon him. 

Things I learned From Playing Guitar Live in Los Angeles

 

So what is it like, playing shows live onstage at small bars and clubs in Los Angeles, from the guitarists' perspective? 

First, you have to realize, that playing guitar live onstage in Los Angeles is very common. There are a million guitar players in Los Angeles. Why? Because its a warm climate and guitars do much better in warm climates than in cold climates. Therefore, there are a million guitar players in Los Angeles. So, you must realize that if you want to play guitar in Los Angeles, you are competing with a million other players, many of which, may be good, very good, so-so, and/or amazing. 

So you've decided to play a guitarist in Los Angeles? Okay, so here are the next steps in your sound once you get on stage in whatever capacity: in a band, in a cover band, or in an original band, or just playing a jam session. 

Second, the type of guitar you use is important. So when you get onstage, the type of guitar you bring to the performance matters most more than anything. You need a cheap but comfortable guitar that you can play at any moment's notice. Cheap, because most bars aren't the most safest for your good gear. And comfortable because you need to be able to play very well in any moment's notice. 

Third, the type of amp matters a lot too. Let's say you're playing in a metal band. I would recommend some cheap solid state amp [digital] that you could haul easily. If you're playing country and western then you want something older like an old small tiny Fender tube amp that you can really crank up. Classic rock? Well, you could do a solid state amp [digital], or a tube amp. 

Or, there's another option. You could run the guitar through the PA, and have the sound technician turn up the guitar loudly. But this is a last resort option, only if somehow you have no amp and you must perform. 

Fourth, you as the player matter. What kind of styles of music are you more inclined to? If you're a metal player, you might play fast three-notes-per-string scales like Malmsteen or Steve Vai. If you're more blues, you might be sounding like Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page. If you're more country you're going to sound more like Joni Mitchell backing up Emoulou Harris. So, you, as a player matter a lot. 

Moving forward, you must ask yourself, why am I playing guitar in bars in Los Angeles? Do you need money, do you play for fun, are you trying to be famous, or are you just trying to chill and have a good time? You must have a purpose to what you're trying to do. 

However, because there are a million other guys playing guitar in bars in Los Angeles, you'll find that its difficult to make it in the business. Especially because the music industry and music business has changed so much from when I was a kid [2011] to now [2025], so you'll find its tough no matter how good at guitar you are. 

So, you'll learn that guitar in Los Angeles isn't the most necessary or important, or required instrument in bars. Because the music scene here is so oversaturated with guitar players, you'll find out that its better to be a multi-instrumentalist instead. 

Next, you'll find that you'll have to wear many hats and know how to play musical chairs. 

In conclusion, what do you have to do in order to be a musician [guitar player] in Los Angeles? This will take all of your musical abilities start from whatever age you first became attracted to music. Most musicians get interested in music around the age of 9 or 10 years old. 

So you'll find that you'll have to be a multi-instrumentalist. Most bands won't need a guitarist, so you'll have to be able to be a singer [while also strumming piano or guitar or bass or drums at the same times], or a bass player [non-singing], or a drummer [non-singing], or piano [non-singing] and you must also have the ability to be able lift heavy sound equipment for your band. 

Lastly, you'll also want good old fashioned sound engineer ability as well. For, as you see, its very complicated playing guitar at bars in Los Angeles. 

Rent-Due, Still Playing Clubs

Little Tokyo

     Today was a great day off. My friends and I went to Little Tokyo, which is downtown LA, somewhere around there. It was the first time I've ever been there and it was a treat! The drive wasn't too bad but there was a lot of traffic going both ways. The first thing we did when we got there was eat at this place called Mr. Ramen, this tiny whole in the wall sort of restaurant with all this colorful artwork all over the walls. It was so colorful to the point that it looked tacky but my friends said that all the artwork was something new that they added to the restaurant recently.
     When it came to my meal I ended up getting the beef ramen. It had slices of shredded beef, cilantro, those vegetables that's always in pho (see through veggie), and noodles. The broth was so good! I ended up eating/drinking all of it. We ate a bunch of great snacks today. We got these things called Pocky's at a grocery store and there were all kinds of flavors. It's basically a chocolate/other flavor sweet cookie sort of snack. And then later my friends got tacoyaki, this fried bread-like ball with meat and sauce inside. Really tasty stuff. I really enjoy Japanese food as well as other aspects of Japanese culture-anime, gaming, waifus, swords, women, lol.
     We ended up walking all over the place. It was a little hot under the sun but we endured it. In terms of appearances Little Tokyo doesn't look very Japanese. It looks like a rundown area of LA. We saw plenty of homeless people, one guy even coming up to us and shouting,"Give me some money" lol. The shops we went to were all great but at same the time I thought I didn't have very much cash so I didn't buy anything substantial like a toy model or other bric a bracs. Instead I just got this cool black and red Japan rising sun head band that said kamikaze. I only hope it doesn't stand for kamikaze pilots lol. I won't be wearing it, its just something I wanted as a neat souvenir.
     The best part of the trip other than the great food was the anime/hobby shops we went to. I saw great anime model toys, waifu pillows(!), keychains, pins, anime, posters, shirts, manga, and trading cards. What really caught my eye was this Kirby (Nintendo's very own pink marshmallow) toy model. It was very detailed and if I knew I had the cash I would've definitely bought it. Oh well, maybe next time. It was a fun experience and I would definitely want to go back in the future, this time looking for things in particular that I can't find elsewhere.
     After we came back we played some smash. I've reconciled the fact that I'm going to be a Bayonetta main with a strong Zero Suit Samus secondary, sometimes even preferring to use Zss over Bayonetta in certain match-ups. For the time being I want to focus on Zss until I can master the Bayonetta 0-death combos that are so popular. I've got a tournament tomorrow at Fire and Dice, we'll see what happens. I'll probably use Zss if I feel like Bayonetta isn't as strong in whatever match-ups I get thrown into. I've been playing a lot of smash with my friends but they like playing free for all with the three of us, and that's just not going to help me in a tournament setting. We do have days where we just play 1v1's and take turns but that doesn't happen nearly enough for us to keep improving at the game. I've definitely got to get us out of playing those dumb free for alls.
     Hope you're all having a good work week. In other news I'm going on vacation next week but I'll probably still be blogging with my laptop. In addition, Pokken Tournament comes out on Friday, March 18 so I'm definitely excited for that. Wish me luck in the tournament tomorrow!