Solitude

If only to be left alone,
For the world
To shut up
Just for one minute.

I wish
That everyone
Would go away,
So I could sit
And listen to the nothingness.

But always
Stands someone,
Waiting for me to talk,
To be with them,
When all I want,
All I need,
Is Solitude.

*I actually found this poem when I googled my name. When I was, say, 14 or 15, I submitted my poem to an american poetry thing and they published it and put it on tape. They have huge get togethers but I never went. It was through them this poem got on the internet, copywritten to me.

Basically this poem is about needing a bit of alone time.

(Pic: Diff'rent Strokes)

Best Friend

She is my everything,
My cheerleader
When I become my own heckler.
My moon
When the nights
Of my life seem too dark.
My inspiration
When I'm blocked
By the wall
That stops me from creating.

Without her,
I am nothing,
Just an empty shell
On the landscape of life.
Without her,
My sanity is a fond memory
That is fading fast
Into the dark abyss
Of insanity.

She is you,
You are my friend,
You are my best friend
And I can't think
Of life without you.
Thanks and I love you.

What They Did

Last Month,
He punched her.

Two Weeks Ago,
He threw a vase at her.

Last Week,
He gave her a black eye.

Three Days Ago,
He slapped her.

Yesterday,
He shoved her.

Last Night,
He kicked her.

Today,
She shot him.

The Bath

(pic: Bath 747)

I like it
When it's one notch
Lower than hot.

I would slip
One foot in
And wince,
But still the rest of me
Would follow.

Every muscle melting.
Every knot a distant memory
As water soothes
Every inch of my naked being.

The cinnamon candles
Burning in each corner
Of the small bathroom.
The radio set on the station
Playing soothing rhythms.

I let go.
I let go of every stress,
Every heartache,
Every drama,
Every thing.

I fall.
I fall into self reflection,
Dreams yet to be achieved,
Dreams ye to be dreamt.
I fall in love with me.
I fall into faith,
Hope and happiness.
I fall asleep.

When I awake,
The water is tepid,
The candles are
Dry pools of wax,
My soul is renewed.

I am whole again,
Those who have stripped
Me down
Can keep what they took,
I don't need it anyway.
It can be replaced.
It is replaced.
I am whole.

Extremes

Black.
White.
And all the colours in between.
Living.
Unliving
Interacting to exist.
Good.
Evil.
Can't have one
Without the other.

Close your eyes,
Take a breath
And let the extremities
Take over,
Cause this is life.

A Poet Died In Brooklyn

A poet died in Brooklyn today,
Her body found in an alley.
A single gunshot round
To the heart.
Her purse still clenched
To her side.

In the news,
The said a woman died,
Not mentioning
How her words
Flowed on the lines
Of her steno pad
Or how those same words
Would curl and twist
Into the audience,
Bringing them into her world.
All they said was
A woman died in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn,
New York City and yet not NYC,
Urban yet suburban,
Long Island and yet not LI.
Safe and yet unsafe.
Brooklyn was just right for her.

A poet died in Brooklyn,
A bullet to her heart,
A lover not to be found.
A lover not wanting to be found.

He had a history,
A history of splitting lips
Of black eyes
And broken ribs,
All of which were
Found on the poet.

The poet was not made
Of the stock
That allowed this abuse.
Without a paragraph,
A sentence,
A word,
She left him in Los Angeles.

From there she found homes
In Las Vegas, Chicago
And every city
She could could lose herself.
Every time he would find her.

That day in Brooklyn,
He found the poet.
He shot the poet.
He left the poet
In an alley to die.

Days passed,
Her words were found,
Her story told.
He was found,
A noose tied tightly
Around his neck.
An abuser died in Brooklyn.
The final word was written.

(Pic: Soul Spectrum)

Dear Grim Reaper

Do I greet you,
Dear Grim Reaper
With your implement in hand?

Do I offer you
A drink
As well as my life?

Do I explain
To you aplenty
Why I have beckoned you here?

Nay,
My dear,
Grim Reaper,
I apologize profusely,
I've wasted your time,
I've wasted your energy.
I bid you farewell
Till my final day,
No sooner,
No later.
Goodbye,
My dear friend.

I'll be honest with you since I was a child, I had a fascination with death. Halloween is still one of my favourite "holidays". What was different with me is I actually sat down and thought about it (I do a lot of thinking) and I was not content with the prospect of dying and living forever in this perfect heaven. What would I do, so I thought I would be better suited to be the Grim Reaper's assistant. Of course my thinking on life and death has changed over the years, but if I had to choose how to spend eternity, I would be the assistant.

Modern Day Innocence

In denial
Over unknown facts
That may or may not
Exist.

But in the minds
Of unsuspecting innocents,
The truth is waiting
To be known.

Who are these
Common day innocents
If in fact
They exist.

But aren't we all
Considered not innocent
Because we exist
In this time.
A time that has
No innocence.

Then we must
Redefine "innocence"
For the sake
Of our "modern day innocents"
Who thread the earth,
Unknowing
That in their minds
Is the truth.

Another old poem, sometimes I wonder where it all comes from. There was a time when they flowed like a stream and I just wrote. Thank goodness I can use this blog as a place to post all these poems. Also check out Kimolisa Was Here.

New York

The Big Apple, another name for New York,
One of the tri-states,
Home of the Mets and the Knicks
And the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State.

People around the world
Come to see the sights
Of New York City,
The city of lights.

On Broadway where great hits are shown
And enjoyed by the public.
Wall Street is exciting
If you know about bonds and stocks.

There are rough neighbourhoods,
Hand the suburbs other known as the burbs,
Which are a thief's dream,
That are full of expensive things.

But I like New York for the shopping
In Toys 'R' Us and Conways,
And window shopping is not so bad,
Looking in Sears and Macys.


This was my first poem, it was written the 4th of April 1993. Wow, that means I've been writing over 15 years. It kind of put things in perspective, don't worry I'll go into that on the other blog. You can already see I loved NYC for a long time.

Home

Man walks by
Hair dreaded long,
But I don't care.
My head is in the paper,
Looking,
Looking for a place to rest my head,
Looking for a place to hang my coat,
Looking for a place to hide out
When I don't want to see the world,
Looking for an apartment.

Step on the train
And off I go
On the search,
My quest
For that abode
That's safe,
That's reasonable,
That speaks home.

As the train rumbles on,
I try to theorize,
Philosophize
Why it's so hard
To find that place.
That place that wasn't
Too expensive,
Too far,
Too dangerous,
To small
Too...

Then I found it,
A little place
Tucked away in Brooklyn,
Not too far,
Expensive,
Dangerous,
Small,
Pretension.
I found a new home.

This is another old poem, I was looking for an apartment in New York and it was an adventure in itself. I remember seeing a room with an arabic woman with a lot of rules, or the room downtown New York the size of a closet, okay a medium size walk in closet. The funny thing is I saw the ad for the place I got on craigslist, but it went to someone else. Then I saw it again, and went to look at it and it clicked. I loved that place. Once again why did I leave NYC?

(Oh yeah, check out the other blog)

Source of Pure Joy

Twisting,
Turning,
Hitting the funny little button,
Found in the hearts of men
Sending a soulful vibe
Through all the limbs.

Electricity,
Touching each and every
Part of one's being.
Turn the music louder!
Let the whole vibe
Send you crazy.
Let it control you.

Who turned off the source?
The source of pure joy,
Damn, if only I could last
Long enough,
Long enough for it
To live in me again.

Now I'm an empty machine,
Thinking,
Being,
Understanding,
But never moving
In joy.


This poem is very old, so I'm not even sure if I understand it myself. I tried editing it, but I'm still not satisfied.

Just a little back story, when I was a kid, I enjoyed dancing. For some strange reason my body has the ability to interpret the beat. It was an option for a career, but I guess I wasn't encouraged in it and I also had a strong inclination to design. I guess design was more tangible, something that could have gone somewhere, plus I wasn't exposed to places where you could learn dance at the time. One thing for sure, when I have kids, I'm going to expose them to everything and when they choose something I will support them 150%. Even if they want to be the world's best mime.

Smile

Smiling was never my strong suit,
It hurts my cheeks
And never really did anything for me.

One day
A little boy came along
And he smiled.
I looked behind me
And no one was there
And yet there he stood smiling.

What is wrong with this kid?
I thought to myself.
"What do you want?!?"
I asked, quite irritated.

"I want to see you smile!"
Said the still smiling child.
"Whatever for?"
I asked,
"Have you nothing better to do?"

He stood there and smiled.
I walked away and he followed.
I ran
And he followed.

So I stopped,
Turned to face my tormentor,
And raised one corner of my cheek.
He remained.
I raised the other corner,
"Happy!" I blurted out.

"Your eyes," smiled the child.
"My eyes?!?! What of my eyes?"
"They are not smiling."
"Eyes smiling! Well, I never!
How can they?
They have no lips!" I barked.

"Remember a time
When your every being was alive,
When you felt so much joy,
You would burst!
Remember for me," he begged.

I remembered.
I remembered my first dog
When he was a pup.
My father brought him home
Any mother put a bow on him.
When I got home,
They let him go
And he rushed to me,
Knocking me down
And promptly licking all over me.

I smiled.
"There it is,
Your eyes are smiling!"
And then he was gone.
I never saw that little boy again,
But the smile returned
Every now and then,
Like an old friend
And a good memory.

Jungle of Thoughts

Complicated,
Confusing,
Overwhelming.
A jungle of ideas
In my mind,
Thick.

As soon as one
Is done with,
Another appears,
Just as dense,
Just as hard to pass.
Help me through this jungle.

At each side,
In each corner,
I'm trapped.
If only I could get out,
But I'm trapped
In my thoughts.

There I stay,
There I will be
Till you come,
Till you cut down
The jungle
And free me
From my thoughts.

But you never came,
Hours turned to days,
Days turned to weeks,
And before I knew it,
The years slipped by,
Like dew off a leaf.

You never came,
So I cut down that jungle.
Tree by tree,
Fern by fern,
Till I saw the light,
Till I saw he truth.

You could never save me,
As you were trapped
In your own jungle,
Waiting for someone
To free you,
Not knowing no one can
Free you,
You have to free yourself.


* The first part of the poem was written years ago, I can't even put a date to it. The last three verses I created just now. As I was reading the poem as I typed, it dawned on me that I was reaching out for help and that was what my poetry was about, an outlet for me. Now that I'm older I recognize that I'm the only one that can save myself and that is what the last three verses were about, freeing yourself. Yes it sounds new agey, but the mind is a wondrous thing and it capable of doing many things so use it, don't abuse it.

Free your mind and the rest will follow....
- En Vogue

Make History

My History,
Your History,
Our History.
Written on the temporal folds
Of the minds
Of our foreparents.
A history rich in the tales
Of love and war,
Of strength and family,
Of Africa.

My history
Was lost ar sea,
More like at ocean,
As a people,
My people,
Your people
Travelled across the great waters
To this place.

On this journey,
They lost their homes,
Their hopes,
Their dreams,
Their humanity,
Their name.
Beast of burden
They became.

A new history
Was written,
Painted on canvas,
Spoken in word.
My history.
Your history.
Our history.

A history of shame,
A history of strife,
A history of struggle
And of pain.
Lord knows a lot of pain.

The pain of a whip,
Against bare skin.
The pain of a family torn apart.
The pain on knowing
That it won't get better.

But it did get better.
History was made.
The chains of their bodies
Fell away.
A free people,
And yet not free.

Our minds
Remain slaves.
Slaves of the past,
Slaves of our history.

So tonight, I ask you
To make history.
Make history
By respecting each other,
Loving each other.
Kings treat us as queens,
As we shall treat you as kings.

Make history,
Parents be there
For your children.
Make them
The people who will
Change the world for the better,
Not the worse.

Make history,
By thinking outside the box.
The box created centuries ago
By people who wanted to strip us bare
And likened us to beast.

Make history
By wearing your skin
With pride.
Be it the colour of the night sky
Or the colour of a ripe butternut.
It is our blessing,
Never our sin.

Make history,
Black history.
And remember history
Is written by the victorious,
So be victorious.

Me

Just to give people an idea of how I look, here are some pics:



I've decided to create a blog dedicated to visuals and my random thoughts. It's called Kimolisa Was Here, check it out if you have time and I'm going to update it weekly.

I See God In You

I see God in you
Where God to me
Is in everything He made,
Sunsets, oceans,
Everything,
I see in you.

Kissing you,
Like chocolate,
Savouring every bite.
Not your average chocolate bars,
But rich milk chocolate
With nothing but chocolate and milk inside.
Licking my lips afterwards
To savour the last taste.

You are my happiness,
You are my sorrow,
You are my every emotion
Personified.

I see God in you, baby,
I see God in you.
My heart afire,
You are my desire.

My love flows
Like a river
Through fields
Scented with Jasmine,
Hyacinth.
Cherry Blossoms
Floating in the breeze
And making ripples
In my river
Of love.

I see God in You.

Beauty*

"I like your colour,"
Said an Austrian.
He, himself,
White with black curly hair
Eyes equally black
Absorbing the rich chocolate
That covered 95% of me.

"I love your African look.
Your big earrings,
Your thick, full lips,"
Said the Antiguan.
He, himself,
Copper in shade
Watching my face
Where my ancestors lips could be found.

"You're beautiful!"
Said the Kittian.
He, himself,
Older with white hair
Speckling his black goatee,
Imagining what it would be like
To kiss my ancestor's lips.

Years have passed
With my avoiding looking.
Looking at a face
I thought was too black,
A face in which
I could never find beauty.

Beauty was white women
On the covers of magazines.
Beauty was butter skin girls
With almost straight hair.
Beauty was not,
I thought,
Me.

So one day,
I dared to look.
And I looked,
I looked at the person
The Austrian saw,
The Antiguan saw,
The Kittian saw.
The person they all saw.
Not a white woman,
Not a butter skin girl,
But a black,
Beautiful
Me.


* Lately I've been writing my random thoughts, but the true purpose of this blog is to showcase my poetry. So this is the beginning to the return to poetry.

I've watched 113 movies

I'm sure some of you have facebook accounts and come across these notes which basically let people know a little more about you. This is one I got from a friend of my sister. I've watched 113 movies and I am very aware that I have no life, but one has to think of the age of the person who fills this out, because it's not bad if you saw alot of movies and you're 40-something, but it's bad if you saw alot and you're 16. Get my drift. Below is my form.

If you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 244 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show (Watched it in my early teens, wasn't really impressed)
(x) Grease (Cool songs)
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Pirates of the Carribbean 3: At World's End (I'm ashamed to say I didn't know this existed)
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch(the one with ben stiller? yeah)
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total:8

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) Anchorman
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far:12

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far:18

(x) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3 (can't watch it till I see Harry Potter 2)
( ) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village (Started to watch it, but got bored)
(X) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far:22

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far:29

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents (I didn't find it funny)
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 32

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal (Adorable)
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2 (too scared to watch the second one)
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 37

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far:43

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far:52

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Ocean's Thirteen
(x) Bourne Identity (I liked the lead character)
(x) Bourne Supremecy
(x) Bourne Ultimatum
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far:63

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
( ) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far:67

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks)
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far:76

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot ChicK
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
(x) Shrek 3
Total so far: 86

( ) Swimfan
(x)Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
total so far:86

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring (Read the book and was disappointed that they changed some parts)
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far:90

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far:91

(x) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer (Still want to watch it)
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 98

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk (I forced myself to watch it and was still disappointed)
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) 28 weeks later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld (I'm very embarrased to admit it)
Total so far: 103

(x) Kill Bill vol 1 (This is my favourite movie)
(x) Kill Bill vol 2 (Liked it, but liked the vol. 1 more)
(x) Mortal Kombat (It wasn't bad for when it was made)
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 107

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones (got bored after the first Prequel)
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
( ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 110

(x) The Matrix (introduced a new way of thinking)
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Silence of the Lambs (Mad!!
( ) Hannibal
Total: 113

Yes I am a movie buff, I didn't put x's next to movies I didn't see to the end. Honestly, some bored me, some just didn't interest me and others I didn't know about. Oh well.

Inspiring quote of the day:

Life is not measured by
the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments
that take our breath away.

Random Thoughts

Sorry for not posting sooner, as you know I was a bit blue at the beginning of the week. Let me give you the back story: As I was getting ready to go to work Sunday morning, I hear my cell phone ringing that I had a text message. That was weird, my phone company doesn't text me early morning on a weekend, my sister should have been on her way to Wales and my brother, well it was too early in Mexico for him to text me. So I open my phone and the number comes up, it was an male friend who I was close with, but should be happily married by now. All the text said was Kim! What the (four letter word)!! Long story short, that (four letter word)ed with my head. Then I got upset with myself for letting it mess with my head.

Anyway I was on the road to recovery when I came across one of my sister's posts, i don't matter. It had a video about how vast the universe is, and it puts into perspective how small we are. Planet Earth is just a dot, less than a speck on a dot, in respect to the universe, so can you imagine how small we are. So it got me thinking, seeing how small we are, what we do doesn't really disrupt the whole universe. So everytime we are stuck on some so-called life or death decision, it really isn't that big a deal. Tomorrow will still come, the economy will still be bad and there will be another decision to make. Basically, live life, enjoy life and have as much fun as you can possibly have.

Just another random thought.

Cinnamon Rolls

When I lived in New York, Brooklyn actually, I would treat myself every now and then with cinnamon rolls. I can't remember the name of the brand I used to get, but they were pretty big and the had this large slathering of icing, (Homer-like drooling here) I would stick one in the microwave and have it for breakfast. It would melt the icing a little bit and soften the pastry part, turning it into the right about of moistness.

It's amazing what small things would give you a small yet warm feeling of childish happyness. Yes, I wrote happyness, cause I can, muhahaha ha ha. I'm not saying you should turn to food to find happyness, but enjoy food and relish in the beautiful delight created by the hands of a fellow human being. Doesn't your mom's pumpkin soup encircles you with fond memories, and even though she made it to eat, the fact that she made it and knows you enjoy it gives her an added boon.

The other day I cooked (gasp) something other than pasta (double gasp) and you know what it felt frickin' good. Cutting the food, stir frying, etc. Oh, the joy! Why haven't I really cooked before? Cause I work hard and by the time I come home, I'm too tired to cook anything elaborate, or I would cook to much (who really want to eat sweet and sour chicken day after day) or I get distracted by other work. So it is my intention to cook more, so what if my fridge is filled with leftovers at least I will have food for a couple days.

Okay this entry is called cinnamon rolls, so here is the recipe I'm going to attempt:

Prep Time: 2 hours, 00 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1-1/2 packages (about 3-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
* 1/4 cup warm water
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 1 egg
* 4 to 5 cups sifted flour
* melted butter
* brown sugar
* cinnamon
* raisins (optional)
* ---
* Vanilla Frosting
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1 tablespoon butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* milk or cream (2 to 4 tablespoons)

Preparation:
Add the warm water to the yeast and soak 10 minutes.

Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.

Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter. Layer with a generous thick layer* of brown sugar. Sprinkle on cinnamon* as desired. If you like raisins, layer on a layer of raisins. Roll up jellyroll fashion.

Using a scissors or a piece of string, cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in an 8 or 9 inch round greased cake pan. Place one slice in the middle and other slices around it. Press rolls down to even out and fill pan. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously...about another hour.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 15 - 20 minutes. If rolls get too brown, cover with a piece of tine foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake rolls.

Remove immediately from pan by inverting onto a plate and then tip over onto another plate to right the rolls.

For the Frosting:
In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk or cream to reach a thick, hardly-able to stir consistency.

Spread over warm rolls as soon as they are placed on a plate to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.

Look out for Cinnamon Rolls 2, where I show off my attempts at making the rolls, pics and all.

Inspiring quote of the day:

That which is nacessary is never a risk

Quentin Tarantino

Okay, you are probably thinking, "Whoa!! Wait wouldn't he be placed under the title film maker than screen icon?" Well, my answer to answer to that is "Well, it's my blog and I can put whoever, Muhahaha ha ha!!"

For me he is one of those people whose work I knew and enjoyed before I knew who he was. Then when I got to learn about him, I like him as well as his work. I think the film that put me in the class of Tarantino fans was Kill Bill Vol. 1. As I left the cinema in New York, I called my brother and left him a message saying I wanted the DVD of the movie when it came out. Well, I bought the DVD and it was stolen, and my sister got me another copy. So if you hitched your ride to the Tarantino caboose, you have to watch Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs. Both of them institutions in themselves.

Here is some info from Wikipedia on Quentin Tarantino:

Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and aestheticization of violence. His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (Vol. 1 2003, Vol. 2 2004) and Death Proof (2007). His films have earned him Academy, BAFTA and Palme d'Or Awards and he has been nominated for Emmy and Grammy Awards. In 2007, Total Film named him the 12th greatest director of all-time.

And here are a few clips of his work:

This is the beginning of Kill Bill Vol. 1


Pulp Fiction


Reservoir Dogs


When I lived in New York, I would watch a BBC Sitcom called Couplings and they had a Reservoir Dogs scene


Inspiring quote of the day:

The process of enlightenment can only come from within.

I'm Feeling Blue

I don't know, some days I feel sad. It's not as though something bothered me, but even if something bothered me and I try not to make it bring me down, it still does. I'm sure sure everyone goes through it. The big mistake I was doing was try to resist it. I'm human, so for today I'm going to be blue. Here is how I feel visually: