Sacrifice | Compromise

There’s this great song with Pavarotti and U2 called Ms. Sarajevo, where Bono posts many a question about the right time to do something. “Is there a time for…” well, I’ve been thinking about way to many things lately, most of them involve commitment and the future, I think commitment would be nothing without some sacrifice, because it involves selflessness, it involves letting go of your selfishness, those particular things that you know are just for you and might not serve any purpose to anybody else. In any case, I am a person of compromise, of balance, of midpoints, there is always a midpoint, always a spot where to people can meet and find the right amount of something they want and something they can give away. So sacrifice is a matter of compromise, to me, it involves no regret, no discontent, such feelings will rot away within you, will keep you from realising your potential. So, as I’ve said before, I keep a positive outlook, the choices are make aren’t really as important as how committed I am to these choices, how happy I think these choices can make me.

My last few years have been about me, about my dreams, my goals, because ultimately my dreams involve many people, I never want to just make myself happy, I believe in retribution, and I never forget those who have helped me selflessly along the way. I have always seen fortune in my future, not necessarily fame and fortune, but success, happiness, when I search my feelings, which are the only thing I know to be true, I can find the answers. Foresight is not about certainty, it is about projection, by knowing who I am, I can know who I will be, when I see my life I see a continual rise of success, and why should I see anything else, if it is not what I want for myself? Projection. It is all about projection.

Right now. I can see many things unfolding for myself, they are here to grasp, they are moments that will never come again, and so I cherish these and dive deep into these choices because they dictate my future.

The Bean

Love at a metabolic rate
a growth spurt, a frame upon frames.
Quiet in warmth, learning to live.
Broken through the surface, instilled with breath,
savored by freedom, a catalyst of creation.

Juicy Mustang.

And why not? I love this picture. Let that be the blog.

Braggin rights.

So, after careful deliberation, and some serious bonehead moves from your gracious host, I took on a T-shirt design job involving the legendary latin music monster FANIA. Which I have come to enjoy and listen to on many an instance. Well, much to my happiness as well, the job was to design for two great musical icons, Hector Lavoe (r.i.p.) and Tito Puente (r.i.p.). The designs were put together in a day and i met my deadline without a glitch and they should be somewhere lost in the world of “production” at this point. I have not yet heard if they will be available to for sale at a larger scale, or even a small scale. But I will let you know. Personally, I just did a search for Fania T-Shirts and found nada. So, I believe there is a good market out there.

Well. That’s all. I just wanted to put these up and get some people to take a look, maybe broaden their musical horizons by digging into the world of the Fania All Stars.

Here are larger versions of the images for your perusal.
Tito Puente
Hector Lavoe

Much thanks to Genevieve Varela for her reco.

No room for doubt.

There is only one way to say this I guess, and we start by talking about fear. Fear is an illusion. It is a boundary created by your mind to allow for weakness, and help you get some attention. Which is ultimately what we all want. Doubt opens up a direct pathway to fear, whether it be your own self-doubt, or someone else doubting you (which leads you to doubt yourself anyway.) ultimately the result is the same. Fear. Fear of losing whatever you think is so precious, when really, you never have anything to lose. Doubt is directly tied in to confidence, I, for one, would like to think that I have complete confidence in what I do and how I do it, if I don’t completely have it, then my work suffers, my life suffers, and I am not happy. So confidence, whether it be well deserved or not, is a solid key in my personality. At one point I thought having a huge ego was a bad thing, well, guess what, ego is what we strive for, ego is confidence and self determination. So I make ego a part of my life, because it helps me create better work and have respect for my efforts. It is my reward to myself.

Anyway, so I don’t like doubt, its a pathetic concept which can only yield negative results. People like to live their lives thinking they don’t have a choice, I used to think that way, all the time, everyday, and I became very depressed, because I was sent off to a school where I didn’t have a choice, and where it was never my choice to be at. Realizing this, I became completely obsessed with always having a choice. Now, choice can be tricky, but what helps is having the right goals in mind, the right attitude, a positive outlook, I can’t make a choice about my life thinking its going to be a negative thing, I cannot DOUBT my choices. They are the only thing that makes me understand how much I have accomplished, and how much I can accomplish still. My beliefs are also directly linked to doubt, because I cannot doubt my believes, otherwise I fall apart. It has taken me a long time to develop my way of life, my beliefs, my own reality. And it works for me. I don’t appreciate people doubting my beliefs… so my message for all of the 2.4 readers of this blog, and I guess for myself as well is, do not invite doubt into your life, have a positive perception of your decisions, because you always have a choice, and it will always be the right choice if you back it up with some heart.