isley

ok. i have SERIOUS love for the isley brothers. when i lived in oz, i listened to the the heat is on at least a billion times. they don't realize it, but the isley brothers are some of my closest friends. they make me happy when i'm blue, dance with me when i'm joyous and best of all listen to me when i need an ear. so naturally, when my cousin kevin brown was spilling good gossip on the brothers, my ears perked up. *note: he's not my real cousin....he's a dj on my fav radio station KBLX

according to my cousin, rick james' last live show (aside from an awards show) was the stone soul concert. the following year they asked teena marie (self-proclamed "ivory queen of soul" and rick james protegee/lover) to perform some of james' songs as a tribute. naturally, this should close the show. the uncomfortable duty of telling ron isley that he wasn't going to headline went to my cousin. mr. isley's reaction? "do you know who i am?" man, he's a badass. i'd also like to point out that ron isley was just released from prison (tax evasion) and at the young age of 69, insisted at this year's concert to play for 90 minutes! and he headlined, of course. so impressive.

double note: i missed this year's concert to be in San Diego at my very dear friend's wedding. very worth it. but next year, i'm there.

being the early bird

it's true. anyone who knows me, especially if you've lived with me, knows that i am the furthest thing from a morning thing. but when i made the move back to the west coast, i told myself that i would try to keep waking up 3 hours before i normally would. i've been pretty good so far and today was my reward. i woke up at 6:30. on a work-from-home day, that's early! after taking my very sweet time getting myself together, i drove down toward my favorite coffee and bakery shops. i was beyond delighted when i discovered that the city of oakland doesn't charge for parking before 8. as i walked around rockridge collecting my morning goodies i looked around at the other morning birds and thought, "you all had the right idea too." now i'm back home for a day of work, hiking, and cooking. pandora has already played erykah, common and the isley brothers. if pandora played 'today was a good day' by ice cube, i'd swear it was reading my mind. instead it's playing old school mary j blige. turns out it's reading my heart.

best coffee EVER: royal at claremont & college (now known as Cole Coffee)

best morning buns in the east bay: la farine (down college 1/2 block from royal...toward berkeley)