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donpoppa: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Thursday...

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:46:29 -0700

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Thursday signed into law a bill that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The bill reduces simple possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction.

Currently, small-time pot possession is “semi-decriminalized” in California. There is no possible jail sentence and a maximum $100 fine. But because possession is a misdemeanor, people caught with pot are “arrested,” even if that means only they are served a notice to appear, and they must appear before a court.

That has happened to more than a half million Californians in the last decade, and more than 60,000 last year alone. Every one of them required a court appearance, complete with judge and prosecutor. That costs the cash-strapped state money it desperately needs.

Under the bill signed today, SB 1449, by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), pot possession will be treated like a traffic ticket. The fine will remain at $100, and there will be no arrest record.

In a signing statement, Schwarzenegger said he opposed decriminalization for personal use—and threw in a gratuitous jab at Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative—but that the state couldn’t afford the status quo.

“I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name,” said Schwarzenegger. “The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”

“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” said California NORML director Dale Gieringer. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”

The law goes into effect January 1. Even if Prop 19 passes in November, it leaves in place misdemeanor charges for smoking in public or in the presence of minors. Those misdemeanors would become infractions under the new law. Sacramento, CA United States

Life and Jah are one in the same. Jah is the gift of existence. I am in some way eternal, I will...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:04:33 -0700

Life and Jah are one in the same. Jah is the gift of existence. I am in some way eternal, I will never be duplicated. The singularity of every man and woman is Jah’s gift. What we struggle to make of it is our sole gift to Jah. The process of what that struggle becomes, in time, the Truth.

-The Late, Great, Bob Marley

Damn I love this quote.

I’ve always found myself standing apart from the idea of Religion. As useful as it is in controlling the masses, it’s always just felt like a sham to me. The idea of an omniscient power that is interested in the individual lives of 6 Billion people has always seemed ridiculously ridiculous for the most part.

Maybe it’s just me being a mere mortal, but i’ve never believed in control. I don’t believe anyone or anything has absolute control over anything.

Now as i’m writing this, i’m realizing that there isn’t a lot in religion (or the religion I know about at least) about the higher ups controlling us, but they do have some pretty awesome means of coercion. I mean, I met somebody that has broken thumbs to collect money, but eternally damning somebody »»»» breaking thumbs.

Mr.Marley however, gave me a perspective i’ve never thought of before. Of all the attempts to convert me to various religions, no one has ever had me think of my life as a gift to the Gods. They all spend lots of time gaming you up on how to not go to Hell and whatnot, but nobody speaking about religion has ever made me feel good about the life we’re living now. The problem with an omniscient, all powerful, all having being watching over us is that it leaves no room for us to give back. Living an honest life so that your creator can be proud of you sounds so much more appealing than spending your life trying to stay away from The Man’s vengeful side.

Alright well it’s 9AM and I should have been asleep 9 hours ago so i’ll end this here.

Bye Bye Joy Geen!

I hate the Police.

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:19:00 -0700

Seriously.

Time and time again i’ve been harassed and checked by police when COMPLETELY innocent. Anytime I forget to put on my white person voice when talking to 5 0 they look a lil deeper than necessary into my life. Even when I approach them to ask questions, they’re stupendous douchebags about everything.

Now beyond my typical hoodlumish rant, there is a much deeper reason for my hatred of the police.

Much scarier than the thought of being harassed by police, is that when I turn to them for help, they are never willing. My brother was killed at a party in front of 75 witnesses. Can’t do anything about it. My homie was robbed. ID’d the robber to his brother (who is a cop). Nope. Can’t do anything about it. In my lifetime, I started in Hunter’s Point, then moved to East Oakland, and finally escaped to San Leandro. Needless to say, My family and I have probably seen more criminals than most small jails. NEVER in my life have the police helped me or my family. They’ve never brought us suspects or property back. They’ve never been able to find our cars before they’re dumped. In fact, the last couple of times my family called the police for help, it ended up costing us hundreds of dollars and we STILL got no results. I figure they should have accidentally helped us once by now.

I’m truly convinced that the world (or the world that I live in at least) would be safer if I had my own bangers to protect me instead of police.

Unfortunately, I can’t be mad at police either. It’s human nature. We are all selfish assholes that abuse the gifts we’re given. Every single one of us. A cop isn’t a judgmental, powertripping, largely apathetic dickhead because he’s a cop. He’s been a judgmental, powertripping dickhead his entire life. He just has a badge now. As terrible and probable as that sounds, we as a people have yet to find an alternative solution.

Beyond that, a cop is immersed in a world of crime. 30% of his day is spent looking for the scourges of our society. As much as I despise their apathy, I understand.

Unfortunately, all this ranting is for naught. Because as much as I hate the way things are, I can’t think of an alternative means of policing the people. Maybe that’s just the way of the world. If our society so badly needs policing, maybe it’s asking too much for officers to be any better.

FREE MY NIGGA DIESEL THO.

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:03:00 -0700

FREE MY NIGGA DIESEL THO.

What's goin' on in my mind today?

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:45:00 -0700

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

(. )( .)

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

(. )( .)

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

UFC 117

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Holler.

DAMN YOU KRYPTONITE

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:59:46 -0700

DAMN YOU KRYPTONITE

Tomorrow your creative side will shine forth with exceptional ideas.

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:55:00 -0700

- A fortune cookie I got yesterday.

I’ve been feeling an urge to express myself through some kind of writing lately. Just haven’t been able to figure out what I should be doing. Today, in a totally spontaneous, uncharacteristically proactive, yet strangely unfocused manner, I started writing. Just for the hell of it. Not sure if it’s a verse or a poem or spoken word or what, but that’s OK because I don’t think anyone is actually reading this anyways. I’ll try recording it later.

I’ve been stressed. I’ve been overly messed with, roasted impressively and ultimately bested in ways which I guess are just the weight of the world. The taxing that we take to partake in the making of our own fates for our own sake.

Truth is, most of my distress is regrets and unrest over mistakes that I made and games that I played. I laid the foundation for these smile smashing sensations and life changing frustrations.

Now i’m saying i’m believing the world is a direct achievement of our treatment of people we need and people we feed. That our madness is mirrored in the moments we fear and for every day we play the statue, a day as the pigeon is revealed.

The majority compare the effect to a dog of the fairer sex, but really I just feel blessed for a chance to reflect and face any pain I create so I can understand and relate and assess the weight of the way I weigh on the world.

What do I know more about than the things that i’ve seen and it seems I can see more with different eyes at each scene.

Karma

Why do I keep ending up “The other guy”? Errytime a woman wants me, she wanna keep me a...

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:18:00 -0700

Why do I keep ending up “The other guy”? Errytime a woman wants me, she wanna keep me a secret for one reason or another.

Note to self: Try to be less embarrassing in public.

Chinaman, OUT!

Lookin’ back on my life, just thinkin’ what’s...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:38:25 -0700

Lookin’ back on my life, just thinkin’ what’s been going wrong.

I’m tryina make it all right, just hustlin’ every day and night.

It’s been one year since my brother left. (I know I said that in the last post, but that was according to the lunar calendar. Asian people lose 10 days every year because we fall into a drunken gambling void where we don’t keep track of time)

Anyways. It’s just rough. I miss my nigga like crazy. I’m off to the cemetary.

If you’re reading this, please take some time to today to really show love to the people you care about. The fact of it all is we’re all on a clock, and when time’s up, there’s no goin’ back. The time we have with each other right now may not feel special, but it is. Don’t ever let yourself forget that.

I miss you little bro.

Ya Boy ft. Jin - Down So Long I’ve been down so long, so...

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:51:35 -0700

Ya Boy ft. Jin - Down So Long

I’ve been down so long, so long, so long. It’s time for me to come up.

REST IN PARADISE TRAN PHUOC NGUYEN

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:16:20 -0700

Exactly one year ago, my brother left this world. Damn I miss my nigga.

This year has been the hardest, saddest, lowest, and most painful stretch of time i’ve ever drudged through. I was forced to search my soul and reflect on my life harder than I ever thought I would bother to.

It’s just been one long arduous process of growth. Up until that point in my life, I only thought I knew what I was talking about. I talked big. Carried myself like a man. I thought that the world had finished what it could do to prepare me and that I was ready to accept and build the future destined for me. Class was over.

I was wrong.

The events leading up to, and following Phuoc’s departure from this life forced me to experience and grow more in one week than I ever had before.

I felt real pain. I saw the true magnitude of death. I hated. I lied to myself. I lost my last chance to say goodbye because when I approached him, I wasn’t strong enough to utter the words. I turned on all my beliefs, fell to my knees, and blindly prayed to whomever I could reach; not because I believed they were listening, but because I was desperate. I experienced deep, irreparable loss.

But as is customary when the world shows you horror, it also revealed my blessings. It revealed to me the collective strength of our family. It taught me empathy. It taught me sympathy. It taught me appreciation, altruism, and acceptance. It showed me that there were things in my life more important than life itself.

Looking back down the path i’ve walked, I can proudly say that even in his passing, Phuoc still has not ceased to constantly help me become better. Things are very different now from how they were a year ago. I still feel like i’m a man that’s ready to receive his destiny, but it’s no longer because I feel like i’ve seen it all. I now feel like a man because I understand that there is no preparation for the perils of the world. There is just the world. Events will unfold as they will and the only real constant is an option to learn from them and believe me, I’ve learned. I am a better man than I was a year ago.

The fact of it all though, is that I still miss my dawg. Regardless of how much growth and peace i’ve happened upon, i’d trade it all and more for my nigga back.

I really miss you bro.

You noob? That is all.

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:59:55 -0700

"i have a legit of 108 followers and half of them are hot"

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:36:50 -0700

“i have a legit of 108 followers
and half of them are hot”

- Mo Jeh

What’s in YOUR phone?

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:31:00 -0700

JerBear being JerBear

Happy Bday JerBear! youyakkedinapitcher

Bite wound + cig burn from same night.

Bonfire in street. Town 4th of July!

Best Friends. They make purple <3

Head of the Axe Gang getting haircut

What’s in YOUR phone?

"‎But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices..."

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:10:00 -0700

“‎But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.””

- Stephen Covey

Better.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:24:00 -0700

It’s human nature, when thinking of others, to look past the good deeds while magnifying the mistakes. Isn’t it then, in the best interest of each individual to strive for perfection? A man that seeks to break the world against himself may possibly achieve greatness. A man that can understand the world around him and utilize it as a tool will certainly achieve success.

Sorry for my ranting. Just a random thought. I feel like I haven’t been doin’ much of anything lately, and that is damn distressing.

I need to focus on becoming better. Stronger. Faster. Smarter. Friendlier. Cuter. Sexier. Funnier. Bossier. Grimier. Colder. Warmer.

For whoever I have to become to excel in the wildly varied course of events that is my life, I want to be the best. Events in life will happen unexpectedly, but for the vast majority of it, we foresee our futures. With that point of view, there is no excuse for inadequacy.

With that being said, here’s my own personal mediocrity vaccine. As it stands, this is a brainstorm session. But if by the next time you see me I haven’t returned to this train of thought, I give you full permission to point and say “you ain’t shit you bitch ass nigga.”

-EXERCISE. I shall be making my return to the gym soon. And when I do, imma be in it to win it. The gameplan is to come out looking like a Tekken character. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

-Read. Constantly. I have a good sized collection of literature that has just been collecting dust. It’s all really, really good stuff too. Highly relevant to the cause. It’s good tho, i’m on it!

-Improve the nutritional quality of my food and implement a meal schedule. I’ve always thought that the key to my productivity is the potency of my chosen fuel. I still <3 you fast food, but we have to part ways.

-Make a point of listening to 10 new songs a day. Being the anti-social hermit that I am, it’s difficult for me to find like minds to share ideas with. We play with the toys we were given and make due for what we don’t.

That’s all I got for now. As you can see i’m a fix the foundation kind of guy. I definitely need to spend more time reflecting on my weaknesses. What other habits are beneficial to a person’s general success?

Sizzeto, out!

"You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She’s loved before she may love again. But if..."

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:30:25 -0700

““You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She’s loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect, you aren’t either & the two of you may never be perfect together. But if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking of you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she know’s you can break: her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.””

- Bob Marley

"Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the..."

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:52:37 -0700

“Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are-or, as we are conditioned to see it.”

- Stephen Covey

On point. Fresh.

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:59:31 -0800

Alright. Alright. I’ve succumbed to the peer pressure.

I’m a stand up guy. What the hell am I gonna do with a tumblr?

"Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result."

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:31:12 -0800

“Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.”

- Oscar Wilde