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Showing posts from April, 2020

My Conversation with Jozee Dee

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE YouTube Version I met Jozee last summer(2019). A mutual friend started bringing her to the dancehall parties I would attend. She gave me a good vibe and was open to learning about our community. Listening to Jozee reminds me of my enthusiasm when I was introduced to dancehall. In my teens(late 80s-90s), I'd go to neighborhood basement parties where hip hop, house music, RnB played. There would always be a reggae segment. I thought it was cool, but didn't grab my attention as it does now. In the early 2000s, I would religiously go to Club Speeed in NYC, every Sunday. DJ Mister Cee would play the latest and greatest hip hop. He as well would have a small reggae segment. But it was current dancehall and soca, which I wasn't exposed to. This wasn't 'Murder She Wrote,' or 'Twice My Age.' But Busy Signal, Elephant Man, and a new artist called Ding Dong with his tune 'Badman Forward, Badman Pullup.' Whe

'It's Just Dancing' Aquarius Pisces Edition February 2020-PARTY VIDEO

YouTube Video I shot this party in late February 2020.   Expecting there would be many more to come. Filming my friends and fellow dancers having a wonderful time is a pleasure.   Then the Coronavirus pandemic happened and changed the way we live our lives.    No public gatherings, social distancing.   DJs now play online through Zoom, Instagram Live, and other social media platforms.   People dance at home in their most comfortable clothes.    When will we come together again and share this love of dance and community?   Hopefully sometime in the 2nd half of the year.    When it happens, I think we'll be so eager to party, Basquiat's Bottle(the venue featured here)won't be able to hold us.  That's a good thing.   Enjoy the video and reminisce.   Great times are still to come.

Allow Your Life to Happen In Seasons.

AUDIO VERSION YouTube Version Robin Sharma's '5 AM Club' was my favorite book of 2019.   It is similar to Bob Burg's 'The Go-Giver', where a narrative includes lessons to live by.  One of those lessons in Mr. Sharma's book being 'allow your life to happen in seasons.'  In the '5 AM Club,' he gives an example describing trees.   Their annual rhythm of losing then blossoming their leaves.   They do not resist the seasons. They willingly go through them. We can do the same.    We grind ourselves down with the same busy schedule all year long.   Only to take a week(or two)of vacation to recuperate, reflect, or slow down?   One to two weeks, that's it. I'm writing this during winter 2020.   This season I won't feel guilty about staying in and enjoying great food, TV, books, video games.   I often travel during this time, as booking trips are less expensive. In the spring, there will be outdoor acti

Bicycling with a wonderful message from Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk recently started his 'Tea with Gary Vee' show.    It's a morning show where he does Q & A with his fans.    I've listened to such great and inspirational content on there.   This is one of those bits of advice. YouTube version. Find his podcast here.  

Yo!

Here I'm attempting to switch up the action figure posts.    They've often had drama, thriller, action elements.   This time I'm trying comedy.   Enjoy. YouTube version.

Quarantine Mixtape April 2020-Podcast Exclusive

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE: We're all inside, why not enjoy some good tunes.   Let's party! Tracklisting: 1. Michael O. 'Follow Me' 2. Amindi 'Pine & Ginger' 3. Tiwa Savage 'Ma Lo' 4. Lowkey 'Package' 5. Starboy 'Fake Love' 6. Notes 'My Lover' 7. Lenny Kravitz 'Low' 8. Des Rocs 'Used to the Darkness' 9. M0 'Way Down' 10. Whether 'Radar' 11. Toby Mac 'I Just Need U' 12. Phryme 'Sunflower Seeds' 13. Swizz Beatz 'Something Dirty' 14. Nas 'White Label' 15. Wale 'My Boy' 16. Estelle 'Love Like Ours' 17. Damian Marley 'Medication' 18. Sting & Shaggy 'Don't Make Me Wait' 19. Sean Paul 'No Lie' 20. Chronixx 'Spanish Town Rockin' 21. Chronixx 'Skankin Sweet' 22. Chronixx 'Here Comes Trouble' 23. Chronixx 'Likes' 24. Bomba Estereo 'Amar Asi' 25. Bad

Meditation Session For Beginners

I've often heard how mediation and mindfulness can be helpful. I've recently started making it a regular practice.   I've also heard that in teaching what one learns, the teacher reinforces the lesson within themselves. In this 22 minute video, I meditate for three quick sessions of 1-3-5 minutes each. Join in and comment below with any thoughts. You can skip ahead to 2:41 in the video to begin the session. You can follow me on Facebook here.

'Crazy, This Can't Be Real?' Tiger King Spoiler Review

Listen to the podcast here! Jason G and I both work in the NYC hotel industry; unfortunately, we were recently furloughed due to the Coronavirus. We agreed to keep in touch every week, check-in, share what we're watching or reading(specifically comic books). I asked him, 'have you seen Tiger King yet?' I'd seen it a week earlier and haven't talked to someone to share my thoughts. He told me his wife and daughter were watching it, and while he was doing chores around the house, it kept grabbing his attention. One week later, he's consumed the entire series, and we are here to chat about it. There are spoilers. We review this Netflix original based on its entertainment value. Jason compliments the director(Eric Goode)for showing the good and bad sides of the cast; Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, Doc Antle. I mention related news I discovered after watching Tiger King. Such as Netflix filming new content to be released in April. Also, Joe Exotic's m

Venom Vs. Spider Gwen. With Call of Duty for Backup!-ACTION FIGURE PHOTOGRAPHY

In the scene I have Venom Vs. Spider Gwen.   The Call of Duty figures are there for backup.   But it looks like she might try to talk down Eddie Brock.    The Call of Duty figures are ready to pounce! Here I also used the 'Subway' Extreme Sets.   The dumpster prop is from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Secret Sewer Lair playset.    That's a mouthful. I used PS Express on the iPad to  add extra drama to the images. This is the moment...will they fight?! Here Gwen is beginning to ask the soldiers to stand down.   There might be another possibility to end things without violence.  She removes her mask. Eddie Brock starts doing the same. This picture and the last I didn't add any effects.   I thought they looked great just as they were. The face off.   My favorite photo of the bunch.   Looks like something out of a movie. The end from a different angle.    Affiliate Links The fig

I enjoy taking pictures of flowers and wildlife in my urban neighborhood.

I'm originally from the Washington Heights area in New York City.  Unless I was at a park, there weren't many trees around. I moved to Union City, New Jersey, under a decade ago. Now when I see these trees, flowers, and beautiful colors, I love taking pictures of it all. On occasion, I get to see animals I hadn't seen much of before, such as skunks, possums, and raccoons. These were taken with my iPhone SE. I think these are cherry blossoms.   This is the new challenge.   Figuring out what kinds of trees/flowers these are . These here are Magnolias(I think). Below are a  few more.   If you know the names of  these flowers,  please comment below. Taken Easter 2020 Shot March 2020 Shot March 2020 My Friend Nibbles having Lunch.

Going Up an Elevator to Fight an Evil Boss-VIDEO GAME FUN

YouTube video I recently signed up for Tik Tok and several other social media platforms. 'Tea with Gary Vee,' Gary Vaynerchuk's new Q & A show, inspired this.   I'm an aspiring content creator, and I'd like to be noticed. While scrolling through Instagram, I came across one of his older videos discussing how these platforms are free advertising for us all. About a month ago, I downloaded Crackdown 3 on to my Xbox one. Thanks to Xbox Game Pass.   For a low monthly subscription, I can try several games at a time. I started Crackdown 3 and became obsessed with it. Here's a clip I recorded.   As opposed to merely posting it on my social media feeds, I thought to do something different, funny.   Drawing influence from videos I'd seen on Tik Tok.   Thank you, Gary. Comments?   Do so below.

Self Improvement has Changed My Life.

Most of my life I've been a night owl.  I'd often stay up late and watch TV. During the 90s, infomercials, which promised riches inundated the local channels.  They played in the early hours of the morning, and I enjoyed them.  Such as Carleton Sheets 'No Money Down' real estate program.  Or Don Lapre's 'tiny classified ads' course. Tony Robbins 'Personal Power' was my favorite.  His set of audiotapes promoted a better life, improved relationships, optimal health, and more. Dead end temp jobs were my existence at the time.  My weekly paychecks were less than $250.  Seeing these ads gave me daydreams of a better life for my family and myself.  Financially, we are poorer than middle class. Mr. Robbin's audiocassettes were outside of my price range.  However, his 'Awaken The Giant Within' book was on sale at Barnes and Noble.  I purchased it. I never finished the book, but I did research his material and sought the individuals

Action Figure Photography. Predator and Luke Harper

There are affiliate links in this post.. I love this stuff!  In the first image I have a NECA Predator figure riding a Dewback from Star Wars Black Series.   I shot this around my neighborhood in New Jersey.   I don't know why this looks like a Mars kind of setting(minus the cars in the background).    The Sun Feels Great! The Predator figure is a little stiff in the leg area, but I was still able to sit him on the creature. Find the Predator figure here:  https://amzn.to/2UGic5f Find the Dewback animal here:  https://amzn.to/3bMQXMc  I have a frustrating love for Extreme Sets.   Their products look great as background settings.   When it comes to building it and putting it together, especially when it's complicated, can be a nightmare.   That was my experience with the Nela Level 06 diorama.   Here I used the Backstage set and it was easy to assemble. 'I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for you nosy kids!' -Luke Harper

Blasting Away the Coronavirus-TIME LAPSED ARTwork

YouTube Video We've all talk about it everyday, this virus.   We all want this to be over with.    In this piece, I've drawn a heroine from space blasting away the virus with her PVP 3000 cannon. Like this artwork?   Find it here in my Teepublic store  https://www.teepublic.com/user/pvpfromnj  Get in as a t-shirt, pillow, mug and lots more.

Jason G Interviews ME!-podcast exclusive

Check out this episode! In November of 2017, I interviewed my friend Jason G.   He suggested around that time, that he should interview me in return. That's what we do on this episode, as I discuss my life. Listen to me interview Jason here  https://bit.ly/2UyPIus