The rules are: You have to come up with twelve thoughts and one picture (totaling 13) to describe your weekend. Try using quotes, events, links to blog entries and websites, etc.

My Thanksgiving-Day weekend was a total bust. I just relaxed at the crib and tried to organized my life . . . because it's in shambles! Anyway, here are highlights of my T-Day weekend.

1. Bird, bird, bird, yeah, bird is the word. I also ate collard greens, corn bread, stuffing and sweet potato. I didn't stuff myself too much, I'm trying to stay slim thug, yaknowwhamsayin'?
2. Afterward, I watched What's Happening!, Season 2 on DVD. -- So instead of Gobble! Gobble! Gobble -- it's was Hay! Hay! Hay!
3. Black Friday? Oh, hell no. I'm staying away from the malls.
4. Go cop Nas' new double-LP, Street's Disciple. -- It's not a bad recording, but it should have been trimmed down to just one disc. Nas can't hold a double-CD together. Others may want to download their favorite songs from the discs via iTunes and create their own 10-15 track Street's Disciple CD. Nas should have cut at least 6-10 songs from the final release. Nonetheless, it's a noteworthy album. "Virgo" is my song because, well . . . I'm a Virgo.
5. Downloaded some songs for my iPod via iTunes. (More on that later this week.) -- I think I'm going to send out some mixed-CD for the holidays. I got plenty of exclusive shit joints, as well.
6. "What do I want for Christmas, hmmm?" -- My response after my mom asked me for a Christmas list.
7. One to watch in '05: Leela James.
-- I just got her advance CD. She's fiiyaa, baby. The disc is in heavy rotation in my iPod. She's the black Janis Joplin (or Etta James Natalie Merchant?). More thoughts on her and the music in the near future.
8. What's all the fuss? Snoop Dogg has been smacking bitches for years. -- Not to poke fun at the ongoing misogyny and misandry in hip-hop, which is destructive to the culture and music; but writers/pundits need to talk about this issue at more music conferences and in the classrooms. Beeeyotches!
9. "I can't believe the year is almost over." -- Me, huffing under my breath, while I was balancing my checkbook.
10. Back to work on Monday. I need a vacation.
11. Oh yeah! E-A-G-L-E-S! The Philadelphia Eagles clinched their fourth straight NFC East title. Can you say Super Bowl?
12. Hot blogs I'm currently reading (Start linking up):

(a) Sexkitten -- Forget "Sex And the City," this Chicago divorcee writes with much more passion than Carrie Bradshaw does. There's enough sex life stories here to keep you hot and bothered for decades. I'm addicted to this weblog. Props!

(b) Mr. Babylon --
Do you really want to know how fucked up our kids are? Then check out Robert's weblog, Mr. Babylon. Robert is a school teacher at a shitty high school. His thoughts on teaching, kids and inner-city life are thought-provoking, and, at times, humorous. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I read his posts. In the end, his words keep me coming back to his blog. Link him up now!

(c) Music for America --
Hip-Hop is more than just getting crunk or droppin' it like it's hot. It's also a movement to inspire social change. Hip-hopper DL Chandler mixes hip-hop with social commentary/consciousness. That's a hard feat to achieve on a blog, and DL does it with such wit and insight. Whenever you have free time, visit his blog and read what he has to say.

(d) Hardly Art, Hardly Garbage --
Pop music/culture writer Sean Fennessey has the one job that I would love to have -- he's the staff writer at Complex magazine, one of the best music/gear/style magazines on the newsstands, right now. I'm not going to playa hate on him, though, because he has a cool blog. (I still want his gig.)

(e) The Fabolous and Funky World of a Diva --
All you divas out there don't have a thing on Jazz. She is a radio DJ who recently quit her job and is now in transition toward a new gig. She has plenty of drama in between as she tries to maneuver her way through in the male-dominated radio industry. A great coffee-break blog. Link her up.

Holla!

Ol' Dirty Bastard (aka Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, Number One Ason), a member of the influential rap group the Wu-Tang Clan, died Saturday afternoon of unknown causes inside a New York-area recording studio. He was 35 but would have been 36 on Monday. According to sources, the rhyme-slinger complained of chest pains when he arrived at the studio earlier in the day. He would later collapsed on the floor and never regained consciousness. A rep for the medical examiner pronounced ODB dead at 5:04 p.m. ET. "It's a big loss. It's a big loss right now," said a saddened Ghostface Killah. "I knew him for 20 years. He was my brother, heart, soul, pride and joy." ODB's mother, Cherry Jones, via a statement, described her son as the most generous soul on earth and thanked his fans for their outpouring of support. Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash, who signed ODB to his label last year, said in a statement: "The world has lost a great talent, but we mourn the loss of our friend."

Peep this unreleased track from the late Dirt McGirt, it's called "Lift Up Yah Skirt." (real audio required)

Also, Serge from So Many Shrimp blog throws down an ODB musical tribute. (Well, at least two joints)

But check out Honey's ODB tribute via her Radio Blog. All of ODB's hottest joints are there for your listening pleasure.

Nuh!

Holla!