OD on Ideas

Nakaonwood.tumblr.com

2009-04-22T11:42:00.004-04:00

I'm really enjoying tumblr.com I've said this before but I'm thinking about moving everything I do over there and maybe reposting here occasionally. It's probably better to do that than lie to myself and think I actually have a blog here. So untill next time so long...

News & Notes- Farewell to One of My Favs

2009-03-20T01:44:00.001-04:00

One of my all-time favorite radio shows, NPR’s News and Notes is having its last show today. Too sad. I love this show!

News & Notes is a show that tells news from an "African American Perspective" and I catch it on Clark Atlanta’s jazz station 91.9 FM (a cool place to hang your radio dial). They tell stories about Hazel Scot, the first black woman to have her own TV show in the 1940’s (It didn’t last too long, she was blackballed by Hollywood. But imagine a black woman on TV in America in the 40’s and only in 2008 did someone write a book about her- News & Notes is where I heard her story). They profiled a movement of women in Liberia that went on to play an integral role in ending the violence ravaging their country in war time. These are only 2 examples of what I’ll truly miss about the show— the varied perspectives and points of view they brought to the table (and these 2 examples don’t do it justice— they really covered news and stories from every corner of black life. I"m just too lazy to list others).

It’s on NPR so I guess you could say there’s a bit of “liberal” slant if you’re one to categorize, but listening to the show I got the idea that there was no concern about advancing an ideology or a specific take on black life. They just wanted to tell true stories about the millions of people that are born black (however that manifests itself) and the world they live in. I haven’t seen any broadcast on tv or radio attack news and stories from such varied angles as this show. I know there’s always the internet/google, but News & Notes brought a myriad of viewpoints under one roof. Not to mention the host, Farai Chideya, is a class act who really knows how to get to the heart of any interview in very little time all while displaying a genuine interest in whatever the topic may be.

Sigh, it will be missed.

Nigerian Irish

2009-03-17T23:05:00.001-04:00

Naija flag

Today I spell my name, O'Dinaka .

Top of the evenin to ya!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

PS Shout out to Ted Hendrickx

March 20 2009 - 8:00P
Make Me Laugh Comedy @ Relapse
380 14th St NW
Atlanta , GA
Cost: 7

April 1 2009 - 9:00 PM
Comedy Gold Open Mic
Laughing Skull Lounge
878 Peachtree St,
Atlanta, Ga

April 3 2009 - 9:00P
Laugh For a Cause @ Blackbird CoffeeHouse
114 W Hancock St
Milledgeville , GA 31061
Cost: 5

What is your Irish connection?

Pardon me...

2009-03-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

Guy dresses up as a "Syringe Man"(?) comin' after Lance Armstrong- HILARIOUS!

At lunch yesterday my coworker mentioned black athletes accused of steriod use seem to be more quickly stripped of their credentials/liscensces, etc. than their white counterparts. She used Barry Bonds and Marion Jones as typical examples of this and said folks like Lance Armstrong & Roger Clemens don't seem to be put to the test as quickly or strigently and if they are, the punishment is less severe. Do you think that's true or is this another vicitmization thing?

Coming Attractions!

2009-02-19T20:31:00.004-05:00

What up.

Tomorrow, ie Friday the 20th, I'll be hangin at the Relapse Theater performing w/ the Make Me Laugh comedy show crew & living up to the show's name.

Next week we'll be doing the second run of A.A.C.'s (Art as an Agent for Change) play "Where Hip Hop Lives" and I'm excited! It's a poetisical (think musical but replace the music w/ poetry...now throw away all the thoughts of corniness and you got the idea) surrounding 2 DJ's and their combat against their conniving boss, callers and themselves. I'm better at performing than explaining so come check it out. We'll be in Macon on Tuesday the 24th performing at Club 567's Poetic Peace show and then we'll be bringing it up to Atlanta next Thurs the 26th at the Relapse Theater.

I"ll be ending the month doing a guest set w/ my boy Eric McGee (who will be featuring) at the Gypsy Comedy Club in St. Augustine, Fl next weekend, Feb 27 & 28.

& I'll be doing the Funny Farm's regional open mic show on Wed, March 4th, 8 p.m.

All details are below. Feel free to holla. Peace

Friday, February 20, 2009 8:00 PM
¤ Make Me Laugh Comedy @ Relapse
380 14th St NW
Atlanta, GA
Cost: 7, 5 w/ student ID

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:00pm
Play: Where Hip Hop Lives
Club 567
567 Cherry Street
Macon, GA

Thursday, February 26, 2009 8:00pm
Play: Where Hip Hop Lives
Relapse Comedy Theater
380 14th Street N.W. Atlanta, GA 30318
Atlanta, GA

Friday, February 27, 2009 08:30 PM
¤ Gypsy Comedy Club
828 Anastasia Blvd
St. Augustine, FL 32080

Tue, March 3, 2009, 8 p.m.
Crash Test Comedy @ The Highland Inn
644 Highland Ave
Atlanta 30306

Wed, March 4, 2009 08:00 PM
¤ Funny Farm
608 Holcomb Bridge Road ,
Roswell, GA 30075

Thurs, March 5, 2009 9 p.m.
The Warren
818 N Highland Ave
Atlanta, GA 30306
$10 (but holla at me ;-)

FEAR

2009-02-18T01:47:00.002-05:00

I hate when I let my ~~fear~~ paralyze me and I end up failing to do something or procrastinate for too long simply because I'm ~~afraid~~ I won’t be able to accomplish the task to my fullest potential.

Whispers in the wind

2009-01-23T14:26:00.005-05:00

Damion: It must be nice to be finished [w/ higher learning].
Me: It is but I always have this nagging feeling that I need to go back.
Damion: Hm?
Me: This nagging feeling often manifests itself in the form of every older Nigerian I meet.
Damion: lol
Me: ...at least once a week

Confession

2009-01-05T01:06:00.006-05:00

I have fallen in love with Tumblr.com.

I know this is all of a sudden. Look I didn't think I would need another blog when I found you (except for that lil fling with myspace, but I told you, Tom means nothing to me) but have you seen Tumblr? You can post quotes, photos, links, w/e. It's great for quick blurbs....

Ok, look, I'm not leaving you, I just think it's time we start seeing other blogs.

If you're looking for me I'll be at odinaka.tumblr.com

January, 7 2009 - 8:00P
The Punchline
280 Hildebrand St
Atlanta , GA

Or even at The Warren on Thur
January, 8 2009 - 9:00P
Comedy Gold @ The Warren
818 N Highland Ave
Atlanta , GA
(Holla @ me 4 de free)

Don't worry I'll still re-post here . And there are somethings that I can only share between us.

What?...You don't want sloppy seconds?

LOOK! I'm doing this for us, ok! And if you can't understand that then maybe you're just illiterate. Ughhhh! I hate you! Why do I even write to you?!!

Look, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I love typing here when no one's even reading.

Hit me up sometime alright...

Love,

Odinaka

Words of Wisdom

2009-01-02T03:20:00.002-05:00

"Can't wear skinny jeans 'cuz my nuts don't fit."
Jay-Z, Swagger Like Us

Even if yours do fit, pretend they don't in '09.

Thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Uh, yeah

Double yeah

You, Christmas, Merry

2008-12-24T02:59:00.001-05:00

It's officially Christmas Eve so I want to wish you a Merry Christmas ! Merry Christmas

I even documented my greetings for you

Barack Please!

2008-12-24T02:45:00.007-05:00

Is it wrong that I look at the topless pictures of Barack Obama and compare myself to him?

"Yeah, i think I look just as good as the president... though I'm a lil skinnier, and a lil shorter, and a lil darker, and a lil nappier, and a lil more Nigerian, and alot less eloquent, and don't have smoker's lips...but he ain't got nothin on the OD."

Sadly I don't have any pics to give y'all so you can see how much I blow Barack out of the water...topless.

Yay (Singular)

2008-12-14T05:00:00.003-05:00

Some of my most fun weekends involve getting on stage, performing, jumping off stage and going to a party. This weekend was a double play.

In the future I'll just have parties on stage and never leave.

Bailout Burnout!

2008-12-11T03:02:00.005-05:00

This bailout thing is CRAAAAAAZY!!! I thought I had problems. Our leaders genuinely don't give a shit about us and they proved it by throwing money at the wrong end of the problem.

If I sell cars for a living but nobody is buying my cars because everyone's broke, how does me getting a loan of $100,000 change the fact that people are still too broke to buy any cars from me??? Please explain the logic. No amount of marketing, fuel efficiency, or CEO pandering is gonna make these motor companies enough money to be better off next year than they are now. Call me a pessimist. This is ridiculous. This is one of those times where that stuff in the Economics 101 book should be recalled. Nobody wants people to lose their jobs, but just throwing 15 bil to a dying industry doesn't solve the problem. Especially when it's being said that at the rate these guys are spending money they'll have used up the entire 15 bill by mid '09 if not earlier. Really makes me mad to know that we're paying for this! Can't they just go through a massive overhaul?? Can't they just fail, regroup themselves and make room for smaller companies to be formed and compete. Am I talkin crazy?? Bad enough we let that 700 billion dollar massacre happen, now this. How many consumers are spending more now because of these bailouts? It really makes me sick. Guess this is what I should expect from the world.

This rant has been brought to you by sleep deprivation. "Cuz when you can't sleep. Don't"

And also comedic aspirations, which will be on display later tonight at
Comedy Gold @ The Warren
December, 11 2008 - 9:00P
818 N Highland Ave
Atlanta , GA 30306
Cost: 10
Holla at me for de free

The Cool

2008-12-10T00:16:00.006-05:00

I hate the idea of being cool and I am officially divorcing it. You might say, "OD, you were never cool, you're skinny, ANTI-athletic, you're getting over a comic book addiction, you have glasses and a chemistry degree." Those folks never knew me when I was the black Zach Morris. Yes the black Zach Morris. I didn't say the Nigerian Slater, or the African Screech. No. You read right, this is the blog of the former black Zach Morris. And boy did I live up to my name...

But anyway, those day are over now. Now I'm fed up with coolness (unless it has to do with Parker Lewis- does ANYONE remember that show???)! I don't want anything to do with it. From now on I will be anti-cool.

And some of you will say, "But OD you've always been anti-cool." To those I say, you didn't know me when I played the role of Teddy Ruxbin in my KINDEGARTEN class play. No, you couldn't possibly have known me and say that. You nerds.

So no more trying to be cool for me. Just straight up naturalness to raweth power.

I'm performing at the Funny Farm tonight and at The Warren tomorrow night. Catch me when you can.

Wed, December, 10 2008 - 8:00P
The Funny Farm
608 Holcomb Bridge Road
Roswell , GA 30075

December, 11 2008 - 9:00P
Comedy Gold @ The Warren
818 N Highland Ave
Atlanta , GA 30306
Cost: 10

Reality strikes

2008-12-07T02:25:00.004-05:00

It's official. What I've been denying since the beginning of the year can no longer be overlooked. I've developed a lil pot belly. Soon I'll look like those skinny, bulging gut kids on the postcards and people will start giving me money whenever they see me looking tattered by the pool. I must do something.

PS. I'm so fly...it's open

I know

Cherish This

2008-11-25T05:04:00.002-05:00

Oh and another thing. My friend's mom died sometime this weekend and it's very sad. My heart goes out to the family. I'm having one of those cliche moments where I realize that all these things I do, no matter how passionate I am about them really don['t matter at the end of the day. It's about the people, the family, and our impact. It's hard to realize that at the end of the day. But it's true, which makes it cliche 'cause we always see this message in books and movies, but for me, it's a lil more real this time. As I get "older" (how old is 24? I know some old cats that would laugh at me for that phrase. How bout more mature?) the realization that these moments never come back to us becomes more and more evident. NEVER. This time I'm using to write this blog can never be brought back. I can never go back and get the 6 hours of sleep I should be getting (and I'll be passive aggressively bitter about it all day). Anyway there are many people that I have come to know and love in this life and it's shame I can't spend more time with everyone, from folks back home in Nijah to my compadres in the States that live anywhere from 20 min to 11 hours away. I try not to take the people that cross my path for granted although I usually have a nagging feeling that I do. Well pray for my friend's fam if you can. And I hope to cherish the time I've been blessed with here and use it wisely. Over and out
It is now 5:13 take any typos, grammar errors and extra long paragraphs as you see them. This is free after all.

That road folks keep talkin bout

2008-11-25T04:44:00.000-05:00

There are no shortcuts in comedy, I've always heard that. I realize that I never heard or really began to like most of my favorite comedians until I saw them after they'd already put 8-12 years into comedy (that's an average of 10....I think). I read a lot of comedian interviews and every single comedian/manager/agent says that folks don't really find their comedic voice until they at least 10 years deep in the game. Which is encouraging to me in a way because it makes me think that I'm not that bad after only performing less than 50 times (I'm at 49- hopefully I'll blog about my 50th performance later). But it also makes me realize that I've got a ways to go til I get where I want to be, which is slightly discouraging because I wanna be where I wanna be now. But there are no shortcuts so I trek this comedy road from club to club, hoping to create the kinds of laughs that originally brought me here. I have to admit though that such a long road makes me question whether or not stand up is for me. I know some people might say I"m not cut out for this if I'm even questioning it but there are so many roads to take in life-it's hard to know where God is leading our steps sometimes. When I think about devoting 10 years to get good, I think about things I could also be doing like Pharmacy school, grad school in chemistry or the creative writing masters I'm considering putting on the back burner. I could achieve either one of these things in the same amount of time and be on a more stable path to financial security (cept for writin of course, haha. Gotta love stories!)...but I want to pursue stand up comedy...the unceratin road where even the good are often forgotten and unpaid. Yeah, I have to admit I do think....alot, especially since I have dreams of starting a family and wanting to be able to provide for those hypothetical loved ones as a father. I don't know. I do love the art of making folks laugh though, I always have and it's crazy that God has allowed me to be born in a country where stand up comic can even be discussed as a possible career path (albeit a path w/ many forks and few spooning opps). I'll just keep on performing, writing and praying. Shout out to all of y'all out there.

Think I wanted to write some more but I'm tired. Please excuse the typos and grammatically incorrect sentences- it's 4 a.m. Peace & God bless~

Character Meltdown

2008-11-25T04:08:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write a blog tonight (er, this morning) about all the crazy things going through my mind. But after comin in at 1:45 and youtubin and myspacin for 3 hours and thinkin about bein at work by 9....I might just pass. Or I'll continue, we'll see how this goes (remind me to blog about the consequences for these actions during my work day).

I did a set at one of my favorite alternative rooms here in the A, the Star Bar and it was different. I was getting a little tired of the material I've been doing lately and I wanted to try something different. When I went to Barnes & Noble after work to brainstorm ideas for my performance I recalled my love for the crazy character interviews of Tracy Morgan and the zaniness of Jim Carrey. I wanted to try that a lil bit, well not that exactly that but I wanted to do something slightly different from my joke telling....something character based. I've always had characters running through my head since I was kid and I want to eventually be able to reflect that in my comedy. While I was pacing around the isles of B&N, avoiding the mean mug of the suited security guy, I brainstormed this funny quirky, neurotic guy (not Woody Allen, haha) that I could do and still incorporate a few of my old jokes.

My performace-
I almost died on stage. Quite opposite from killing. I got nervous from trying something new, I'd never done a character that had nothing to do with Nigeria (I've only been doing this for about a year so it's not that big of a deal, haha...but I was still nervous) and I wanted to be funny. I assumed I could make the character funny because I've read a million comic interviews where they say it's not always the material that's funny but the comedian and I felt my character would kill as a comedian.
I got an assortment of token laughs. Not the belly laughs that every comic lives for but the cute laughs that folks give you when they pity your poor material. It was an experience. I'm glad I did it though. It was a risk I almost talked myself out of for fear of not being funny. But at least I got to try it out. Hopefully I'll get the courage back up to the resurrect the character and write some original jokes specifically for it. Until then I'll fall back on my old stuff this week. I should be hitting up Maurice's room at Cenci Lounge this Wed. It's a real cool spot and I'm glad Mo's trying to carve a spot for us in East Atlanta, haha- it's no easy task. Catch me if you can.

Please excuse the typos and grammatically incorrect sentences- it's 4 a.m.

2008-11-23T15:28:00.000-05:00

10 Months have gone by and still no posts. Oh well, my myspace profile contains alot of the stuff that should be here. Check out the blogs I follow for some cool (regularaly updated) blogs from friends and people I only know on the internet (haha). I'll leave here with some dates I'll be performing this week. Including tonight where I"ll be with Phat Comedy folks (who're always funny). Peace & God bless~

Sun, November, 23 2008 - 9:00P
Phat Comedy @ Twisted Taco
66 12th St NE
Atlanta , GA 30309

Mon, November, 24 2008 - 9:00P
Star Bar
437 Moreland Ave NE
Atlanta , GA 30307

Wed, November, 26 2008 - 8:30P
Comedy @ The Cave
1619 Collins Rd NW
Kennesaw , GA
Cost: 10

Humble Beginnings

2008-01-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

So I feel like I should give an introduction to this blog but when I logged on to type I realized I sleepily introduced myself in an earlier edition. Well I'mma do it again so bare with me, or just skip this and wait for me to post again. I've had a blogger account for over a year now but never put anything on here because I was preoccupied with blogging on Myspace and Facebook notes. I graduated from college last month (thank God) so I decided to graduate from those forums as well. To be honest I don't know what I"m gonna be talking about on here. but I can assure you that it'll be coming straight from my mind (I hope that doesn't scare anyone). Possible topics include politics, hip hop, literature, business(?) comedy, religion, identity- who knows? "Anything can happen," as a a song my cousin used to sing went. Just keep clicking here and I'll keep delivering. Peace & God bless~

Hello Blogger

2007-12-31T07:03:00.000-05:00

I just created a blog! I've been up all night, it's 7 a.m. and I have to make a 2 hr drive to Milledgville, Ga today from Marietta. Thank God for a new morning! I'm not being sarcastic but I am regretting why I'm awake. We'll see what today has to offer. Peace & God bless y'all. We'll get nitty gritty later