Karma Promenade

Recovery

2013-10-22T23:09:00.001-04:00

Bad Religion

2012-08-26T17:18:00.001-04:00

The miscarriage of a promise

Our generation's excessive need for pivot points

Has destroyed the loyalty

That would've been born from the dream

Selfless

2012-05-20T22:53:00.000-04:00

People can't do something themselves, they tell you that you can't do it.

- Film, The Pursuit of Happyness

With each antiquated task starting

hopes were never high.

Before a project even began,

potential flaws written in

pen, forever marking their permanence.

Again! The teacher would belt,

Over exaggerating her disappointment.

No time for daydreaming at a place like this.

Wars would be cast.

With each archaic task

came a shimmer of hope.

Attempting to pen my emotions

while forced to tend to

the stern and uncreative spirit

which surrounded me in every direction.

Simply wishing and waiting

for a place and moment in which

my dreams would be appreciated;

turning themselves into reality.

With each current task

I move further away from

the disheartening spirits, simply

refusing to allow the lost goals of others

deter me. Nostalgia dispensing in every

direction. Others trying to fail vicariously

through me. Looking at the new world

as a threat to a false ideal. Fathers allowing

sons to settle out of fits of pride.

With each new

task, I cheer. Knowing that opportunity

came at a high price that I didn’t pay.

How to live up to obligations? The only

motivation I will ever need is simply

knowing that his hopes were not lost,

but rather met. For his goal was to simply help

me achieve mine. He bravely chose to pen

his own ambitions in order to turn boys into men.

Izra Tip #10: Be Realistic

2012-04-29T19:00:00.000-04:00

"He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you."

- Bob Marley

Izra Tip #9: Have a Conversation

2012-04-25T13:00:00.001-04:00

The Flight From Conversation

Izra Tip #8: "Problem" is another word for "opportunity"

2012-03-11T19:00:00.001-04:00

Izra Tip #7: There is no place like New York City

2011-12-25T19:00:00.001-05:00

How to Live in New York City « Thought Catalog

Izra Tip #6: Seize every opportunity

2011-12-18T19:00:00.006-05:00

Izra Tip #5: Know your roots

2011-12-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

Patricia’s New York

“Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness,

natives give it solidity and continuity,

but the settlers give it passion.” - E.B. White

This is no longer the 80s. The stressed, sultry,

and seemingly sensual hookers no longer line her times square

Crime's down, the streets are paved, and yet, she can't satisfy

The grid wails

Drive beats the hearts of her residents

It whispers tiny reminders of lacking net worth

in their ears: Make it here, make it anywhere

Sinatra and Jay-Z blare

She knows what she's worth. Pay every last penny

For a tiny hole in any part of her, and be relieved

to be able to stay another month. Accept her climate.

We all know she's bipolar.

Models and marble infest a part of her

Budding artists restlessly claim another

Incredible food for indulgent appetites

But, starve for her attention

Her earnest eagerness to welcome you

Is second only to her many attractions

that keep you interested for years on end.

Call her New York.

Girl next door innocence coupled with the

seduction of the cougars uptown. There to listen, yet

demands commands to be meticulously followed.

A lethal combination.

Where multiple races migrate. Hopes of a better tomorrow.

Mesmerizingly magnetized by the American Dream.

Aspirations asphyxiated by the smog, merely slowing

unstoppable desires.

Trains juxtaposing laborers and elitists

Taking the same path to different destinations.

Projects to penthouses, street corners to corner offices.

Brooklyn to the board room.

Izra Tip #4: Be Reflective

2011-12-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

To My Future Son in Law

“Wisdom is the daughter of experience”

- Leonardo da Vinci

An eternal abundance of love.
Beautiful, peaceful, soulful love
continually growing naturally and
directly in the heart.
Every action and discussion
fully embracing a
genuine selfless feeling of
hope. Her eyes have the same
instinctual twinkle as mine. I
just hope that you will be
kinder than I was at your age;
letting her grow at her own pace,
move at her own speed,
own her own accomplishments.
Never let her
plead for attention,
question your faith or need to
relentlessly search for a meaning
simply to make your relationship work.
Time is quite the
underappreciated asset. The
very nature of love,
wonderful as it may be, is simply
xeroxed Hollywood emotions, wasted on the
youth. For something real, you must work
zealously - earn the right to love.

Izra Tip #3: Follow Your Dreams

2011-12-06T12:16:00.001-05:00

My friend Nick Camillo's New Album. A long time coming, it is the perfect collection of soft reflective genius. Click below for a free download:

Izra Tip #2: Be a southern gentleman

2011-11-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

A Guide To Being A Southern Gentleman « Thought Catalog

Izra Tip #1: Indie Pop Chicks Are Legit

2011-11-17T10:29:00.002-05:00

Spiritually Political

2011-11-08T12:57:00.000-05:00

(Haiku)

Religions are like
political candidates –
faith based on promise

If I believed in
anything, it would be in
the truth of science

I exist wholly
to help promote what others
hold dear and holy

End the one percent.
Deliver hope and health care
Sincerely, the rest

Back to the Basics

2011-11-01T20:08:00.002-04:00

Settle In

2011-10-30T14:07:00.002-04:00

She is the brightest sunset, kissing the soft ripples in the waves
The leaves visiting every color in the rainbow before raining a mellow brown
The path's dirt begging for more visitors before snow covers even the deepest enclaves
Unfortunately, commitment and loyalty have long deserted this part of town

He is the brisk dew of dawn, dousing the fine surfaces of the plants
Disrupting their long parched nights
Drunk with excitement as if they were sipping the Merlot he decants
Trying to get the most out of the ground before his next flight

Together, they are like the bone chilling wind on a summer's eve
A necessary alleviation, but at quite the cost
One last shutter before it decides to leave
When they are apart, composed. When they are together, lost.

It's more exciting if you don't rush the moment
The seasons' curves are more appealing for it

Professional Advice

2011-10-26T19:09:00.000-04:00

McSweeney's Perfect Definition of What I've Become

2011-10-26T14:03:00.008-04:00

YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE
YOU’VE NEVER SEEN
A NEO-HIPSTER BEFORE.

BY JACOB PACEY

- - - -
Hey guys, long time no see, toss me a PBR—actually, better make it a Coors Light. I know, I look different, but before you all start saying how I look like some midtown suit, let me explain. I haven’t gone pleb on you, I’m actually a neo-hipster now. It’s basically where you’re a hipster, but since hipsterism has gone so mainstream you dress and act like a regular person, ironically.

It’s like this. In the morning when I wake up, I’ll put on a pair of skinny jeans and a Sonics t-shirt—but then when it’s time to go out, I’ll ironically slap on a pair of runners, some blue jeans, and a no-name golf shirt I ironically bought at Target. And those thick-rimmed glasses I used to wear? I still wear them in my house, but I got them changed to a zero prescription since I recently ironically got laser eye surgery.

I still listen to good music, though. The Decemberists, Dirty Projectors, Nouvelle Vague, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Tears for Fears. I listen to all of them—in my house. When I leave my house though, I usually don’t bother bringing my iPod and instead I just put on the radio in my car and kind of just listen to whatever’s popular—but I do it ironically. You should have seen how people looked at me the other day when I was parking my Focus blasting that new Linkin Park song from the Transformers soundtrack. They totally didn’t get it.

Oh, yeah, and that nine-to-five job I have at that marketing agency? I totally just got that so I could work there ironically. It’s just like working at a record store or bagging groceries, but I make better money doing it. Don’t worry though, I’ve been spending all that extra money super-ironically. Just the other week, I ironically invested in some low-risk mutual funds. What a gas!

I’m also dating a lawyer who works on the floor above me, she’s really great, you guys would like her—but you’ll have to meet her some other time, she wouldn’t be caught dead in a bar like this. No, I’m still with Sophie, she knows I’m just dating the suit ironically, we’re getting married after she finishes her PhD in mid-20th century early feminist literature. She wanted to do something new age, or have an outdoor wedding, but I thought it would be way more ironic if we just had a traditional ceremony in a church. Oh man, it’s going to be such a statement!

I hope it all makes sense now, I don’t want you guys thinking that all it took was a nice pair of properly fitting jeans, a job that pays over 20k a year and a few dates with a woman in a pantsuit for me to completely sell out. The reality is just that I’ve reached a new level of meta-irony that will take you awhile to understand, that’s all.

So, let’s order some food shall we? Does this place accept American Express? I’ve recently started ironically collecting Air Miles. It’s a thing.

Selfless

2011-10-08T15:19:00.003-04:00

People can't do something themselves, they tell you that you can't do it.
- Film, The Pursuit of Happyness

With each old task starting
hopes were never high.
Before a project even began,
potential flaws written in
pen, forever marking their permanence.
Again! The teacher belted,
over exaggerating her disappointment.
No time for daydreaming at a place like this.
Wars would be cast.

With each old task
came a shimmer of hope.
Attempting to pen my emotions
While forced to tend to
the stern and uncreative spirit
which surrounded me in every direction.
Simply wishing and waiting
for a place and moment in which
my dreams would be appreciated;
turning themselves into reality.

With each current task
I move further away from
the disheartening spirits, simply
refusing to allow the lost goals of others
deter me. Nostalgia dispensing in every
direction. Others trying to fail vicariously
through me. Looking at the new world
as a threat to a false ideal. Fathers allowing
sons to settle out of fits of pride.

With each new
task, I cheer. Knowing that opportunity
came at a high price that I didn’t pay.
How to live up to obligations? The only
motivation I will ever need is simply
knowing that his hopes were not lost,
but rather met. For his goal was to simply help
me achieve mine. He bravely chose to pen
his own ambitions in order to turn boys into men.

Define Yourself

2011-10-05T18:30:00.000-04:00

An artist that chose not to starve.

The Reunion

2011-10-02T13:01:00.001-04:00

Deep sky, oh silver sieve aloft
Watch me as I pass through the gates

Enchanting eyes dare I defy
To become lost within escape

It doesn't need us
Yet we deposit our need for it
into little banks of memories

When we believed
That a tree house was a spaceship,
a vast defense against armies

Let's redesign a time when simplicity was the fashion
Meditate on the development of another chapter

Coexisting growth as we simply try to find our place
As the foliage leads to a cold that finally forces our reunited warm embrace

"Work/Life" Balance

2011-09-25T14:16:00.001-04:00

Our artist was murdered subtly in exchange for growing.
The cubicles appeared exciting, along with the parties the firm was throwing.
As the working man's plight to find beauty in business grew.
He began to realize there was little inspiration, no matter whence he drew.
His heart simply wasn't in it.
His co-workers were full of ambition.
The managerial monotony trickled in
As he lost all motivation.

Our artist was murdered violently in exchange for changing.
As he missed finding the perfect light aperture for his pictures, his mind was aching.
When he needed the perfect prose to express his regrets and fears,
His sorrow was drowned in happy hour cocktails and beers.
Where were the great writers and films?
The extra commas on the checks weren't enough.
Losing his dreams was a high price to pay.
No one ever said the real world would be this tough.

Our artist was murdered silently in exchange for freedom.
Yet, the death sentence they called a contract was an obligation to boredom.
The pocket of life where mistakes were allowed and encouraged
Closed, in exchange for safety and security, inspiration damaged.
The saddest form of irony,
His creativity is simply numbed.
The same attribute that got him hired in the first place
Is being robbed as all of his ambitions are dumbed.

Priorities

2011-09-20T14:12:00.004-04:00

Our Biggest Asset

2011-09-12T20:14:00.002-04:00

For time is free and priceless
For time allows the healing of young broken hearts
For time is moving as we continue our ongoing struggle to keep up
For time widens generational gaps
For time provides wisdom and ruthlessly destroys youthful dexterity
For time distorts like a Dali painting, and yet can reclaim beauty
For time ticks slowly

For time forces sacrifices, which clarify priorities
For time flies and begs for a pilot
For time numbs creative young minds in exchange for safety and security
For time is caged into deadlines and long pockets of life
For time implores us to be planned and to be free
For time is the original non-renewable resource
For time ticks quickly

How to Love

2011-09-11T15:05:00.001-04:00

“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect - you aren’t either, and 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 about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows 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