How to Travel On: A Guide For the Perpetually Depressed and Other Similar Persons.

The single most difficult thing in life is to accept destiny.


"...And to believe in divine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof." -Muhammad(SAW) -The Hadith of Gabriel(AS)"


No matter how much you try to struggle and run, what catches up to you (or lack thereof) reaches you in a due time and process. (Un)fortunately, no matter how many times you experience a shift in life it doesn't get any easier ever. But I have compiled a list of steps that perhaps may be of use to one experiencing the trouble of acceptance of fate. At the risk of sounding like an AA advertisement.

1.) Accept

The core of destiny is acceptance. There is no changing the past, Doc. so stop trying to build the DeLorean. Sit back take a deep breath and realise that what's done is done. Chill out take a walk around the block. Most importantly try not to take to long on acceptance. Over thinking leads to depression.


2.) The Cons

 TRY WITH ALL YOUR GOD GIVEN MIGHT to draft up a list of contrasts to your situation. Reach and become ridiculous if you must. What matters is that you come up with a minimum of 7 SOLID reasons why the situation you want/desire is actually bad for you. You should aim for 15.


3.) The Pros

Only to be done after step 2. This may sound weird, backwards or downright wrong but you absolutely must think of the positives of the what you wanted. Doing this will free yourself from any guilt and/or late night what-if sessions. If you map out all the possible outcomes that could have been from the get-go you will dwell on them less later.

4.) New

Being where you're at presently. Take advantage of it. Try something you'd have never tried before. You're already out of your comfort zone, you may as well push it a bit further.

5.) Open

Some one's gone through what you've been through, a friend, a co-worker, an Internet blogger. Go find someone and talk to them. Asking for help helps.


6.) Cry

It's healthy. Natural. and you won't be holding all that anger inside.


 7.) Eat

Go eat at a new restaurant with your friends. You'll surprise yourself how enjoyable it will be actually. If you're to scared or too poor to eat at a new place go to your favourite and order something new.

8.) Meet

Make a goal to meet at least 2 new people. Intimately. Get to actually know them.

9.) Watch

Watch Back to the Future. All of them even the questionable part 3.

10. Listen
CLICK HERE







And that's what you need to travel on



We're all gonna make it brahs,

Zyzz Yusuf
el mariachi

Art to My City

I must say it's been a minute since I've written anything about anything. It's good to be back? Yeah I guess everyone needs an outlet and writing is mine. Gahdamn what has happened since I last spoke to the internet. Well my production company, Arriving Productions (Formerly the local35 we changed the name due to copyright issues) I'd like to say sailed pretty smoothly. We launched an Instagram page (@arrivingproductions) and stayed with the Islamic content on our YouTube page (it's still The Local35.) We were blessed to be able to work with the renowned scholar Yasmin Mogahed as well as support Autism Speaks, an international advocacy group that works with people dealing with autism spectrum disorders. We worked hard (Mr. Sameem Tursonzadah) well into the end of the Pitt semester. By that point unfortunately we weren't concerned with content but more so production experience which in my  opinion is/was one of our weaknesses.

Then tragedy struck(?)

Through a series of events orchestrated by God himself circumstances have placed me in Atlanta, my city for at least six months. I probably won't be returning to Pitt. At least not for a year. But that's a long sob story with great undertones of personal danger and adventure.

Pitt is in the suburbs and for two years I was blessed to live the life of a WASP with my Abercrombie button downs and Sperry-Boat shoes. With my discourses of modern politics and flings with blonde-haired girls. But that's all over for the moment. Being back in Atlanta re-opened my eyes to what I had been ignoring while away at school. Not much has changed gangs and drugs and money still rule everything around me. "Friends" I grew up with are still milling around and my enemies still recognise me.
Being back in my city Stone Mountain has made me realise there is an insatiable need for educated black men to reclaim our neighbourhoods. For culture avant gardes to redirect the focus of the youth. Our communities are in need of individuals incubating a lust amongst our youth in relation to the arts and sciences. To lead the charge against what has tragically become our norm, I'm not yet sure if I'm qualied but I sure as hell am gonna try.
God willingly I'm going to take everything I learned of film production at Pitt and use it to feed my city. Art to my city. Actively and passively encourage my peers and the younger generations to empower themselves through the visual arts. Give people the opportunity and appropriate platform to tell the world our/their struggle/story. We intend to display the actual lasting power independent cinema has on society at large.

 I'm starting a chapter of Arriving Productions here in Atlanta God willing we are successful.

Watch us because we intend to close the racial and socioeconomic gap separating us from you.

Oh you audience, this is cinema.

Zyzz Yusuf
Executive Director
Arriving Productions

Ayah's Eyes: An Excerpt from Punk Rock Logic

The excerpt as promised.
-JF

“Late again Mr.Little?” Came the cold accusation of Mr. Dunbar Eric’s Calculus teacher. “Whatever.” Eric muttered under his breath out of earshot of his teacher. “I heard that Mr. Little detention. Again. What is that 5 in the past two weeks?” Eric silently looked around the classroom for an empty seat. He spotted one and walked towards it pausing as he realised it was next to Ayah. Ayah was a quiet girl. Most likely the most quiet girl of girls who are quiet. No one really talked to her besides the other Muslim girls in school.  I mean how could any anyone hold a conversation with a diminutive black clad form. Everyday she dressed in all black flowing gowns and dresses complete with a full black veil that covered her entire face save the small slit at her eyes which revealed her deep caramel complexion and piercing black eyes. Eric took his place next to her. She shifted in her seat sitting more upright and leaning forward in deep concentration. “It must sucks to dress like that all the time.” Eric thought. “I mean she has like no friends and everyone makes fun of her.” “I wonder if her husband forces her to dress like that.” He had once seen a documentary on women in Afghanistan and saw how they had to stay indoors and wear full body veils when they went out. The women they interviewed hated their lives Eric recounted. The would get married when they were like 9 or 10. “What a strange religion.” Eric shuddered. “I wonder if she hates her life?” Eric stole a glance at Ayah. Feeling his gaze she shifted uncomfortably in her seat while staring at her notes. “Mr. Little!” snapped Mr.Dunbar “Perhaps you know the answer?” “Uhh” replied Eric “Screw it ,sue me it’s hard for me to pay attention because you suck at teaching.”  A collective gasp escaped from the breasts of the students. Eyes reduced to slits Mr.Dunbar pointed at the door “Leave!” He commanded. “Whatever, dude.” Eric replied. As he scooped up his backpack he stole another look at Ayah. Their eyes met and she quickly looked away blushing. Confused Eric left. The result of his confusion stemmed from Ayah’s eyes’. She didn’t have the same look of entrapment and loneliness Eric was so used to seeing in his own while looking in the mirror. No they were different. They boasted of answers and freedom and caring, compassion. Wisdom. Eric wanted that all of that. A single look. “Strange” Eric muttered as he strolled down the corridor.

That night Eric dreamed of Ayah. Those haunting eyes that had all the answers.




-From Punk Rock Logic

Intermediate Punk Rock Rhetoric (J0hnny F!3Nd)

Hey everybody!

My name is Johnny Fredrick aka Johnny Fiend and I am a senior script editor and cinematographer at Local35. For this post I sat down with Yusuf for an interview about a short story he wrote for the spring 2014 University of Pittsburgh official student publication Forbes and Fifth titled Punk Rock Logic. Below you will find the interview and next week we will premiere an excerpt from the story.


JF: Hey, Yusuf How are you doing today?

Y: I'm alright [Laughs] Alhumdulilahi rabi lal amin!

JF: ...

Y: [laughs]

JF: Anyways... you want to explain Punk Rock Logic, sort of where the idea comes from or what, basically explain the, uh story.

Y: You are really bad at interviews man.

JF: Thanks man, that means a lot.

Y:[laughs] Punk Rock Logic the title, well actually comes from a Lupe Fiasco song, umm, Gold Chain, [proceeds to sing the lyric] "Man you can't be punk from projects, firm disbeliever of that punk rock logic was creat- "you know.

JF: So Lupe all the way?

Y: [shrugs] ehh issh fan-ish, but... yeah the story is actually based off of my senior year of high school kinda with much embellishment and of course a difference in characters to protect the innocent [laughs]. Actually whats funny or...like, whatev- like, The main character his name is Eric and even though he is loosely based off of me-

JF: Wow! how humble of you sir!

Y:[shugs and laughs] ehh I'm Yusuf West like the Muslim little brother of yeezy.

JF:...okay.

Y: Yeah, I mean like what the character, like what happens to him is some of the things I went through my senior year but the actual character, Eric was a character created by my friend Sean Gilmore, he directed a movie and Eric was a college-aged punk rock musician-

JF: Played by you...?

Y: Weeelll, when you say it like that it makes me sound arrogant.

JF: Well considering the situation...

Y: [laughs] As I was saying before I was accused of things I'm not doing- Eric is a character already created not by myself, but Punk Rock Logic IS my imagination of his life before he met uhh...I can't remember the other characters name but he was played by a kid from Point Park University named Drew. I have a script around here somewhere [Looks around the office to no avail].But besides the point I wrote the story from personal experience so yeah it's my story but it is also his. Does that make sense?

JF: Yeah, no I think people will be able to understand. But what is this movie?

Y: It's called The Muse it was uhh Directed and Written by Sean Gilmore a Pitt Student. It was made, acted in by a bunch of Pittsburgh people. Um Ben Hatmaker you know him, he Produced it, umm Olivia Brown an actor from CMU. Drew Clouse another Pitt student was the cinematographer... a bunch of you know.

JF: Oh,ok So where can we see this?

Y: Well we shot it over the summer but, uhh, last I heard it was in super post-production. You know college kids schedules and stuff.

JF: So I was proof reading your story and I noticed there was a lot of detail of the scene. Research or-

Y: Ha, Yeah I was punk rock senior year. Like before I started converting or like practicing Islam.

JF: From East Atlanta? How'd you find Punk?

Y: [laughs] Well when I got expelled from school I had to go to alternative school and so-

JF: Expelled? For what

Y: You know gangs, fights, blah blah blah. It's not important.

JF: Tell me that later, man

Y: Yeah off record though.

JF: That's fair.

Y: Anyway I always thought I was pretty big and bad but man when I got to Alternative school the kids were, man it was ridiculous, they were vicious fights like every class, and not like I mean they were like fighting the security guards and the teachers. We used to have riots like every other day it was magnoon! Tauyab! So I was like yo I gotta put on a front before I like die [laughs].

JF: Wow. so you went with punk?

Y: Yeah, I remember there was this kid at my homeschool and everyone was scared of him even the quote un quote thugs. He was a goth or like a metal head, death rap guy, black kid though so, [laughs] funny enough he was in alternative school with me we became friends there since our scenes were similar it was natural we hung out. We both did music played guitar listened to punk, metal and rapped all that so... yeah. Unfortunately he is now in jail for murder...

JF:...

Y: Yeah...

JF: Well that's such a sour note to end it on let's try to fix it. Anything you'd like to say Yusuf?

Y: Local trey five i do it for the numbers, LTF I do it for the letters Local up, 3-5 up. Nah but seriously We have a film that should be coming out in mid March so look out for that everybody.

JF: Ah, yes the Scheduling thingy. Ok well thats all for now wanna grab some 'za?

Y: You know it bro.





FIN


                  LOCAL35©                                          LOCAL#%
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                                                                       LTF
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35


Courtesy of Jonathan Fredrick ©    All Right reserved.

Love Letter to the Future (or flexin on my haters)

a word from the president of local35 it is a prologue and an explanation of the film but much like a book you can skip it and head straight to the part about us flexin.

".cinema   !!!!
this is our(local35) first production piece .cinema
The minute long cinematic narrative is a glance at our beautiful city Pittsburgh, through our radical neo-realistic camera lenses. The film was originally produced for a competition held by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences but was cultivated in a specific caliber that allows it the ability of standing alone as an introspective work. .cinema's[sic] aim was to challenge the status quo of modern Hollywood by displaying in brief clips the lives of everyday people. It has been time existing in an elapsed manner since we, Local35, substantiated the the actual coercive regency motion pictures have on society and on the human psyche.
Therefore it has been made our mission to create content that is realistic, relatable and morally pedagogical in direct defiance to the overpowering grip of the excessive reckless hedonism copiously ingested by the masses, yearning for entertainment. They devour atrocity only to regurgitate it later in the form of bad decisions and misinformation."






and we made it to flex on our haters




.cinema in its purest form exists as a testament to hardwork and a toast to my dreams. For as long as I can remember movies have occupied a portion of my heart. It's been a month since post production and I still can't believe that I finally did it. I did it in an albeit very, short, primitive form, but still its a step in a direction I definitely want to take. My cliche of the day to you is follow your dreams. But to follow them you actually have to do something. It is completely irrelevant how small that fist step is, what matters is that you take it.

Think about when you learned to ride a bike. You really, really, wanted to ride the two-wheelers because all the big kids were doin' it and dammit you wanted to be a big kid already! Some of your friends already learned how to ride and you couldn't keep up because you were bogged down by those kiddie training wheels. OH THE HUMILITY. However did you just leave your bike in the garage, angrily throw your hands up in the air, and yell "I QUIT I'M NOT GONNA LEARN ITS TOO HARD" ??
God willingly you didn't. You probably went out the next day got some help and madethatfirststeppp... thereby pushing the peddle down raising your other foot...

You see when you pushed the first peddle down by taking that first step your other one raised, that is to say (yani) you automatically positioned yourself for the next step and when you took that step you stopped worrying about what was around you.You held your head up.You looked forward at what was coming your way. You rode off of your momentum. You did it.

Ride your bike in your direction whether it is learning how to make samosas or learning how to run a country.
So write a love letter to the future, that means(yani):
Travel on.
Don't aspire,be.
Do what you've always wanted to do.
and love yourself and your life for it.


oh you audience
this is cinema


We're all gonna make it brahs,

Zyzz Yusuf
President, Local35