Crazy Stable

As regular readers are aware, the inhabitants of the CrazyStable turn devotedly to the New York Times for guidance in matters zeitgeist-related. I am grateful to report that the Times' music critic and hip-hop specialist, Kelefa "I Love Everything" Sanneh, has provided us with a succinct—nay, eloquent—New Year's resolution for our home-improvement efforts. Stay with me, here; I want you to relish this in context.

The mournful Mr. Sanneh reports on the untimely hotel-room demise of Mr. Pimp C, half of a rap duo called UGK (short for Underground Kings), just after the release of the duo's "great" double album and "sublime" single, "Int'l. Players Anthem."  Over to you, Kelefa:

"His bereaved musical partner, Bun B, gave a handful of eloquent interviews, trying to explain what he had lost, what fans had lost.

'I appreciate the concern,' he told Vibe. 'But I wouldn’t ask anyone to stop their life, because Pimp would’ve wanted us all to keep grinding.'"

Straight-faced but misty-eyed, the critic concludes: "If you’re looking for a two-word motto for hip-hop in 2007, you could do worse than that: 'Keep grinding.'"

Rather than conjure up my usual insanely ambitious list of projects for the new year, I have decided to heed the advice of the oracular Bun B. We will keep grinding, literally and figuratively:

* We will keep stripping paint, inch by tedious inch.

* We will keep busting up cement in the "garth garden", inch by...see above.

* We will put doorknobs back on when they fall off.

* We will forge ahead with our modest plans to repaint some rooms, like Child's (which still sports its gender-neutral pre-natal paint job) and the main hallway (still flamboyant as the lamented Mr. Pimp C in its "shrimp-bisque bordello" hue).

Sometime next year, a modest windfall might or might not permit more ambitious plans, like a new roof or exterior shingling. We will not look that far ahead, however. We will keep grinding. It's what Pimp would've wanted.

Happy New Year!

My man Busta K