Steatopygia?

Steatopygia : a large concentration of fat around the buttocks.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/what-is-Steatopygia-51231.shtml
Some woman say that she is not that pretty.
What? She has a head?

(Hat-tip -Denmark Vessy)
(Photo; Nicole Austin)

Math Remediation

The Math Chique passed this information on to me.

It seems that our schools are failing in the areas that will rule our future economy.

http://www.rsvh.addr.com/lwved/id16.htm

Maybe city-college is the answer for many.

I live in a town of 100,00 that has no city college. The percentage of Blacks with an associates degree or higher is just 6.7%. But the local refineries now require such a certificate for their 100k+ yr. jobs.

My hometown (was about 100k when I was in school now about 3ook) has a city college with close to 20,000 students. The percentage of Blacks with an associates degree or more was 68%.

Seeing that many children graduate with skills that are less than those of fifty years ago - it seems that No Child left many behind.

Fat And Happy

A British article asserts that a woman who is a size 14 is probably the happiest size woman.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1102572/Happiness-having-size-14-figure.html
Nicole Richie (size 00 - yes, that's a size) often seems morose.

Little Raven seems happy and livin' large!

Even the Queen gets love in Hollywood.

I'm not into the bigger-is-better thing (Pam Greir at any point in her life would be my ideal). But I do find some big girls attractive. It's more of a personality thing.

Camryn Manheim, Kim Coles and the Queen just seem nice. And in turn - attractive.

Mo'Nique, Star Jones, Rosanne Barr and Rosie seem bitter. And in turn - disgusting!

The ten hottest big girls;

http://listverse.com/entertainment/top-10-hottest-plus-sized-celebrities/

I never heard of most of them.

Media Terrorist ?

Just a cursory glance at any newspaper, local or cable news program or the Internet could lead one to fear white people.
- Don't have a child with a white woman, they'll kill them.
- Don't let white people invest your money, they'll lose it all.
- Don't marry a white man, they'll go on killing sprees and kill their families and themselves.
- Don't marry a white woman, they'll fall from cruise ships or disappear.
- Don't let white people be fans of winning (or losing) teams, they'll riot.
- Don't elect a white president, they'll find a reason to start a war. They'll even create reasons why we should hate those of whom we have never met (making it easier to accept their extermination or oppression).

Really? Can we expect the country to fall apart (or thrive) solely because we now have a Black president?
Haven't homes recently become affordable for more people?
Hasn't the stock market been trading (at about 200 points one way or the other) around 8500 for the past three months?
Isn't gas cheaper now than before 911?
Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz - the power to change has always been in each (all) of us.

News, weather and sports have been replaced by hyperbole, conjecture and opinion.
Reporting the news has been replaced by sensationalized stories that create fear and anxiety. Even many bloggers create many problems where there were few.
Terror : the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion. Miriam-Webster Online

But I still have hope.
We are a country that seems to love the Underdog.
We are a country that believes (hopes) that right will always win in the end.
If one has never felt like an underdog - they probably weren't trying hard enough. (Or were too selfish, or too small minded.)
If your goal was to make a million - your new goal should be two.
If your goal was to be the smartest man in the world - your new goal should be to teach the world.
If you wanted to be the richest man in the world - your new goal should be to save the world.
(This is why Bill Gates and Warren Buffet now give away BILLIONS!)
As we slay our giants, new battles arise.
"The Underdog" is the great person's constant state of being.

Why do so many worry about problems that won't effect them or that they have no means to rectify?
The stress is going to kill you.
Or someone who is too stressed is going to kill you.

Que Pasa ?

Russian academic Igor Panarin predicts that the US will fall and be divided into parts of other empires. Maybe it's time to learn a new language.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!
If you took the time to read any of the SENG report that I linked to on my "Too Smart" post - you may have noticed that the Biblical account of Jesus sounds like he shares the same traits as many hyper-intelligent guys.

If Sampson were alive today, he would be on Prozac to control his mood swings.
Mary and Joseph would be on the Maury Povich show.
The Disciples would have their homes raided by ATF and their children taken away.
The US would be bombing most of the Old Testament kingdoms.
The Prophets would be called bigots.
And someone pretending to be Jesus would have a multi-million dollar congregation and a television show.

It amazes me when I hear so many spiritual all-stars always telling me what God told them personally.
Really?
Read the Bible.
"And God said to Abram (or Abraham)" is only mentioned about twelve times... over a period of about 150 years!
These new ministers must be really important for God to tell them something that often.

All the pomp and tradition aside - I hope you had a Merry Christmas.

Huh?

So the California courts have ruled that it's unlawful to assist someone who is in danger.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-good-samaritan19-2008dec19,0,6547898.story
I can just see this now on mid-morning television advertisements.
Did someone pull you from a burning car? Administer the Heimlich maneuver? Prevent you from being mugged or raped? You may be able to collect damages... just dial 1-800-285-7448 to speak to our attorneys.

I've helped three people out of their cars after an accident in my lifetime.
One woman still has my jacket - (the second incident - she was drunk).
One guy was cool -( the third incident - his car was on fire and I had a foam extinguisher in my truck - he needed minimal assistance)
And one pregnant woman accused my friend Robbie and me of stealing money from her purse. (the first incident - the "B" bled all over the truck on the way to the hospital).
So not only does one risk people being ungrateful.
They can now be sued!

What I Hate About Christmas

Don't get me wrong... I actually enjoy Christmas.

I live in a neighborhood were everyone has a nice display of lights - only this year it seems a little more subdued.

Tuesday is the night where the families from the neighborhood go caroling. We were given a gift by our neighborhood association with a card giving us the details. Apparently we are to have candy or cookies ready for the carolers. It's nice this time of year. I get to meet new neighbors and talk to others whom I haven't spoken to since last year's caroling. (I can't sing at all - so I don't go. I got asked to just hum in the children's choir when I was a kid.)

But all the festivities aside - there ARE a few things that I hate about Christmas.

1) We Are The World

I know... it was for a good cause.

But twenty five years later and the children of those the song was meant to help are now the ones starving.

I did like the British Feed The World. I remember being excited to see Jody Whatley in the video. I just thought it was a better song.

Oh... and Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses. Quirky, but I like that Christmas song.

2) Secret Santa

Some cheap person always pulled my name. I don't mind broke, I can deal with broke (But if you're broke, you probably shouldn't be participating.). But I hate cheap.

I was so fed up at one job that I asked a group of fifteen or sixteen of my friends if they wanted to just have our own Secret Santa gift exchange. Our limit was $100 but everyone spent a lot more. The more snob appeal, the better. We had a separate party and exchanged the gifts there (as not to hurt the feelings of those who weren't invited).

This year, one group of my family members have decided to pull names for the adults.

I know that I'm going to be disappointed.

I never open gifts until I get home. I hate pretending to like something that is "just like" what I actually asked for.

3) The New Cartoons or Movies.

I was tired last week. The cold weather caused my main water line to burst. So for a week, I had no water.

As I was leaving one night, I caught A Charley Brown Christmas on television.

A "Charley Brown Christmas Tree"? Everyone knows that that is not a tree one would want.

But what I never really noticed was that Linus gave a little soliloquy about the meaning of Christmas - Jesus and all.

I was in a hurry but watched the whole show. When I was walking out to leave, the city truck was cleaning up the mess from having replaced my water meter. At eight o'clock at night?

Just when I'm ready to give up having any faith, Charley Brown saves the day.

And "Ralphie". "You'll shoot your eye out", damn... that still cracks me up.

4) Happy Holidays

It's okay, you can wish me a Happy Hanukkah. You can wish me a Merry Christmas. I even know to respond; "wa-laikum as-Salam" to the customary "as-Salam Alaikim".

Please don't give me the generic "Happy Holidays".

The reason that the Linus story stuck out so much this year is that schools and cities now have "Holiday Pageants". Christmas vacation is now winter break.

When did it become illegal to be a Christian?

5) It Starts Too Early

Okay, the day after Thanksgiving is fine.

Halloween is pushing it.

This year some stores had decorations up before school started.

Christmas in September?

But I'm no Scrooge.

I actually enjoy Christmas.

The End Of An Era

"The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong."
- Princeton Basketball Coach, Pete Carril

The battle is not Black vs. white. The battle is wrong vs. right.
According to authorities at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) - more than 200 hate related incidents were reported in the first month following the election of Barack Obama as our next president.
Citing the fear of a Black president, illegal immigration, and a poor economy - The SPLC states that the number of hate groups rose about 5%, to nearly 900, in the past two years. The number of these groups is up 48% since 2000.
Jack Levin, a criminologist at Boston's Northeastern University, estimates that there are fewer than 50,000 people who have memberships in white supremest hate groups.
Don Black, creator of the Stormfront website, states that his site has close to 150,000 registered members.
When we look at a country with a population of a few hundred million people - these numbers are relatively low. SPLC spokesman Mark Potak once stated; "We are talking about a tiny number of Americans who are members of these groups - I mean infinitesimal."
Viewing all whites by the actions of the (relative) few is the same as all Blacks being judged by the actions of those who appear on our nightly news.

It's a business.
Pharmaceutical companies and doctors conspire to diagnose new maladies and their treatments on a regular basis.
Drug addiction and obesity are now classified as illnesses.
ADHD? We had belts in my day to solve that problem.
Mid-morning television is inundated with ambulance chasing lawyers, in an effort to get more people to litigate over an ever growing number of workplace or product injuries or ailments.

Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are small time street pimps compared to the real race/hate traders.
The real money and power is to be had by the established entities like the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Each institution boasts annual budgets of more than $30 million. The SPLC has control of over a $136 million war chest.
As long as hate is in the news, these people will always have a job.
For these people - what's the benefit of reporting any good news?

We're focusing on the wrong issues.
Safe neighborhoods and good schools are social issues.
Low (well... fair) taxes, evenly administered justice, good jobs and health care are social issues.
None of these are "Black" issues.
We just seem to get a lower level of service in these areas.

"Everybody has to step up. Parents need to pay more attention to their children. ..."
Barack Obama - Ebony Magazine

Sure, the problems with institutional discrimination (or oppression) need to be addressed.
But while many problems are beyond our individual abilities - a productive model of personal responsibility can be achieved by all.

No rights were given to us through the Civil Rights movement.
These inherent human rights were always meant for all people.
The courts just more fully recognized (or acknowledged) that Blacks were human too.

I can't jump on the decriminalization of drugs bandwagon just yet.
The system is biased and we all know it.
If I were to rub bacon all over my body and run naked through a pack of wild dogs - I shouldn't be surprised when one (or more) bites me.
I shouldn't complain if I ride around town with a bag full of weed, playing my music too loud, in a pimped-out car - I shouldn't expect to be treated the same as someone in a nondescript car who has no guns or drugs.
Most cops are under trained and frightened. You know that they're going to over-react, so don't put yourself in that possition.

The problem with our legal system isn't that laws are enforced. The problem is that these same laws are not enforced evenly.
With more than 1.5 million Black adult males in the prison system (most for non-violent drug charges) - more than 10% of our voting base has lost their right to vote.
(Since there is to be no taxation without representation - do these men become exempt from paying taxes?)
Author Cletus Nelson states; "...even the most diabolical Klansman couldn't have dreamed of a more repressive policy to disproportionately punish minorities.".

A Time For Change
Just let it go.
We're not getting 40 acres and a mule.
Have you ever known someone who was waiting on a large settlement check?
They don't usually work and by the time they get their money - they owe more than they get.

To equate Obama with a moment of change is more accurate than one might think.
It's not that Obama is going to produce sweeping changes in the way America functions on a person to person basis. He may not even be effectual on a national level.
What changes is what people expect. What changes is that parents now have a highly visible role model to balance the hero worship of the stereotypical Black athlete or rapper. What changes are the colors of the faces of his cabinet choices. What changes is perception.

Black quarterbacks and coaches were always competent. But winning made them more visible. It's no longer a rarity to see a Black professional football coach or quarterback. (Okay, Willingham got shafted while Wies got an extension. And don't get me started on Turner Gill. But that's college.)

Power respects power - and right now a Black (Let's not argue over whether he is Black. He is perceived as Black.) man has that power. What changes is that so many racists are livid because some n***** is in a position that they could never dream of.
No, he's not the Messiah (My Moses post was meant in jest - some didn't get it.). But he does mark a certain point in time.

Many of the Jews who were waiting for their Messiah were disillusioned when Christ came on the scene. Many thought that Jesus had come to overthrow the Romans and create a world where the Jews ran everything. What Christ did was to set the process in motion. (Some anti-Semites argue that the promises of Abraham are even more true today. That the Jews are to blame for everything. That the Jews own everything.). What Christ did was so important that we mark time (A.D., B.C. or B.C.E.) relative to his estimated birth.
Many Jews thought that the change would be instantaneous.
It took Constantine to take Christianity from a persecuted sect to the national and favored religion.
What Christ did was to change the way people thought.

Our conditions won't change overnight - but how we choose to deal with them can.
It's time for the "Era of the Victim" to end.
"The Era of the Victor" is just beginning.
Success is a choice.

Where's The Beef?

It's the Internet - not Pac and Biggie.
The last two fights I was in, I didn't even know I had.

In the first one - some big azz former prisoner on steroids started talking ish to me at the club. The last thing that I remember him saying was, "I'm not scared of you". I went back to talking to a table of ladies and the next moment, I saw the guy on the ground surrounded by a group of men. I barely know the guys but they told me that they weren't going to let anyone eff with me. I won the "fight" without ever having to throw a punch. I'm a regular size guy (about 6'1", 230) and I can handle mine. It just seems odd that I rarely have to fight, even in rough situations.

In my most recent "fight". Some of my friends and I walked past another group of guys. I guess some ish jumped off and I had to square-up on some guy. The guy was in a left-handed fighting stance (awkward for me). I switched to put my weight on my back leg in a kick-boxing stance. The guy changed up into a low wrestler's stance. Again, he took the better position. I came forward in a high-handed open stance. The guy did they same. I nodded and laughed. The guy smiled and nodded and we all just walked away.
One of his guys asked; "What happened?".
"De taunt" I said.
The guy agreed and laughed.

I don't like to fight. I hate it. One of my exes got mad at me for asking a guy if he was alright after I resolved an issue with the guy who thought that he was going to do some damage with a knife. She thought that I was showing weakness.

Two of my favorite bloggers are (mostly) polar opposites of each other. I enjoy their pedantic arguments over minutia.
But by reading opposing views, I get a more complete picture of the subject matter. We don't learn anything reading and regurgitating the same things from the same memes.
Progress comes from doing something different or doing something better.

It seems that each blog has it's own clique. These cliques generally agree on everything on each other's blogs and disagree with blogs and posts that vary from their own.
I've been cussed-out many times for asking questions or stating opinions other than what is popular at any given site.
How many times have you been attacked (by the host or his/her readers) for having a seemingly controversial view?
How many times have your comments not been approved by a blogger about their posts?
How many of your regulars feel the need to "get your back" at someone else's site?

This is the Internet.
We're supposed to exchange ideas - not just reiterate what someone else said.

Smart, Brits, Shoes and the Amero

What happens when you are too smart for your own good?
Apparently, not much.
Seems like a scene from the Darren Aronofsky film Pi.
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Grobman_Underachievement_in_Exceptionally_Gifted_Adolescents.shtml

What happens when you throw your shoes at the POTUS?
You get thrown in jail and beaten.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7785338.stm



For all of you Anglophiles; It looks like many Brits are having trouble keeping their families together.
It would seem that single parenthood and it's consequences are not endemic to Urban America.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1095802/One-British-children-living-poverty-breakdown-traditioal-families.html
Maybe the problem IS social and not racial.

Are you ready for the Amero? Maybe this is the reason the immigration issue was dropped from the national dialogue during this past election cycle.

What?

Me... paranoid?

Maybe a bit.

http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1920

Toy Thief

Damn... where were the parents?

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/36210529.html

Underground Economy

I've been reading a lot lately about how different people are preparing to survive or even thrive in our current economic downturn.
Most people have been poor to working class - so what's the problem?
Have we forgotten our roots?
Maybe it's time to get back to basics.

The hustlers always make a living.
I'm not advocating cheating people.
When I say hustle, I mean work.

When you're not making money, chances are that you're spending money.
I thought that I could retire early, but even that gets boring... and expensive.
I'm now working construction. I hate construction.
I used to charge people a very affordable $25 hr,
but being that I was usually only called when someone else had already effed something up, I raised my price to $75 hr. .
But I get to work only when I feel like it.
Now here's where the problem started.
If I charge so much, people assumed that I must be worth it. I now have more work than I care to do.

People aren't buying new houses, they're just fixing and improving what they already have.
Since I tend to come across as competent, the people assume that I'm an expert.
(Did I already say that I hate doing construction?)
Most of the jobs are simple miscalculations on the original builders' part. They're simple fixes that require little effort.
I guess this is an example of knowledge being king.
Even in a down economy, things still have value.

Bartering seems to be making a comeback.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barter
What do you have or what can you do that someone else wants or needs?
How can you use this to get something that you want or need?

The 'hood has always had it's own economy.
I think that's why so many crack-heads turn to prostitution. Many have minimal skills but they understand that what they do have has a value to someone else.
Every 'hood has a cool-cup or cookie/candy lady.
Everyone knows the local shade-tree mechanic or boot-leg plumber.
(But be careful, you usually get what you pay for.)
Everyone knows the local "baller" who lends money.
Even smart drug dealers learn to put a beauty shop or corner store in their sister's name.

During the market crash of the Depression, a small European town experimented with a scrip called the Worgle. The people understood that their work still had a value. The scrip was just a tool used to keep track of what one person or group owed another.

How many times have you done a favor for someone and they returned a favor to you in your hour of need?
Most would say, "many".
That favor had a value.

The failure of our current economic model is largely due to everything being disposable.
Nothing had a value.
This market correction will just be a shaking out of those who cannot produce a good or service that is actually needed.
Our economy collapsed because we placed too much value on things that had none.

The financial collapse isn't as serious as an ecological collapse.
We were getting to the point of no return, in terms of sustainable production.
Cheap and easy was taking precedent over smart and safe.
Our dumps and water ways are full of man-made toxic waste.
Our clean air is at a premium.
Pollution may be the cause of a smaller "tool-kit" in men.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24768593-2,00.html
We have so much food in this country that we have a bigger health problem with over-eating than we do with under-eating (and the rising medical bills to prove it).
Technology and over hunting and fishing is causing many of our food sources to disappear.
Some genetically modified crops and animals are less tolerant of parasites and viruses (Much like humans becoming immune to certain strains of viruses due to our over dependence on hand sanitizers and antibiotics.).
Hummers in the 'hood was never a good idea.
We were buying all of the rewards of success without ever having really accomplished anything.

I just read today about one of the "Real Hoodrats of the ATL" losing her home. I hate to see anyone lose their home but her lifestyle wasn't sustainable for her. Her value system dictated that the reward was more important than the work.
For her it was better to seem than to be.

If you want to get paid;
Find a cheap, safe, renewable and readily available energy source.
Discover the next naturally occurring drug - like aspirin or penicillin.
Figure out a way to turn salt water into fresh water at a low cost.
Like coal, petroleum, penicillin (mold) and aspirin (willow tree bark), the answers ARE already out there.
We just need to figure out how to use what we already have..

Pissing On A Tree

But he's not even a citizen! (google 'Barry Soetoro' for the whole birth certificate story)
Okay Clarence, that's nice.
Now...STFU?
Mr. Thomas seems to be threatended by Mr. Obama's ascendency.
Clarence thought that if he played by all the rules (but denying the same game to others) and winning, he'd be HNIC.
Obama comes along and wins the game without having to sell out (as much) and C.T. will have none of that.
How does Mr. Thomas respond?
By pissing on the nearest D.C. tree.
I guess he thought D.C. was his spot.

Is Obama A Modern Day Moses ?

Obama is not Black like me?
Really?
Why not?

"He hasn't experienced the same struggle or history that I have".

Moses was raised by the established dominant culture of his time.
He learned the ways of thinking and acting of this foreign culture.
For a time, he even thought that he was a member of this culture.
But things changed when he learned the truth about his ancestry.
He was one of the oppressed.

The oppressed would have none of it.
He didn't have to be a slave like them.
He couldn't understand their struggle. (But they could never truly understand his.)

After some legal troubles, Moses had to skip town.
Moses married a sista' named Tzipora from Ethiopia.
The headlines of the time were shocked that Moses would marry a daughter of Ham and not one of the daughters of Shem. But the press (Bible) noted her beauty (Num. 12:1)
( http://www.biblefellowshipunion.co.uk/2004/Sep_Oct/MosesEth.htm )

Moses berated his brethren for their materialistic ways and their lack of discipline and gave them a law (from God) to live by.
In the end, Moses lead his people from bondage.

But Moses wasn't really one of them because he hadn't gone through the same struggles as them?
I know, I know.... America wants the rags to riches story.
America wants all Blacks to be from the hood.

But I'd prefer it the other way.
I wish that no one knew what the hood was like.
I wish that Slavery, poverty, oppression, racism, hate and jealousy were just things that we occasionally read about in history books.
I'd prefer that no one could relate to my hard times.
(When my great aunts and uncles tell me about picking cotton to buy school clothes, I can't relate. When they tell stories about the back of the bus or separate drinking fountains, I can't relate.
It's called progress.)
Why do we always have to be ghetto to be truly Black?

What Did You Dream Last Night ?

Scientists in Japan are working on an apparatus which would enable them to see your dreams.
This seems like something out of the 1991 Wim Wenders film Until The End Of The World.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081211/sc_afp/sciencejapanbrainoffbeat_081211052641

Take Out The Trash

I know all the hookers;
Lil Red, Big Draws Kim, Chilly Lilly, Julia, Liz, 2-40 Shorty... .
(No, not in the Biblical sense.)

Along with our recent snow came weather cold enough to break my main water line.
I had to go to the hood to bathe and (well you know).
When some of the residents saw that I was at one of my vacant houses, many came over for a visit. I asked how they were dealing with the cold and how their Christmases were going.
The conversation turned from Jessie James' (a local hustler - I had to drop a little change on the brother, his injuries prevented him from "working".) recent shooting to Obama and the current state of our economy.
Some of the working girls told me that they're business is still strong.
Some of the ballers said the same.
I guess sin is profitable in any environment.
Many seemed to think that Obama is going to change things for them.
When I explained that he wouldn't have a direct impact on their livelihoods, they were a bit confused.

This is why I blog. I need help in gaining new ideas that work in translating a mind-set of accomplishment to an undeserved population.
How do I best impart knowledge on a group who seem to have no desire to learn?
What knowledge or skills would best serve those who seem to have none?

A recent article in the USA Today put forth the hypothesis that poverty breeds low I.Q.s.
The article cited influences from toxic environments and stress to poor diets.
(Have you ever noticed how so many poor people seem to be fat? Most of the poor fill up on high sodium pre-packaged foods and high-carb snack foods. )
This would seem to be the cycle of those I was dealing with.
Add to all of these social and environmental influences the mating of two people who already share these same perceived low I.Q.s.

But what can we do with these people?
Let's put them all in some sort of dump.
Let's treat them like trash.
Prison? Sure, why not. These people can't function in an environment that is helpful to the overall improvement of society, let's just lock them up in a controlled environment.
Or maybe we can just put them all "over there" in the hood.
Even when a glistening new complex is built to house these people, they revert back to the ghetto mentality.
But the problem is that the new buildings don't translate to a new way of thinking, and in turn, a new way of being.
Sure, the same people who seem to revert back to ghetto by default are mostly to blame.
But maybe these people learn differently. (My earlier citation about the early Rockefeller Foundation's goals would seem to suggest a eugenic/genetic plan to keep everyone in their place.)
How do we stop the practice of "ghetto by default"?
Or is there even a need?

Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke

Jan. 22, 1931 - Dec. 11, 1964

"A Change Is Gonna' Come" still gives me the chills.

Obama, Global Warming, or Sign of The Appocalypse?

We just had a hurricane about two months ago, now we have snow!
Snow?
In Beaumont, Texas?

I've finished all of my Christmas shopping and I wasn't feeling Christmas this year. I have a floor full of Christmas decorations that are just waiting to be put up.
But snow near the Gulf is rare.
One of my young cousins says that it is because Obama got elected.
Another blames it on Global Warming.
Okay, I'll admit, the snowman is pretty weak. But what do you expect from kids who had never before seen snow in person.
The school district just called everyone's house to report A SNOW DAY?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Did Iman just want a "Trophy Husband" in David Bowie?

Maybe Halle just couldn't find a decent Black guy.

George Lucas must be slumming. Or maybe it's the slave/master fixation.

Hot-tress Zoe Saldana must not be able to find a "Real Brotha'" either - now that she has made it.

Somehow rapper Paul Wall gets a pass. Maybe it's because he "Acts Black".

Lucy Lui's man must be suffering from some sort of Asian fixation.

Mike Tyson must have been too Black for Robin Givens.

Maury must have an old school fetish for Asian women.


Even a bi-racial brotha' can't get a pass for going white.

Tasteless Full Metal Jacket quotes aside, Wayne Brady must be settling.

CVT - "... but let's be easy on the references to the hotness of Asian women."

No offense was intended but there are a lot of beautiful Asian women. And just like all races - there are some butt ugly ones too.

As I stated earlier, I have no fetish for any one race of women. I see a great deal of beautiful women from all races.

I seem to go through stages of; short women, then to blonds, then on to tall women, then to dark hair, then to short hair, then to really smart women, then on to really great personalities and so on.

Black women seem to get the most upset if I'm with a non-Black woman. Black guys just seem to understand what I see in each.

The other women in the racial group that I'm dating seem to be okay with it too. The Asian, Hispanic or white guys seem to be the most upset with me "taking one of their women".

If I date a darker Black woman, the light-skinned women say that I'm color struck or trying to be more Black.

If I date a light-skinned Black woman, the darker women comment that I'm color-struck or that I'm trying to be white.

I date whom I like at the time.

And if I'm not effing you and you don't like whom I'm effing, eff you.

I'm all for the Black family.

But when did bi-racial children stop being Black?

What inter-racial couples are acceptable?

Cui Bono

Okay, so maybe the prayers worked.
Kind-of.
It seems that Congress is going ahead with it's $15bn bail-out plan. While not the initial $25bn (and later amended to $34-$55 billion) requested by the auto industry, some help seems to be on the way. Some experts say the the real cost should be around $125bn!
But what do we get?

Some services have stated the Big Three's net worth as a negative.
But I'll use the more hopeful quotes for this question.
Net Worth
GM - $3 billion (asked for $18bn total loan)
Ford - $6 billion (asked for $9bn credit line)
Chrysler - $.5 billion (asked for $7bn loan)
At a total estimated net worth of $12.5 bn (less than BMW's $16.5bn).

Q; Why are we spending billions of dollars on companies that have less value than the amount of their requested loans?

The idea that we would spend this amount on a product that has less worth than the amount requested is ridiculous.
This is the housing crisis all over.
And in plain sight.
Maybe our book keeping system needs to be overhauled along with our banking system.

BCS Picks

Rose - USC over Penn State - USC by 33. (Goodnight Joe Pa.)

Orange - V Tech over Cincinnati - (Neither is in the top ten, who cares?)

Sugar - Utah over Alabama -( Alabama will still be stung by the loss to Florida.)

Fiesta- Texas over Ohio State (Texas has more to prove.)

Championship - Florida over Oklahoma (Oklahoma is 0-4 in BCS games. Should be a shoot-out. Take the over.)

Other;

-How did a 6-6 Notre Dame make a bowl?

-Undefeated Boise State will be tested in San Diego in the Pointsetta Bowl by tough 10-2 TCU squad.

- Former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill has coached his Buffalo team to it's first bowl in 50 years (Buffalo had earlier turned down an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl because it's Black players were banned from participation.).

Coach Gill is now one of the few coaches mentioned for the few high profile head coaching slots in NCAA football.

(BMI - can we get a few points on the index for this?)

Asians II

Hawaii born Japanese American Eric Shinseki was named as the nominee for President-Elect Barack Obama's cabinet as the secretary of Veteran's Affairs. The double Purple Heart winner is best known for his Cassandra Complex relating to the Iraq War - warning; "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army".

Joseph Cao (pronounced GAO) unseated embattled nine-term incumbent Representative William Jefferson to become the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress.

Filipino Manny Pacquiao effectively beat "The Golden Boy" Oscar DeLaHoya into permanent retirement this past weekend in Vegas to claim the tittle "Best Pound-for-Pound" boxer.

I have no fixation or fetish for Asian women (although some (well...many) are damn sexy).

But in an environment where many of us Blacks are seeking to redefine our ideas of what a certain race or culture is - we may want to start viewing other cultures as valid too.

CVT at Choptensils has a great piece on racism and different perceptions of what is "History".

http://choptensils.blogspot.com/ On The Invention of Racism; Part I
Dark Ages?

For Whom?

Gnostics to NATO (A New World Order?)

From the Gnostics,
to the Masons,
to the Merovingians,
to the Illuminati,
to the Rockefeller Foundation,
to the PNAC,
all have sought to acquire (or claimed to possess) the secrets of God - in their quest to form the next New World Order.

Some Lessons From the Underground History of American Education
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6129392/Some-Lessons-From-The-Underground-History-of-American-Education-by-John-Taylor-Gatto
tells the story of America's architects of modern education and their plan to create the two class system that America seems to be embracing today.
Who would have known that The Rockefeller Foundation was so instrumental in planning for a global economy?
The lengths that the establishment seem to be going to retain their power would almost seem Machiavellian.

Venus + Jupiter + Moon = ?

Man...
I gotta" stop reading Subrealism and FreemanPress.
When I stepped outside this past Monday evening - I saw this (only with a "frown").
One of the lights in the sky is Venus, one Jupiter and the other a crescent Moon.
It was a beautiful night, but the image just seemed odd.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081201-jupiter-venus.html
I just know that I'm having Apocalyptic or Dystopic nightmares tonight.

Moon - (Selene, Artemus, Diana, Isis, Thoth, Hecate) - Fertility

Venus - (Lucifer, Aphrodite, Ishtar, Our Lady Mary) - The Creatrix

Jupiter - (Zeus, Thor, Wotan) - King Of the gods
In Kabbalistic mysticism (Jupiter) is the symbol of the angel Sachiel of the order of the Cherubim and is associated with the "new" age.

I'm not into astrology but WTF?

PNAC

Total world domination.
The idea is nothing new.
No amount of prescience is required.
Just a little reading.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/index.html
If the state of current world affairs seems to be out of control, read who is in control.
Did Obama seem a bit unsure of himself after his briefing by by the CIA? Maybe he learned a truth that many of us never will.
Maybe he was told that he is now a lifetime member of the club (for how ever long that may be).

Cha - Ching !

Does paying people to do what they're supposed to do anyway help or hurt them?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-money-for-grades-11-sep11,0,7506945.story

After our last hurricane, some people were upset because FEMA didn't pay them to leave town. Some people are calling for student athletes to be paid for playing for the university team.

Now Chicago (and other cities) are experimenting with the concept of paying students to do well in school. That the program seems to be working would lend credibility to the idea that the students were doing poorly by choice, and not circumstance.

Does paying students create a population that only does what's in it's best interest only when being paid?

Don't you feel like punching your nephew in the throat when you ask them to do something and they ask how much you're going to pay them?

The program may be working, but at what ultimate cost to society?

Or do these kids only understand a society of pimps and the pimped?

(As far as paying college students for playing for a school where they're being given the opportunity to earn a $40k a year education - nope!

If a school sells your jersey and makes a profit, a percentage should be given to that student upon their graduation or upon leaving the school [and at the loss of their eligibility].)

The Wisdom of the Surfer

I've always hated school.

Getting good grades was easy, I didn't even have to learn anything.

My sixth grade teacher was a big believer in personal responsibility. At the beginning of each year, we would be given contracts of what we were to learn by the end of the year.

I was lazy. At the beginning of the year, I spent about a month doing all of the required work for the coming year - only handing it in when it was due.

If we finished our work early, we were given free-study. During this time, the teacher would engage us in discussions which we couldn't win. On one occasion, the topic was ownership. His argument was that as children - we owned nothing. I stated that I owned my clothes and toys. He stated that my parents had bought them so they owned them. I told him that I had bought some of them. He stated that my parents had given me the money so they still owned them. We went back and forth. I stated that I owned myself. His retort ; It was illegal for me to kill myself so my parents and the government owned me. I asked him if he owned his car. Yes, he replied. Well ...you can't drive too fast and you need a licence so the government owns it. I had seen a news story about arson so I told him that he couldn't burn his house down without getting in trouble so he didn't own that.

"Go read a book", he said.

"I'm smart", I said. He said something like, "No, you're intelligent. Smart is the application of intelligence".

He always had to have the last word.

My "book' of choice was a comic book. I'm no fan boy so I hated most comic books.

But The Silver Surfer was different.

The Surfer was wise. The Surfer wasn't a beotch. ( http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Silver_Surfer )

Silver Surfer #1 - "In every part of the globe it is the same! Hatred, fear and unreasoning hostility have possessed men's hearts. But the Silver Surfer will have no part of it!"

Maybe it was time for me to leave the hood behind.

SS # 3 - "Again, you substitute force for understanding. Again, you would destroy that which you cannot understand... From the cradle to grave - your lives are rooted in senseless violence. Since power is your god - I'll show you power - such as you have never known."

Kind of sounds like a scene from Gladiator or Braveheart.

SS # 3 -"If die I must - let it be as I have lived - soaring swift and silent - striving for the right - no matter the cost!"

Kind of sounds like an MLK speech.

Maybe it was the influence of the Surfer that I remember whenever I say I'm through helping the hood but return to help again anyway. Maybe it's why I sit in roach infested houses, acting as if nothing is wrong, just because these old people just need the company. When I wrote that I wasn't collecting rent from my tenants, it didn't mean that I evicted them. They can stay there forever for free. I just wasn't going to help them run errands and visit them anymore. I wasn't going to make anymore repairs. (Later I found out that some of the elderly were having me make repairs just for the company.) One lady just offered to pay her rent again if I would come by to visit like I used to.

I'd tried to relate my affinity for the Surfer to one of my young cousins. But The Surfer wasn't his man.

His man was Kratos from the God of War video game. I'd taken him to see 300 so he understood the severity of the Spartan creed. He was studying mythology at school so he could relate to the characters.

This cousin has a useless mother and an unknown father.
He's been from foster homes to homelessness and was on the verge of giving up and giving in to the streets.
I'm strict with him and he loves it.
His Spartaness (and that I had earlier told him the story of Ronny Lott cutting off the tip of his finger in order to not miss playing any more football games) caused him to cut off his cast and return to playing for the football team because he didn't want to appear to me as weak.
This kid walked to my house, through the rain, for five miles - because his mother had hit him. (I just took him back home and explained that he didn't have to respect his mother but he did have to treat her with respect.) This is the kid who tells me that he likes working (whenever we make repairs to his family member's homes or cars) because it makes him feel like a man. Most people would write this bad little fourteen year old niglet off. Most would hide there purses or lock their doors.
But this kid is good.
I often explain to him that it's hard to be good - but it's going to hurt to be great.
He tells me that he's up to it.
I just hope that I'm not teaching him to work for goals that he can never accomplish. (As his family members tell him.)

What's The Point Of Religion

Mark 2:27 ..."The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:"

One of my best friends often brings up his contention with my religious past.

When I was young, I attended the Catholic Mass with my mother. The Liturgy was in Latin so I understood little (or nothing) of what was being recited. I learned the proper time of when to sit, kneel and stand but learned little about the Bible. I couldn't understand what was being said so I would just say my own prayers.

Later in life, my mom was too busy to take us to church. She would just drop us off at the nearest neighborhood church (Baptist). I learned about the Bible and watched the weekly floor-show (song, dance, scream and shout) and fashion show (big hats and bright suits).
I experienced something called the Holy Ghost in this church. I was afraid of ghosts so I wanted nothing of that.
During one service (my last at this church) the plate was passed five times with the desperation and implied guilt being stressed more each successive time. The pastor's children and wife all had new cars, while I had to get a ride to the service. After giving up my lunch money and allowance, I'd had enough.

There weren't many Black kids in most of my middle school classes.
One group of particularly nice kids were a group who belonged to a church called the Mormons. I'd see these kids and their families at school events and I would marvel at how close their families were. I had NO structure at home and was at the point in life where I was seeking guidance. These kids invited me to church - even offering to have their parents give me a ride. The taking of tithes wasn't a shameful or ostentatious exercise but one of placing an envelope into a small box in the hall just outside of the sanctuary. The members seemed to abstain from premarital sex, drugs, alcohol and even caffeine. I liked the rigidity of their doctrine. (I had quit drinking when I was twelve, lost my father and uncles to drunk-driving accidents, been "experienced" with my half-brother's cousin at eight, and seen enough of my step-father's drug induced rages. Like I said, I needed structure.) Dropping my past practices opened doors socially and culturally that before I would have never known existed. Believe me - it's hard to be good in the hood.

I have no issue with the esoteric beliefs and history of these churches. I have no problem with Opus Dei or the Catholic churches attempts to rule the world. I have no problem with the Protestant history of anti-Semitism or witch hunts. I have no problem with Joseph Smith or brass plates or their racism. Each church served my needs at a different point in my life.

A Muslim guy gave me an Islamic book in an effort to convert me. I looked through it and came upon a passage that read - God loves all righteousness. If this is the case, one's religion doesn't matter. When a follower asked Christ about the greatest commandments, Christ replied; Love God with all thy heart and Love thy neighbor as thyself. Simple. Anyone from any denomination or religion can do these two. It would seem that the practice is more important than the philosophy.

I still go to church, usually with whomever and wherever I'm invited. I'm not a little kid who needs a lot of fanfare to keep me interested. I don't need the floor show or the "good seat". When I go to church, I sit in the back with the rest of the sinners. I still like the Catholic church because I can still just walk in and kneel whenever I need to pray (Well... not in bad neighborhoods. They lock the doors these days.). I like the helpfulness of the Mormon church during and after our hurricanes. I usually go to Baptist churches for social reasons (fellowship). IMO - church and religion is supposed to help one rule over and govern themselves - not to rule over and oppress others.

My Second Time

Siditty (Angry and Black Since 1976) ( http://siditty.blogspot.com/ ) is my second. Wow, I guess I'm no longer a blogging virgin. I've just been given A Brillante Weblog Award from the young Ms (Is this a joke or is there an "I" missing?).
The young lady speaks from the perspective of a Black woman who happened to marry a white man. Or a Black opinion on suburbia, politics, relations, ....

In turn, I must pass the award on to seven other bloggers. Most of the bloggers I'll list are beyond this type of web award (but are worth looking at anyway).

Conservative Black Woman ( http://conservativeblkwoman.blogspot.com/ ) is someone that most other Blacks would find offensive. IMO - Most Blacks are conservative - they're just not Republican. As a FOC (Friend Of Cobb) her opinions seem to be more right than left. But who wants to read the same opinions written by different people anyway?

Ed Dunn, over at Dream and Hustle ( http://dreamandhustle.com/ ), writes about going from start-up to major-player (and everything in between). This MochaSpot CEO gives advice and even answers my simple questions.

If you scored below 1500 on the old SATs, chances are you'll need a dictionary AND thesaurus to follow the flow at cnulan's Subrealism ( http://subrealism.blogspot.com/ ). But the site is didactic without being pedantic or sumpsimus.

The Angry African at Angry African On The Loose ( http://angryafrican.net/ ) offers an Anglo-African point of view on life, politics and social issues.

Okay Freeman, I know that the comparison was in sports. But we have to use a Sun Tzu philosophy in all things (politics included).

FreeMan at Free Man Press ( http://freemanpress.wordpress.com/ ) offers the point of view of an aspirational professional who came from the life that most others only read about.

Sheila at Black Tennis Pros ( http://blacktennispros.blogspot.com/ ) focuses on tennis. But she is not afraid to opine on weightier issues. Black Tennis Pros...who knew that there were so many?

Aby Rad seems like a little Muslim woman from Malaysia who has an eye for the strange. Aby RAd's Blog ( http://abyrad.blogspot.com/ )focuses on things that make you say "WTF?". After all, life's too short to be so serious about everything.