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This is how a Christmas fire is supposed to look.
But this past weekend crackheads burned down two more of my empty rental houses.
I know, I know...., it happens to me every year.
This year I swore that I would not let the homeless stay in empty units to keep warm during cold weather.
I've lost so many houses that I've lost count.
Okay, starting next year no homeless people will be allowed to stay warm in any empty units.

Smoked Meat

Healthier food is the best thing to happen in the South since... well... unhealthy food.
I always loved Christmas Eve back in Cali. - eating Tamales with Mexican friends was something I looked forward to all year.
Recently food trends seem to have dictated that deep-fried turkey is out while smoked turkey is in.
But why waste a hot pit on just one turkey.
Why not throw on a slab of ribs, a few chickens, lots of links and a stuffed pork roast while you're at it.
I haven't eaten this much meat since we were trying not to waste any meat after a hurricane.
As many people tend to bring me a plate of food (or two) from their family meals - I'm stuffed.
As far as new holiday traditions go - Bar-B-Que on Christmas Eve is a keeper.

Global Warming

 So you have to wait two days to see Micheal Vick punish the Vikings.
Some argue that the recent blizzards are proof that man-made Global Warming is a myth.
They say that it is too cold for such a theory to be true.
Sure, recent stories which reveal that scientists may have fudged the data to present a more compelling argument don't help - but maybe it was similar to when the police plant evidence to catch a guilty party.

 Maybe Global Warming is the reason we are experiencing more cold weather.

 When orange farmers want to make sure their crops don't freeze, they cover their fruit with a sheet of ice.
The ice acts as insulation to help ensure that the fruit does not reach a temperature below freezing.
(Kind of like an igloo on a snow covered tundra.)

What does this have to do with our colder temperatures?
Think of a glass of ice water.
As the warm water melts the ice - the ice chills the water.
Maybe our melting Polar ice caps are cooling the rest of the planet in the same way.
Maybe our recent cold weather is proof of Global Warming.

Square Biz

(The late) Mills knew music.
And one of the songs that made his posts was Tina Marie's Square Biz.
I was never a huge Tina Marie fan.
I never liked her duet with Rick James (Fire and Desire).
But Square Biz was one of the few songs to which I would never turn down a dance when a girl asked.
Not even if he girl was cockeyed, with one titty, buck toothed, and with one leg.
Hell, I'd even dance with her if she was fat.

"Hee...
Everybody get up

Flash back, who's that
dancin' to the latest
Suave de bone, the greatest
ohh, he sure is movin' me.."

To Re-Gift?

To the unknowing eye, these labels may look similar - but there is a huge difference in 'snob appeal'.
As with most holidays, I received many gifts which I will probably never use.
In years past, I would wear gift items once in an effort to show that I liked what was given to me.
But the past couple of years I've just kept the tags on the items just in case I'd meet someone who would appreciate things for which I'd have little use.
I always feel like the parent who receives an ashtray made by his child that looks like a big painted lump of clay.
I'm no clothing snob but I only like the labels and styles that I like.
What does one do with a closet full of clothes which he will never wear?
Do I re-gift, give them to the Goodwill or do I return them all and take the money to a store at which I'd actually shop?

In Style

 In saying that I don't like much of today's overly produced, mass marketed Hip Hop - all I'm saying is that;   
It's lost it's edge.
It's lost it's originality.
It's lost it's relevance.
Much of today's commercial music is pret-a-porter...

While Hip Hop produced outside of the mainstream is Haute Couture.
Sure, there are some misses - but even the mistakes advance the art.

(No Title)

(Unknown), Haring, Dali, Scharf, Picasso, Warhol, and Bansky.
No widgets to generate readers, no groups to build electronic friends to take the place of real ones, no adverts to make a few pennies - but I've learned more from the conversations with those who comment here and at the sites of other bloggers than I ever learned at school.
(Maybe the Internet is good for something besides porn and entertainment sites.)
Merry Christmas to all...

Class not Race

(For KayDub)
 Those who first came to America from Europe never had a problem with oppression - their only problem was with being oppressed.
As soon as those newly arrived became those in power their only goal has been to keep others from having the same freedoms to which many had grown accustomed.
Many former proles became the new aristocrats.

 First and second class passengers entering New York and New Jersey were usually allowed to enter the country with little more than a cursory shipboard inspection.
Those who traveled in third class were processed through Ellis Island.
Of the 12 million who were processed - only 2 percent were denied entry due to contagious disease or any other factor which would have caused them to become a burden to the government.

 Race is not the only factor taken into consideration when it comes to those allowed into the US.
Even the Irish are having problems becoming American citizens.
http://www.irishvoices.blogspot.com/

There are currently over 881,000 citizens of African origin now living in the US.
The quota for those seeking entrance from Africa now stands at 1100 persons per year (Excluding Egypt).
These African immigrants outperform all other immigrants groups when it comes to educational attainment.
48.9% hold a college degree (almost twice the number of native-born whites) and 19.4% hold at least a Masters Degree (more than twice the number of native-born whites).

After WWI, Congress passed stiffer laws to reduce the number immigrants allowed to enter the US.
But many from south of the border were allowed to bypass such laws in a sort of wink-wink arrangement with those given the task of enforcement as long as it benefited American companies.
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/
NAFTA benefited American corporations but harmed small American companies and workers as well as causing the conditions under which most from south of the border were forced to come to the US.

By saying that I am against the recent race-specific laws of Arizona but in favor of better enforcement of our current immigration laws - I see no conflict.

In tough times - people protect their resources.
This is seen in countries where refugees have overwhelmed the indigenous population or in ghettos which have had a rapid and overwhelming change in demographics.
The more natural ebb and flow of those rising and falling in class is too much for the prevailing traditions, institutions or cultures to peaceably absorb.
I'm not saying that people should not be allowed to immigrate to the US.
(In fact, such immigration has always been the catalyst for the growth and evolution of American society.)
What I'm saying is that those who break the laws are in no way justified in demanding that new laws be enacted to accommodate their disregard for our current laws.
I'll give anyone almost anything they may need - I just don't like it when someone tries to take the same from me.
(If I see a hungry man on the street - I'll buy him lunch and give him a few extra bucks. If the same guy assumes that what is mine belongs to him and tries to rob me - I'll give him a few extra buckshot in the face.)
Sure, immigrants may have an argument in favor of more rights - but they are no position to demand them.

Not Since 1638 (Or 1554)

Depending on whether one is going by the solstice or the date (the Julian calendar was a bit off).

Merry Christmas

How can something this homely and this cheap ($10) bring so much Christmas joy?
I bought ten of them and dropped them off at the homes of friends who already have most of what they want.

Don't Ask - Don't Tell

65-31?
So what's gonna' change?

Dream Act

Pablo Please...
You knew that you were breaking the rules when you came here.
You knew that you were breaking the rules when you stayed here.
And now you want to complain because you are not being treating with the same respect as someone who came here using the proper channels instead of cheating?
Didn't you benefit enough from your extended illegal stay?
Well... I guess you could claim Squatter's Rights to say that the Statute of Limitations for Ejectment have run out and that the government should have acted sooner.
I guess you could say that you were here first. (Although the Gadsden Treaty, the results of the Mexican-American War, or countless other laws would cause such claims to be moot.)
You rolled the dice, you had a good run, you crapped out - now go home.

"Moot" not "Mute"

I always say that I'm pretty loose with language.
In reality, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to language.
I never really learned to type with more than two fingers - three at the most.
Throughout high school and college, I'd always known one girl or another who would type my papers for me.
I never had to learn to type nor to be concerned with spelling, syntax, grammar, whatever....
I was (am) just lazy.

While reading the comments section of an old post, someone pointed out that I used "mute" when I should have used "moot".
Sure, I know the difference and even know when to use each.
But I never made the correction to the original post.
Like the drip marks in a Basquiat painting - ones mistakes are more telling than ones corrections.
Sometimes it could be a typo, sometimes I could have been using a similar word earlier and had gotten stuck on a certain spelling (I was writing "contractor" all day and later misspelled "computer" as "computor" in one case.), sometimes I get stuck between using SAE and Ebonics, sometimes I fail to proofread my posts or comments.
As I said, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to language.

Most people don't even notice or don't care.
Not even notoriously erudite pedants (Like SeeNew or (the now deceased) Mills) care about mistakes on blogs.
(Unless someone is trying to be a bit too cute by making sumpsimus corrections that do not apply. If this is the case, one should be ready to receive a years worth schooling, in fifty words or less, from some of the best minds on the Internet.)
Most understand that most people are just being colloquial.
Some people use 'a' before a vowel when they should be using 'an'.
But this should be read as 'uh apple' not 'a apple', for example.
Most people just write the way they speak.
These are just blogs after all.

But our language is always evolving.
Those of a certain age would never use the word "snuck" - we were taught to use "sneaked".
Many from the same group would use the word "shone" instead of "shined".
Most would know that the phrase is "used to" (with a "d') not "use to".
And when did "affect" become interchangeable with "effect"?
When did prepositional phrases become acceptable for usage by media outlets?
As I said, I'm pretty bad (or is it poor?) when it comes to grammar, spelling, antecedents or even syntax.
I'm just lazy.

Just Crazy

So ones environment and living conditions can lead a man to act in a way that is not within his usual character?
I wonder what would happen if a man had to live his whole life under such conditions... and if such conditions were supported by the government and public institutions?

A Sisyphus Christmas

I never make my tenants pay rent in December - it is the month of Christmas after all.
Usually I try to buy gifts for the families which are intended to bring them closer or to make things easier.
This year, I'm buying nothing. (Well... maybe for the few kids.)
After watching Haiti and seeing how the onus of debt can ruin a whole country - this year I'm forgiving all debt.
My tenants don't really owe me any money - but they think that they do.
Missed rent was written off long ago,.
Gifts of formula (I know, I know... but the kids were not being breast fed to begin with.), diapers, utility payments, cars or money were just that - gifts.
But I think these people think that they owe me something.
This year all my soon to be former tenants (I'm tired of the rental home business) are getting is a card telling them that they owe me nothing.
That helping them was my obligation and pleasure.
Maybe I'll even enclose a small amount of money - IDK.
But this year it's a Jubilee year - no one owes me anything.
(I wonder if they know how much such a gift is worth?)

Vampires

 The conversion of Vlad Dracula to from the Eastern Orthodox church to Western Catholicism gave rise to the legend of converts to the Western school of thought becoming Vampires.
But one thing appears to be true - one should never invite a Vampire into his home.

 Maybe this was the mistake made by African nations.
Maybe they were too willing to offer those with such tendencies accommodations.

 Maybe Native Americans should have never celebrated the first Thanksgiving with those bent on 'conquering' them.

Maybe Hawaii's King Kam or the Australian Aborigines never should have given up their ways to those trained in a aspirational and acquisitive way of life.
Maybe they would have been better off retaining their old sustainable ways of life.

In today's Vampire movies - the Vampires are always well dressed, prosperous and cool.
Their lifestyle is sold as one to be emulated.
In today's popular culture - blood sucking bankers are portrayed as well dressed, prosperous and cool.
(Never let a Vampire into your house.)

Genealogy

Guys like Paul and Felix Warburg are mostly forgotten in history by most Americans - but these men are as important and influential as any other in bringing about our recent economic collapse.
Why is it that one cannot distinguish the policies and practices of Republicans and Democrats?
Because most are just following orders given by today's modern Sadducee and Pharisees.
The Fed owes much of it's influence to these German-born Jewish brothers who would play both sides during the first World War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Kuhn_Loeb_%26_Co
America was bought and sold decades fore Obama came into office - just keep clicking the references on each page to trace your own genealogy of debt.

Ka-Boom

 That Gorge Jakubec could amass weapons on such a large scale in Escondido, California is not surprising.
(Being surrounded by military bases filled with young and poorly paid people in a glamorous environment makes it easy to get almost anything on the black market. Sometimes the temptation is too great to resist for the young and impressionable.)
What is surprising is that the guy lived in the building with these explosives.

Judging by police photos -the guy could have used the help of Niecy Nash and her Clean House crew.

Even Down Under?

 Sure she can get the best of the Texas Beef Producers, make billions of dollars and buy her OWN network, and even help get a Black guy elected as POTUS.

But when shop keepers in Australia recently decided to remove their popular Golly dolls from the shelves as not to offend her on her walkabout down-under (Do they look too much like her character in The Color Purple?) - the girl's got power.

(Now... if she could only get through the doors of Hermes....)

Useless Luxury

Isn't a truck supposed to be a utilitarian tool and not a luxury.
The funniest thing is a tool which is too pretty to use,
has a bed that is too short to carry anything,
and whose owner is just pretending to be a working man.

Now this is a TRUCK.

"Be" The Impossible

 In swimming,

Or NASCAR,

 Or cycling - riding in the wake created by the leader is always the easiest path to follow.

I know this - everyone knows this.
But why do we always try to turn followers into leaders?
Maybe we should change the focus to turning leaders into better leaders.

Using the 'push' model isn't working.
The load is to heavy for one man, one group or one philosophy to carry.
Maybe Gordon Gecko was correct in his "Greed is good" soliloquy.
Maybe the masses do benefit from one person or group being better than the rest.
(As long as that person or group doesn't become oppressive.)
Maybe the masses need someone to take the lead in order to see which direction they should follow.
Maybe inspiration is as important as preparation.

"See" The Impossible

Apparently we're just lazy.
http://io9.com/5710434/train-yourself-to-see-impossible-colors
In an effort to save energy, the human eye can only see the differences between receptors instead of assigning a value to each receptor.

Maybe this is true with other aspects of our lives as well.
I know a woman who'd been to my home several times.
To her - it was just a house.
One day we went to Houston so I could check out a few shops and galleries.
Again, to her, these shops were just stores.
But upon returning to my house she noticed that most of the furnishings were expensive vintage Mid-Cent-Mod pieces.
She noticed that my closets were filled with more high-end designer clothing than they were declasse popular labels.
She had never noticed this before - her eyes weren't trained to see these things.

I wonder if this is true for many who suffer from the results of a racist culture as well.
Are the poor and undereducated that way because they have yet to train their eyes (and mind) to see what is right before their eyes?
Have they focused on being the victim for so long that they cannot see (or even imagine) the rainbow of opportunities available to them?

Suicide

Sometimes I can't think - sometimes I just do.
Sometimes this is a good thing because helping people has been so ingrained in my personality that I will help someone without thinking.
Sometimes it's a bad thing because I have problems code-switching and I often get stuck making the wrong choices to fit the corresponding environment.

Running these clubs is killing me.
The vapidity of most patrons leaves me in a mindset where I have problems processing any information which requires deep thought.
I can do popularity with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back but this is merely performance.
I find no real pleasure in 'spitting game'.

But being cool has it's price.
By being cool I have problems shifting back and forth with being a thinking man.
When I read the posts of SeeNew (at Subrealism) I now find myself months (not the usual weeks) behind in the topics being discussed.
I think my environment may be affecting my I.Q..
I think that is why I'm having so much trouble coming up with a plausible theory explaining why a death of the ego, or a death of the old ways, is needed to ensure progress.

Evolution, stigmergy, game theory, whatever... .
It seems that most of our actions can be predicted by the observance of bacteria.
The Tea Party, Sarah Palin, (most on) Fox News, and Rush Limbaugh seem to be suffering from stress.
Their actions are not their own but most are just reactions due to stress.
Beings who have reached the apex of their evolutionary cycle realize that if the world changes their likelihood of survival will diminish.
When this is the case, one fights such change.
Whatever is causing this change must be assimilated or eliminated.

If one accepted this fate he would be committing a suicide of self (consciousness, ego, tradition,...).
And as we all know, suicide is shunned by most cultures.
If Ms Palin, the Tea Party or most of those on Fox News readily accepted the current change they would be creating an environment in which their progeny had little chance for survival.
(Or at the very least, one in which they had less power or influence.)
By creating an environment where they would suffer, they would be seen as killing themselves.

Obsolete Luxury - Filofax

And Mont Blanc pens.
While I enjoy the more tactile experiences of listening to music on vinyl instead of on i-Pods, opening stamped and mailed letters instead of e-mail, and reading hard backed books not i-Pads - something must be said of modern technology.

Back in the day, one bought a Filofax (Or the cheaper DayRunner).
These things aren't cheap - today, the crocodile skin model costs about $2300.00.
But why spend this when one can do more on his $200.00 phone?
And why spend $200.00 on a Mont Blanc pen when no one even writes anymore?