Like Most Men...

 I'm attracted to visuals.
I have no idea what the writer was thinking in his (Or was it a 'her'... I wasn't paying attention.) post at Rippa's site (The Intersection of Madness and Reality)  but I did like this accompanying image.

Then I stopped by The Oreo Experience and saw this Halloween costume.
"I wonder if Blacks would protest if they had Halle berry dressed in this?", I thought.

Then it was off to DeeVee's site to see what he was thinking about today.
Art... almost always some type of art.
I was waiting for someone to say that DeeVee only shows Black women with "white" features.
But really... what are "white" features?

KayDub addressed this a while back when she wrote of the Sudanese and their problems with identity.

Now it's off to much more difficult and salient topics at SeeNew's site.
Being a couple weeks behind, it looks like I'm in for a long night of reading.
I winder if I'll ever experience denouement reading his complex posts?

Humility

When one is strong - he should appear weak.

But the majority of people work harder on appearing strong than they do on actually being strong.
If wisdom comes from sorrow then strength must come from difficulty or opposition.
It seems that no one wants to face failure - so, few make an effort in any thing.
Few have done the groundwork which would enable him to support his success if it ever came.
Humility takes effort... and focus.
One must focus on his goal and not on all the accolades or criticisms of others.
One must focus on his vision even when others show doubt.
"Faith", "Knowledge", "Confidence" and "Humility" - while they may not be synonymous, they do seem to be interwoven.

My Bad...

Babe Ruth had twice as many strikeouts as he had home runs.
Michael Jordan only shot 50% from the floor.
Joe Montana had to take the blame for one interception for every two touchdowns thrown.
These men are generally regarded as being the best in their chosen fields - but each dealt with 'failure' on a daily basis.

Does the ability to accept ones flaws or shortcomings enable him to better use his skills?

Synonyms?

 ..."I'm a Diva", "I'm a Queen", "I know I look good.",  or "You just hatin' ", are phrases which can be heard by many who pretend to be more than they are.
It seems that the more grandiose the title...
 the less one has or does.

But knowing that one is the Son of God affords one with the ability to let the little ish slide - to focus on what really matters.
Having this confidence affords one with the ability to forgo the affectation while enabling one to be humble.

Synonyms?

Are "Humility" and "Confidence" the same thing?

Don't Want To Miss It ?

 Cable and DVD's do well but they don't seem to harm the profits of movie studios or theatres?

 Clubs do well because people like to be around different (but not too different) people?

People march, riot and protest because they wish to be part of a shared social moment?

I Don't Get It

One can buy cheaper liquor at a liquor store,
can listen to almost any sort of music he'd like on YouTube,
can dance in his living room,
can go to an art gallery, museum or furniture store to view a nice decor or artwork,
can talk to people at a bus station.
But people pay to go to nightclubs and leave with no money in their pockets.
(And then they do it again the following day or week?)

Fortunate

Positive Reinforcement

An interesting phenomena has occurred...
Rival club owners are contacting charities and foundations in order to do some type of philanthropic work or fundraiser.
I guess word got out that my business grew from my giving back while theirs shrank because of their avarice.

Everyone Gets Teased (Skackle Dragger)

(She's Australian)
Do you ever wonder who reads your posts?
Or 'what' they read?
I glanced at the widget to the right and noticed that an inordinate amount of traffic was being directed at the "Everyone Gets Teased" posts from October, 2010.
Then I Googled the term and noticed that the posts ranked fairly high on the list.
The point of the series was to point out (to a blogger who complains about almost everything) that everyone has his own form of victimization and that no one is beyond being teased.
That everyone has his own cross to bear.

Some said that being fat, a minority, a woman or gay were victimized the most.
But I tend to disagree.
The people most 'victims' fear are those who can do very little to or for them.
That those who speak hateful words are just as easily attacked for their own shortcomings.
That many have become sissies who cry at the slightest insult.

Odd...
There are so many people feeling victimized that "Everyone Gets Teased" has it's own section when Googled?

Religon

I've heard many people credit their religion as being the cause of their good deeds, positive thinking or the foundation of their outlook on life.
But could we be born with certain tendencies which are only reinforced by our chosen religions?
Are we born into religions which merely serve our social needs within certain cultures or societies?
Is the point of religion to govern and rule over others - or is it best used when we use it as a tool to govern or rule ourselves?

Haters...

Damn... I guess when it rains it really does pour.
I've been taking financial beatings for as long as I've been here.
Everyone I've tried to help has squandered my resources and each of us and has little or nothing to show for it.

This past week has been crazy.
I just booked a Christmas party for a local law firm.
That's a good thing but what is better is that the firm is one that initiated the rash of Asbestos and Tobacco suits here in the state.
They are close to being a billion-dollar company.
This booking has led other companies to book us as their chosen party venue as well.
The philanthropic work added to my credibility within the community and has caused me to become one of it's 'in' members.

I've done what most Black clubs in the area couldn't.
I've gained crossover appeal while still being true to my roots.
I'm sure being from the suburbs in California helped me to assimilate into broader society while others from the area still equated 'Black' with 'ghetto' - but it seems to be working for me.

Now the rumors and trash-talking start.
But I'm pleased with this.
The thing is: most people don't really hate on you - they just hate that they ain't you.
I've been through the toughest of times and tough times create either though people or quitters.
I've been knocked down but this taught me to be able to take a punch, adjust and to keep pressing the action.

Now the hard part...
Too much money, too many women, too many hangers-on - too much status.

Not the Best Season...

But being 6-1 while under probation and a win over Notre Dame isn't a bad start.

$3,000.00

This past Friday I hosted the relaunch party for my club.
The total amount of goods and services donated to cover the costs for the event came out to about three-thousand dollars.
I sold about three-thousand dollars worth of liquor.
I donated three-thousand dollars to local Breast Cancer charities from the proceeds collected at the door.

A rival and more established club sponsored their own last-minute Breast Cancer fundraiser on the same night in an effort to diminish the attendance for my event.
Instead of giving away the proceeds from their cover charge - this club elected to give fifty cents from every drink sold to local charities.
Sure, this sounds like a decent enough idea - but there was a catch.
The club raised their drink prices for the night by fifty cents, and it was that fifty cents which was to be donated - the club was giving up nothing.
Another catch was that their event was so lightly attended that they only had thirty guests.
The average patron drinks three drinks.
Fifty cents times ninety drinks....?
Wow... they made the customer pay extra just so they could 'donate' a whopping $45?

I used to work for the rival club - they even offered an interest in the club to me.
But the owners were too selfish for my tastes.

But the weekend was not over.
Every third Sunday of the month, I sponsor a table at a local social club's open house.
This past Sunday the rival club elected to do the same in an effort to show social supremacy.
The night was going well until the president of the club asked me to stand as he congratulated me on being the new owner of my nightclub.
The crowd erupted as though I had just scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime at the Super Bowl.
(I was a bit embarrassed by the adulation.)
When the president pointed out that the rival club was now also hosting a table...Crickets.
(I was embarrassed for them.)

The thing is;
I take a table in the back and offer free drinks to anyone in attendance.
I'm there for everyone in an effort to support the host club.
The rival club insisted on taking a table in the front so they could celebrate themselves.
The other guests noticed their lack of social grace and quietly let it be known.

I'm not a good businessman.
I don't have to make every penny on every dollar.
But somehow... things always work out.

Was Jack Correct?

Maybe it's you.

Maybe;

You chose the wrong major (African-American Studies) and you should go back to school,

You should eat better, exercises more and lose some weight,

You are not that nice to people so people are not nice to you,

Your traditions and culture are not marketable at every time in every place,

You really are ugly,

You should read more (and better) books,

You should work harder and not expect everything to be given to you,

You should stop trying to impress everyone else and focus on the things which really matter,

You don't need luxury but should strive for stability instead,

Your beliefs and practices are just effed-up,

Your mom was just lying after all.

If we were actually told what we really needed to hear - would we listen or do we prefer the beautiful lies instead?

Nelson Linder Says...

That the man he's known for over twenty years IS NOT A RACIST.
NAACP President Nelson Linder still backs Ron Paul as a viable Presidential candidate.

Sure, Paul says some ignorant-assed stuff, but does that make him a racist?
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/07/10-quotes-that-make-ron-paul-sound-racist/

The article failed to include Paul's view of former Representative Barbara Jordan;
She is "the archetypical half-educated victimologist" whose "race and (gender) protect her from criticism".

One Trillion? Four Trillion? Or Twenty-Three TRILLION Dollars?

 Most people believe that we spent close to $1,000,000,000,000.00 to bailout banking institutions during the height of the financial meltdown.
Others put the number closer to four-trillion dollars.
Still others state that we spent close to sixteen trillion dollars - with eight trillion going to the European Central bank - to 'fix' the banking problem.
Another report states that we really spent about TWENTY-THREE TRILLION DOLLARS !!!
Let's take a look at a number somewhere in the middle:
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/index.cfm?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3

GAO Report No. GAO-11-696 page 131

For only TWO-Trillion dollars we could have paid off every ones student debt and credit card debt.

We could have done this through credit unions (To help ensure that each area owned it's won local debt) while letting the big banks and the brokerage firms on Wall Street collapse into the messes they created.

What Did We Expect?

People were tired of the Bush Presidency so they decided they needed to vote for change.
Polemics used 'race' as a tool to encourage people to vote for or against their favored candidates.
No one could be more of an outsider than a Black candidate.
Many, like myself, thought that only an outsider could affect a change in the way the country was being run.
In the end we are stuck with another politician beholden to corporations.
What we ended up with is the same politician... only in a different color.

Was Obama only a false prophet while Ron Paul is the true political messiah?

All Across The World

 The disparity of wealth between the proles and the Inner Party seems to be more and more evident.

 While politicians are calling for faster economic growth,

 there will remain an underclass who always suffer.

 One man's wealth is often sustained by another man's poverty.

 These photos were taken in developed 'civilized' cities in Europe (London), The Americas (Sau Paulo, Brazil and Caracas, Venezuela) and Asia (Mumbai, India...) which rely on petroleum fueled economies.

 What many in New York are protesting against is the possibility of turning America into the next Oceania.

Judging by this map, it looks like Mexico City, Mexico will be the next to see protests from it's workering class.

Is Ones Religion Too Much To Overcome?

 Back in the day, It was Morris K Udall running for POTUS as a Mormon.
Often finishing second or third, the guy just could not win a primary.
The liberal former NBA player (Yeah... back in the day the NBA actually had white players) lost to Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary.

 In this election cycle we have two Mormons seeking the office of POTUS.
I'm sure many view Mormons the same way others viewed Catholics when Kennedy was running for office.
I don't know much about Jon Huntsman but I do know that his family treats their employees well down here at their Gulf Coast refineries.

Similar to Udall, Mitt Romney was seen as an outsider who practiced an outsider religion who also finished second or third in most primaries - people fear religious practices which are foreign to them.
Could a Republican ticket consisting of two Mormons be in our future?

Gold Is Worthless...

...To 99% of the population.
Don't believe me - try to pay your bills, buy groceries or purchase household goods with a bar of the stuff.
Sure, GOVERNMENTS need gold as a means to calculate value and worth - but people don't make such large transactions on a daily basis.

Survivalists preach that everyone should own a bar or two - but why?
The Government could re-enact Executive Order 6102 and make the ownership of this 'precious metal' illegal once again to prevent hoarding (Except buy the Government itself).

Religious types can refer to The Bible for guidance.
James 5: 1-3 states, "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Your gold and your silver is cankered, and the rust upon them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.".
Apparently, gold was not to be hoarded so long by so few that it would cause rust to form.

One would be better off collecting knowledge and skills which would enable him to survive in the event that our banking system collapsed.
Being able to hunt and kill ones food would be better than trying to coax a beast with gold bullion.

White Guilt ? (Again?)

 Damn... I didn't know that Michael Irvin was running for POTUS?
Oh wait... that's Herman Cain making plays on Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.
It seems that Tea Party members are trying to prove themselves as being open to Black candidates - just so long as he is their Black candidate.

Could the country really stand to see a Cain v. Obama election for POTUS?
It seems like we just got past seeing two Black head coaches in the same Superbowl.

Is It OUR Turn?

Check out SeeNew at his Subrealism site for a series on the latest in American protest news.
Go ahead... just click his blog on the toolbar to the right. --->

White Chicks

 Who is hotter?
Casey Anthony?

Or Amanda Knox?
One thing is for sure - the Italians have a more fashion savvy police force (white belts and all).

Viewing The Past

The image on the right is a compilation of images taken from the newly opened ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) radio telescope and the Hubble telescope.
Kind of looks like a brain scan to me.

The Good Guy

Popularity is an odd thing - I don't think I 'll ever understand it.
Having taken over a club which was ruined by it's previous owners, I was worried that the club's reputation may hinder my ability to make it a success.
I never planned on owning a club - I preferred the quick in-and-out-collect-a-big-bonus of consulting instead.
Another blogger texted, "Laying down roots white planning your escape?".
Well yes... that was my plan.

But then I met a girl...
She kind of has a Vanessa Williams (back in her prime) thing going on.
She comes from a good family, went to private schools, has a good profession, and she does not let me get away with whatever I want.
She hates that I know a whole lotta' women - even though I don't know a whole lotta' women - but she understands that flirting is a big part of doing my job.
But this is beside the point.

When people found out that I was taking over, many groups aligned themselves with this endeavour to help it become a success.
The club I worked for just before this one had become the default place to be.
It seemed that everyone was going to this hole in the wall.
I had put in place an all-star  cast of employees who have the club running like clockwork.
There would be no way that I could lure patrons back to my new venture.

Or so I thought.
It's been less than a week and I'm already booked for parties throughout most of the holiday season.
Everyday, people or groups roll through en-masse to show their support.
The gossip is that businessmen and politicians are trying to bring as much business my way as possible because, "John is a good guy.", they say.
When people heard that I was the new owner of an old and tired (but still very nice) club - patrons made an effort to show up in large groups to ensure that I have a nice attractive crowd.

All this is fine and dandy but I still have to deliver a quality product and services in order to grow the business.
My relaunch party is only two weeks away (With the proceeds from the door going to a local Breast Cancer charity - It is October after all.) and I have to sort through all the businesses trying to donate door prizes.
I'd always known that I was nice to people, that I treated everyone well and that I helped a lot of people.
But I never thought anyone noticed.
Sometimes, popularity is not such a bad thing...