Stupid Girl

 In this area, people move from refinery to refinery - often taking large lump sums of cash with them.
I spoke to a woman who had about $75k in an account that she didn't even know she had.
The lady rents a nice apartment in a nice area for about $1200,00 a month.
When she left her old job she told me that she wanted to buy a used Range Rover for about $50,000.

"That's dumb.", I said, "You should buy a used house instead.".
In this market, people often only stay in the area for three to five years to work on projects at one of the many refineries.
This has caused a huge market for those only looking to rent houses - and the prices for doing so have risen dramatically.
If the woman would have bought the house and used the rent money to pay for her Range Rover - In five years, she would have had a Range Rover and a House (which would still be generating income) both fully paid for.
In the end, the stupid girl just bought the Range Rover.
(On the bright side - one of the woman's co-workers heard my advice and bought two houses for cash and financed a Maxima with money left over each month from the rent collected on the homes to service her new purchases.)

The Biggest Sinners

 Doing even more damage than bankers on Wall Street - Prosperity Preachers and their 'Name It and Claim It" teachings caused many to believe that everyone deserved to possess the material trappings of the rich.

 Many people bought bigger cars, bigger houses and newer items to fill these homes.
The problem was that no one told the foolish masses that it costs even more money to keep and maintain these (once thought to be) luxury items.

The real mantra of these so called 'Men of God' should have been, "Name It and Claim It - But Only If You Can Maintain It.".

I Don't "Join"

 But my family has for generations.
Eastern Stars, Knights of Peter Claver, Prince Hall Masons, 100 Black Men, Jack and Jill, whatever... I was supposed to follow suit.
But I hate these so called 'elite groups' which treat others the way they were once treated before they became members of the 'elite'.

The thing is, sometimes one must assert his lineage to others in order to cut through the red tape.
Peter claimed his membership as a Pharisee when things got tough and Paul (also said to have been a Pharisee) claimed his Roman citizenship when the Centurions threatened to mistreat him.

Sell It Back To Them

 Why bother to encourage people to modify ones diet and exercise when it's just easier to tell everyone that they are alright just the way they are.

 That anyone who is what they really want to be is flawed and that their own inferiority is actually the superior way to be.

 Why not just behave like spoiled nine-year-old aspirational hoodrats and get paid for it.

 They can even go by the self-aggrandizing title of "Queen" or "Diva" to reinforce their delusions.

 Why bother to work in the hood to get people out of the hood?

 The hood can just be repackaged and branded and sold back to those who imagine that being 'hood' (Keeping It Real) is a positive thing. That owning knock-offs of luxury brands is just as good as actually being able to afford and maintain those real brands. That renting a lifestyle is just as good as owning that lifestyle. Anyone who came from the hood knows that the best thing he can do for the hood is for him to escape from the hood.

 This isn't just limited to those who preach 'race as reason'.

 Bill-E-Bobs across the country have branded and sold their way of life as being the most desirable and have made millions by doing so.

 Today, most kids are over-coddled sissies who expect rewards without doing the work.
Today, many think that they deserve a trophy (Or 'pay' as adults) just for showing up?

Whatever happened to being great?
What ever happened to hard work, discipline, sacrifice and focus?
Today it seems that everyone wants to be great without having done anything to become so.

I'd Much Rather...

...Spend time with extraordinary people who act ordinary,
than I would to hang out with ordinary people who imagine themselves as extraordinary Those who go by; (King, Queen, Diva,... or any other self-agrandizing title.)

The 'REAL" Me ?

Anon. commented that some people cannot stand me because they see the real me behind my smile.
It's odd - I'm really good with kids and with then elderly but the acquisitive and aspirational always seem to have problems dealing with me.
I suppose that people see what they want to see.

Killer

I'm So Far Behind in Pop Culture

I had no idea that Dancing With the Stars was even on.
Now Donald Driver has a Mirrored Ball to go along with his Superbowl Jewelry.

"Learn How To Defend !!!"

A character on the Soul Calibur video game exclaims as she is beating your ass.
I'm no fan of vidoe games but I try to insert lessons where ever I can when dealing with my young cousins.
Ecclesiates 7:12 (KJV) - "For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom givith life to them that have it."
I used the words from a video game to take the opportunity to teach from the Bible the idea that one should have money but that one shoud be wise with it.

"This Has Been Keeping Us Alive For Years"

 "No, this has been killing us for years.", I replied to a woman who commented that 'good down-home cooking' was preferred by her son.
The kid is lethargic and lazy.
 He sleeps late and plays video games all night.
 And the woman cannot understand why his grades are suffering.

Really? In this day and age people with Internet access cannot Google a healthy meal plan?
Those old high-calorie meals may have been fine for days working out in the fields.
They may have even been fine when kids actually went outside to play (As opposed to pretending to play on video games.).
We no longer require such large portions nor such high calorie counts.
When little boys start to have boobs - something is wrong.

Support Art

http://brohammas.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/your-chance-at-owning-the-originals-art-auction/

It Was NEVER About The Money

The simplest (and thus the smartest) thing to do would to have just to have declared a Jubilee Year.
If all outstanding student loans at the time would have totaled less than one-trillion dollars ($970 billion) and the total outstanding personal credit card debt at the time would have totaled an additional one-trillion dollars ($959 billion) - would the economy have been better served by freeing it's workers from debt instead of creating more?
In the end the bailouts true cost is closer to $13,000,000,000,000.00!!!
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/economy/the-true-cost-of-the-bank-bailout/3309/
It was never about the money - It was (is) always about the control.

We Take Pictures of Shoes

But the thing that amazes me is that many women spend all their money on shoes but some forget to spend a dime on a pedicure (Or a belt-sander in this case).
We take close-ups of women's shoes for the club's facebook page and many women love to come in to show off their latest purchases.
But a word of advice;
Don't wear open-toed Jessica Simpsons,
If your feet look like Homer Simpson's.

Socially Acceptable?

"Fat Ho"

or,

"Skinny Bitch"

When one is seen as being socially superior, it is acceptable to berate them in in any way, shape or form.
But when one is seen as being one of the subjugated (for any reason), it is seen as lacking in class to make any comment about his/her social condition - even if the comments are true.

Human Dump Sites

If fat is where the body safely stores ingested toxins...

Maybe if many would refine their diets...

The body would stop producing dumps sites for those toxins.

"Dude, You Guys Are Gay!!!"

 I said to a couple of doctors who were boasting to their friends at the club about how they both hooked-up with the same young and impressionable woman at the same time.

Any guy who uses a woman to act as a buffer between another guy and himself is gay.
The woman is just there so the they can deny that they are gay when in reality the are just using her as a more socially acceptable Frot toy.

Forget Bernanke...

Larry FINK is who we need to pay attention to. http://www.gulfnews.com/business/economy/larry-fink-the-3-684-000-000-000-man-with-a-10-trillion-shadow-1.1021987

Some People Can't Stand Me...

...Because I almost always smile.
(Unless I'm working on something - then it's all about business. But even then, being in the zone is fun.)
I sat and spoke to one of my neighbors at a party recently and one thing she said kind of stood out to me.
The lady said that a lot of people don't like me because I always seem to be nice to everyone and that I always smile (even when dealing with people I don't know.)
She said that being nice to people made some feel as though I thought I was better than them.

I was once told this about those in prison.
Someone said that smiles were resented in hostile environments.
I've experienced this in the hood as well.
Many from the hood view as smile as taunting.
As trying to make everyone else feel even worse because one should know that they feel bad.

The thing is - even when things suck (which is more often than not here in a small town in the South) I always try to find the benefit of the experience.
People think I'm crazy because I'll say something like, "This ish sucks!", with a smile and a chuckle while in the midst of a struggle.
Believe me... things are not always rosy, people don't always like me and I don't always have all of the answers - but why should I choose to suffer just because something is difficult?

Dumb, Fat, Blondes

"Is it chicken?"
Everyone laughed at the vapidity of the pop star at the time.

 Sure, the girl was smokin' hot but she was also thought to be dumb as a bag of rocks.

As her weight has increased - so has her not worth.
Her brand is projected to become the first celebrity brand to eclipse the 1 billion dollar mark for annual sales.
The girl turned 'dumb' into an estimated 100 million dollar fortune.

Barney

 No not that guy....

 Many people have heard of Tennis Elbow but few have experienced the condition in which one aggravates the ligaments and joints of ones knee(s) caused while one is serving drinks..

Bar Knee occurs most often in sporting events when ones ligaments are stretched beyond their usual stopping points.
For bartenders it occurs most often while one is just working behind the speed rail.
The speed rail protrudes well beyond the natural tilt of ones body beyond the bar top.
While one is placing a drink on the bar top, one often locks his knees as he reaches to place the drink(s) in front of the guest.
If one is in a hurry, his feet may get caught in the bar mats while the knee is hyper extended and a strain or tear may occur.

Since it's warm (but not yet hot), I've been playing a lot of tennis, basketball and running.
These activities can be bad for ones knees if proper conditioning and equipment are not used.
My knee has been bothering me for about two weeks now after I attempted to play a game of tennis in brand new shoes.
Sure, the gleaming white shoes looked dazzling - but they were too new to allow for a sliding backhand during a recent match.

My club recently held a benefit for a patron going through Cancer treatments.
I'm out of bartender shape - I've grown more accustomed to managing and mingling.
But since this was a benefit I decided to work the event myself instead of asking an employee to work for free.
What a mistake that was.
I know that most bars are designed with too large an ice well and too deep of a speed rail.
I know that these conditions are not the best for ones joints and knees.
I know to wear shoes which will not get stuck in the bar mats.
It's been years since I've suffered from this injury and I'm limited in my ability to move around until the injury heals.
Bar Knee? Who woulda' thought I'd be injured while working behind a bar?

"I AM a 'Pretty Boy' "...

....A kid I tutor said to me.
I was shocked to hear this coming from a the mouth of a supposedly straight male - and this was even more confusing because the kid is Black.
I remember when being called a 'Pretty Boy" was cause for a fight.
Being a called a 'Pretty Boy' was the same as being called a Mamma's Boy, Punk, Fag or Sissy.

But this generation is different.
Many from this generation have been raised by over protective grandmothers and aunts while their mothers stayed out all night at the clubs while their fathers (whoever they are) are locked up.
Many from this generation act the same way and have the same concerns which would have been associated with those of little girls a generation ago.
Many from this generation see the slight Lil' Wayne as their idol and materialistic mentor instead of someone like Chuck D as their role model and cultural mentor.
Many from this generation had to be taught to stand up to pee because  they modeled themselves after the women who raised them.
Many from this generation are more concerned with Sportin' Waves, Skinny Jeans, Jewelry, Fashion and appearance more than they are with ability and performance.

I'm not hatin'.
Most of my life I've gotten by on looks alone.
I'm not really ugly - I just happen to be barely good-looking enough so that looks were never one of my concerns.
When the kid's mother asked, "What's wrong with wanting to look good?" - "Nothing", I said, "But you need to teach these kids to be more concerned with being good."
.

Is The Platform the New Norm?

In a ploy to get more women to look at my club's facebook page, I still feature the shoes worn by the women to the club.
I like wedges/platforms - they make me think of hookers and strippers.
Most nights, "John, I wore my new shoes!!!", women say.
(I should get a side job selling women's shoes, that way I could get paid for selling the shoes women pay to get into the club to be photographed in.)
But the thing that amazes me is that most of the women in the most photographed shoes are renting apartments or living with their mothers.
Most work jobs they hate.
Most are only at the club because they wish to trade-up on their current boyfriends and/or husbands.
Most are just renting a lifestyle that they imagine those with true assets and resources living.

@ FreeMan & Brohammas

Forget Vitaminwater and the like.
Is there a way to create a line of herb-infused waters to be sold in health food stores?
I was thinking of something simple to start off with first like Vinegarwater.
Any thoughts?
Any resources?

Heart

It's been 30 years since Julie Moss collapsed in the Ironman competition, 23 years since Michael Chang shocked Ivan Lendl in the French and 37 years since Ali beat Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila.
The thing is; these athletes were not competing against any known adversary - these athletes were competing against themselves.
These athletes had to go beyond his known abilities and skill set to overcome himself.
These athletes were similar to Jacob fighting the Angel of God and not relenting until his blessing was received.
If asked, most of these athletes would probably draw upon news footage more than actual memory about these events.
If asked, most of these athletes would choose never to experience these moments ever again.

Ronald

I rarely agree with CF but the one belief he has that I tend to agree with is that most people thought of as being poor are poor because of poor decision making.
Many would rather squander resources on material goods in an effort not to appear poor while making such purchases often keeps them poor.

Nigga's

Are only concerned with two things.
1) Being better than every other Nigga' around him.
2) Being just as good as someone who is white.