Bully Prevention Month?

October is Bully Prevention Month?
Really?
Yeah, well...
I'm sitting this one out as well.

Back in the day, we got whooped!
Back in the day, we got cut from teams (we didn't have a B-team).
Back in the day, we didn't get trophies for nothing.
Back in the day, we would get into fights.
Back in the day, we would 'play the dozens'.

Bag, rag, case, whatever your local term was for The Dozens, everyone played.
Or else...
Either you'd learn to tell better jokes, learn to laugh at yourself, or you'd learn to fight.
These days, name calling is bullying?
Sissy-please...
(Oh, wait. 'Sissy' is no longer allowed to be used to describe someone else.)
'Octoroon, please!' is still the funniest retort given on the internet - these days, one would be banned for violating the TOS.

The Dozens is bullying?
Man, my house was The Gauntlet most nights!
My mom was gone and my dad would be at work so we had lots of freedom.
If someone got the best of one of my siblings or myself, we'd gang up on them.
No, not in a fight but in jokes.
Most of my best friends would go home mad.
A few would go home having survived or having won the night.
They were just jokes.
Sometimes brutal and honest but they were still just jokes.
No one died, a few cried and a few even wanted to fight - but they were just jokes.

Honestly, this generation and this time is not for me and I refuse to fit in.
There are just too many over-confident and under-competent sissies who were coddled by their mothers and given participation trophies.
Back in the day we'd call them pussies.
But I guess that's no longer alright.

... It Was the Worst of Times.

Sure, judging by the stock market, the economy is doing swell.
But not everyone has a job with benefits and a 401k.

My knees are too bad for me to run any distance any more so I walk.
Usually it's the same route - about a mile out of my neighborhood to a major street, about a mile down that street to another major street, about two miles down that street to another major street, a mile down that street to enter my neighborhood from the other side, and then a mile back home.
It's about six miles at a moderate pace.

From the city bus to ambulance drivers to other people I know who happen to be driving by - EVERYONE seems to stop to see if I need a ride somewhere.
My casual attire should alert them that I'm just getting my miles in but I guess I do appreciate their concern.

The thing I notice on my walks is the inordinate amount of homeless people I see.
There are people living under bridges, people living in the woods, people squatting in storage units, people living in cars parked in empty lots, people living in trailers behind businesses, ... .

The area has many 24 hour service stations, cheap hotels, a Walgreens, a Waffle House and is bifurcated by a highway and has whatever else attracts meth/opioid addicts to the area during the wee hours of the night.
Sure, I'd seen these vagrants at night on my way home from the clubs but I never knew they actually lived in the area.
The odd thing is - they are all white.
(Apparently, the sundown town a few miles down I-10 cracked down on vagrancy a couple of years ago so Billy-Bob and Methany had to move to more comfortable digs.)

The dirty clothes, missing teeth, pitted skin on sunken faces, and musty smell are what one would expect to find in someone who lived in a Hooverville.
White Pride tattoos abound on this group of people as they beg more affluent Black people for spare change.

Maybe these are representative of the 33% who give unwavering support to our current POTUS.
Maybe, given a more level playing field, these are some of those who got left behind.
Maybe having to actually compete for jobs left them unprepared.
Maybe, for these, the only way to excel was for the good-ole-boy network to still exist.
I really don't know?

I'm Still Sitting This One Out But...

The media - mainstream and social - are not Donald Trump's friends.

For every Ted Nugent, there is an Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam's recent concert poster was less than flattering in their portrayal of the POTUS.

And then there is Michael Moore being, well... Michael Moore.

And I guess Omarosa decided she needed a fat pay check and thought she would cash in while she could.

Even Trump's team (Not Giuliani this time.) failed in their attempt at support.

It's been a tough week for Donald - but what week hasn't been.

Honestly, I'm fairly indifferent towards Trump.

I like that he moved the American embassy to Jerusalem.

I'm against the elimination of ICE and in favor of enforcing our immigration laws (separated families and all).

I like that Trump criticized the Federal Reserve but why not throw in the World Bank and IMF while he was at it.

Sure, he's an indecorous ass but that was the point.

Trump was elected to show us how effed-up we actually are.

He cannot damage our republic, he can only call attention to how effed-up everything has been for quite some time.

Not Another Incel ?

Damn, ol' boy near Houston shoots up a school because some girl rebuffed his advances?
And he was bullied by coaches?
Nigga, please?

It's just this whole trophy-for-nothing, never been spanked (whooped) generation - they're soft.
Shiiid.... I've been cut from teams, cussed out and grabbed by coaches, denied by women, jumped by enemies, lost in joke battles in front large crowds, fired from jobs, and on and on.
Shit happens - suck it up.
Life is cold - get a sweater.
Rub some dirt or spit on your wounds and keep it moving.

We never had safe spaces.
Aggressions were real, not micro.
The Dozens was a game, not bullying.
Black eyes were embarrassing, not life threatening.
Belts, Hot Wheel tracks, paddles, switches, and whatever else may have been handy were tools for punishment, not cause for arrest.

I'm with Trump - Make America Great Again!
I like the Madmen style of life - well dressed and attractive people getting all the benefits.
No, not the racism of the time, but the reaction to that racism brought about the Civil Rights movement and legislation which addressed the issue.
It was a time of action, not a time of complaining.
Nothing was just given - everything was earned.
I liked being the only Black person in situations because I was better, not because of Affirmative Action.
The challenge was fun.
The losses made the wins even more enjoyable.

Maybe I'm becoming an old curmudgeon like Big Don.

WTF in an 'Incel'? (Wristcel, Baldcel, ...)

Like someone with Asbergers who has learned to assimilate into the general population - maybe there are Incels who have learned to over-compensate, they've learned to fake da' funk and appear 'normal'.

 Once again, I blame the Kardashians.
Only these women could turn Kanye into an Alt-Right favorite and have their mom turn America's one time golden boy into a woman.
And you know it must make 1488ers and Incels mad whenever they see these women with 'lowly' Black rappers and athletes.

Maybe even mad enough to hate and kill.

It's not that I no longer have opinion or points of view - I just realise that in the grand scheme of things, they just don't matter.

This is a whole new world, with new 'victims', and they can have it.

I once advised the son of an ex to be careful when choosing a girlfriend.

I told him that 90% of his mistakes would be caused by the influence of a girl.

I recently spoke to the kid and his mom after he had been fired from a job. (He was letting girls sneak into the movie theater at which he was working.)

He went over his poor choices and discovered that most of the times he had gotten into trouble that he was trying to impress a girl.

'Dude, just be good at something, and then be good at something else. Competence breeds confidence and confidence and personality get the girls.', I advised.

I'd hate to see the kid join one of these groups because he lacks game.

Come to think of it, Alfalfa does kind-of resemble the guys on Reddit who post about their plight.

When did being a member of The Heeman Woman Haters become a thing?

Entertain Me

Okay, I couldn't pull up the clip where Mookie asks Pino to list all of his favorites :
Basketball - Magic Johnson
Movie Star - Eddie Murphy
Musician - Prince ('Bruuuce!')
The thing is, as long as they're just there to entertain they're alright.
Even Laura Ingraham could deal with LeBron as long as he would just 'shut up and dribble'.

I've never experienced racism or even discrimination but I'm sure it exists. I've always been the acceptable Negro - even when I was the only and/or first Negro.
Sure, I've been in riots, police chases, shootouts,.. - all the hood stuff, but I've never been in any real trouble.
I'd walk away unscathed from bad situations and when once asked by a pretty blonde girl why I'd never get caught-up, 'Oh, because different rules apply', I said as I walked to a friend's car and was driven away.
The American Black Experience? I guess I've seen it on television or in movies but I never thought of Blacks as being a cohesive and monolithic group - our expectations and experiences are just too varied.

My club's social media accounts are littered with praise for Beyonce after her performance at Coachella.
It's as though people are surprised that Bey could slay at what many see as a festival for rich white kids.
But why?

Bey is just the right person at the right time.
Years ago, Larry King's son had a Pino moment when he declared that he wanted to be Black.
And why not, like Pino, all of his favorite entertainers and athletes and even the POTUS were Black.
Bey is just riding the Wakanda Forever wave and she is not seen as a threat.

Bey and her nalgones came along at a time when she (along with J-Lo and Kim-K) and other callipygian women came back into fashion.
Light skin, pretty face, long (not nappy) hair, glamorous lifestyle,... - Beyonce is an acceptable Negro made for Coachella.

The thing about Coachella is that it was never intended to appeal to a solely white audience.
One of its founders (Bill Fold from the '98 Posse) would drop by our crib for Wednesday Night poker. The last time I saw him, he had to leave early because one of his homeboys (Greg? Maybe Tiny-James?) had a piece of metal in his eye from his day job and had to be convinced to be taken to the hospital.
Their crew was named after an old Public Enemy song.
The first festival included hip-hop DJs (Among others, Raymond Leon Roker - the founder of URB magazine.), Ben Harper and the militant Rage Against the Machine.

Coachella was never about one's race - unless to you, everything is about one's race.

I'm Not Litigious

I have a friend who was the passenger when the car in which he was riding got struck by a car which ran a stop sign on a dark and rainy road.
Sure, the car struck the vehicle in which he was riding on his side of the car but my friend was fine - he even went to work at the club that night with no sign of injury.
The next morning his neck was a bit sore but not any more than it would have been had he slept on the mound of pillows with which women frequently litter their beds.

The following Monday, he received calls from lawyers, insurance companies, brokers,... - anyone trying to make money or those trying to avoid paying money.

My friend was advised to at least get checked out.

My friend went to see a doctor who sent him to see a chiropractor.
My friend told both that he was fine and that he wasn't injured.
X-rays were then ordered by the chiropractor 'just to make sure'.

The broker representing the lawyer ask my friend to lunch and asked my friend to sign a release which would allow the law firm to represent him in any insurance negotiations and to ensure that he would not be charged for his doctors visits.

The chiropractor scheduled treatments which my friend was told he was obligated - or else he would be billed for previous visits and procedures.

After a month of telling anyone who would listen - brokers, lawyers, doctors, chiropractors, insurance companies, imaging centers,... - my friend was then scheduled for an MRI ('Just in case.').

After the MRI, my friend was told he needed to see a pain management doctor for pain my friend said didn't exist. (My friend sees him tomorrow.)

No wonder our healthcare system sucks.
My friend told everyone that he just took an aspirin the night of the accident and slept just fine.
Everything should have been over.
My friend was checked out by a doctor and a chiropractor and he told them he was fine.
My friend wasted hours three times a week for a little over a month during his usual volunteer time just to satisfy the brokers/lawyers billing obligations.

My friend was told that he would get a settlement for his 'pain and suffering' even though he told each person involved that he had no pain and that he didn't suffer.

My friend told the law firm to keep the check but he was mad that they had wasted so much of his time.

Honestly, like many institutions - there is just too much profit to be made by getting over on others in the insurance business.
Their are too many levels of profit taking for even the simplest things.

(The driver of the car is getting his car fixed - as should be expected - but he is trying to milk every penny from an accident that caused no real bodily harm.)

What ever happened to honestly?

Another One ?

As Hilary is still whining about her loss claiming that she 'won' the popular vote - the Trump team is, yet again, in reboot mode.

More BP

I read a lot of facebook posts, both on my personal page and my business page - people seem more honest when they're not speaking to you face-to-face.

The above image was snatched from the page of one of my friend's friend's pages on my personal site.
The lady was bragging about how cool her niece and nephew felt in their new Black Panther jackets and how cool she was for getting them for them.
Sure, he's a Marvel superhero but these kids view him as the coolest of them all.

Sure, they are growing up in an area (my hometown) and during an era where they see Blacks everyday who are not the stereotypical pimps, criminals and drug dealers.
Yeah, their family is filled with law enforcement officers who deal with crime on a daily basis - but these kids are exposed to enough real life Blacks who are good people that #blackexcellence is not beyond their understanding.

As BP crosses the one-billion dollar mark in worldwide ticket sales and is poised to become the second biggest superhero movie of all time - why don't the Chinese audiences get it?
I read about the reviews in China's Douban (Their version of Box Office Mojo or IMDB.) and many can't seem to imagine an idealic African nation.
In a country that bought nearly $400 million (USD) in tickets to see Fast-8, which featured a largely Black cast (Vin Diesel, The Rock, Tyrese, Luda and Nathalie Emmanuel), BP is said to be ' too black'.
While deals in China only return 25% of theater revenue to the studio, the shear potential of the market leads production companies to green light projects that will over-perform there.
(Since American theaters return 50% of ticket revenues to theaters, the larger domestic take for BP will probably compensate for any perceived lost revenue in China.)

In a country that plans to invest heavily in Africa - should countries on the continent be concerned that billions of people cannot imagine them as their equals?
To be honest, many Black people don't see themselves as being (at least) equal.

BP seems to have reignited the whole light vs dark pigmentocracy in some Blacks.
This past week: I've had some dark brotha' come at me as I was walking an attractive woman to her car at the club because he thought I was 'too light'. ('Wrong one to fuck with in this town cuzz.', his cousin would say as he walked him away.) My homeboy's son was shot in a restaurant parking lot by dark brothas who felt that they were now superior to all the 'Christopher Williams looking brothas'. Beastly looking Leslie Jones looking women are throwing shade at light-skinned fit and attractive women on my club's facebook page...
BP seems to have many Blacks caught up.

In spite of all the 4Chan/Reddit/Stormfront attempts at destroying this film - it has become a worldwide phenomenon.
It has become a gauge to measure one's true feelings when it come to race in America and throughout the world.

'Wakanda isn't real'?
Well, neither is Valhalla, nor Thor, Loki nor the Valkyrie.
'#Wakandaforever'?
Ethiopia was only occupied for less than ten years by 'colonizers' - so there's that.
Power is cyclical and who is to say that the Sahara wasn't created by a nuclear war thousands of years ago and Egypt was just an attempt at recreating past African accomplishments?
Maybe pre-Egyptian history was Africa's turn to do things right and it's ancient cultures were just the remnants from its failures.
If history repeats itself, maybe this is Europe's turn to prove that mankind is just an inherently screwed-up race of petty beings.

It Was the Best of Times...

It was California.

Honestly, I love Cali.
I just can't afford it.
In a state where one third of its residents are severely rent burdened (at least half of one's income is dedicated to rent) - housing is just too expensive.

Cali ranked dead last in quality of life - even behind New Jersey. (AccordIng to US News and World Report).
And then I read a story about a family with three children living in a plywood 'box'?
I guess the struggle is real.

I HATE Texas and it's Billy-Bobs.
I hate the (almost) antebellum feel.
I hate the lack of education.
I hate the segregation.

But Damn, even a regular ninja can be a bawse in this low expectation state.

Don't Hate

My club's facebook newsfeed is filled with broke, bitter, fat women who hate on Melania.

Honestly, she's not ugly.

(And while she's not on the Kim K/Beyonce/J-Lo level for booty - she had more than I'd imagined.)

#metoo

Nemesis
(The ancient Greek goodness of retribution.)
It seems as though feminists have found a new goddess to worship and she seems to be delivering the goods.

I Get It

 Actually, I've always hated the limited value many Blacks placed on their history, culture and even  themselves.
I hated that many Blacks would still identify more with slaves than those who fought against oppression.

(People still trip that we maintain a small patch of cotton on the family farm.
During summers, my father would join family members in picking cotton to take to market so that they could buy school clothes and supplies.
(I picked one piece, just once, so that I could say that I had picked cotton.)
But these were/are family farms in Louisiana - most were/are owned by the Black inhabitants.
Picking cotton was a necessary chore required to generate income.
There was no shame in picking cotton.
And just because I had actually picked cotton - I was never a slave.)

No,
one movie cannot solve the inferiority-complex many Blacks seem to have nor will it change the minds of those who still imagine that Zipporah looked like Yvonne de Carlo in The Ten Commandments.
But Black Panther is a step in the right direction.

I had to laugh when Atlanta's Hartsfield  jokingly posted departure times leaving for Wakanda.
But at least it wasn't Soul Plane.

Black Panther may just be the right movie at the right time.

The Black Power/Civil Rights movement, the belief in The Talented Tenth, Nat Turner and as far back as (and before) Chrispus Attucks - there have been Black men of volition who wanted better for themselves and others like them.

Actually, I like the vernacular fashion in the film.

We've come a long way from Zumunda to Wakanda - from the jewelry that looked like they raided the fancy cheese section at their local Gelson's in Coming to America to the more historically correct costumes in BP

BP shows this generation that one does not have to be unattractive, fat or coonish in order to be smart.

Shuri is a smart, clever (not cartoonishly silly), attractive and she could probably still kick your ass.

In the age of Neil Degrasse Tyson, there is no need to portray Black nerds as Urkel. (Well, Degrasse Tyson does kind-of come across as a grown up Urkel.).

I'm sure there are plenty of smart Black people who can still throw them hands (yet still be likeable).

Black on Black crime?
Nah, man.
The fight between Kilmonger and BP was over ideas/ideals not over drugs, hoes or a dice game.

Honestly, I'm more of a Silver Surfer fan than one of the Black Panther.

Sure, I like that BP possessed enough foresight to excuse himself from Marvel's Illuminati.

But I never identified with him.

While he wasn't a former pimp, drug dealer or criminal - his story wasn't my story.

I was influenced by the real Black Panthers whose ideologies seemed more in line with Kilmonger's beliefs.

'Woke'? Ninja-please.

Most of y'all should never have slept through school and you'd possess the requisite pool of knowledge required to defend your beliefs beyond the memes and tropes put forth on facebook and YouTube posts.

We were inculcated with the belief in #blackexcellence not the belief in thinking that mediocrity was the same thing.

And I get it.

Baby steps.

There are still many who believe that the Cosby Show was a 'white' show starring Black actors.

There are many who believe that if it's made/owned by whites that it must be superior.

I get that all the hashtags give you the feeling of actually accomplishing something - that you make a difference.

I get that many of you feel the need to live vicariously through celebrities and fictional characters in order to feel empowered.

I get that most support Kaepernick but that they still work for companies which have worse historical practices concerning race than does the NFL - yet they won't forgo their paychecks.

I get that Black Panther (Like 'Django'.) gives many pride in their being beyond that of being servants, criminals or slaves.

I get that most dumb people have smart phones and most of their real history is just a few clicks away.

I get that BP is not reduced to a sidekick, a Magical Negro nor does he benefit from a White Savior.

I get that this fictional character is, for many, the first time they have seen a Black person being viewed as an equal (See: Black Panther in Marvel's Illuminati).

Proverbs 23:7 states,

'For as he thinks in his heart, so is he'.

I get that many thought they weren't shit so they proved themselves correct.

I get that most are surrounded by negativity so it's become the expected outcome.

I get that most lack the faith required to do the work that is required to create a real and lasting change.

But it has to start somewhere, 

and my hope is that BP is the seed that will develop into the realization that we can do better.

I Hate Duke

 Back in the day, I was a fan of the UNLV Running Rebels and the Georgetown Hoyas - Duke beat them both.

Duke is a school and team that's easy for a suburban Black kid to hate.
Okay. maybe 'resent' would be a better word.
'Envy' might even be the most accurate word.
Privileged kids going to an elite school who still manage to win?
It's easy to envy/resent/hate such kids which makes them easy to scapegoat.

After the circus of the rape hoax had died down, one of the accused made a statement about the broken judicial system and how that if even he and his equally 'privileged' teammates could be treated so poorly (even with all their money, resources, and whiteness), it must be even worse for poor urban kids who are wrongly accused.

The takeaway should not have been that white dudes are victims of an overly aggressive PC culture but that everyone is a victim of an unjust and inequitable judicial and enforcement system.

Which leads us to Bush/Obama and the abuse of policies which were the result of the Patriot Act.

I also hate Trump.

No, I don't resent nor envy him - I'm just not a fan.

And, no - not because of his wealth, his pretty wife (Don't Hate, she's not an ugly woman.) nor his fame.

I don't like the guy because he is a Last Man or even a Superfluous Man who is pretending to be an Uber Man (Ubermensch).

Did Trump actively seek to influence the last election in his favor in an illegal manner - probably not.

Is he an idiot for complaining about even the smallest slight on social media like a middle school girl - yes, it's indecorous, as POTUS it should all be beneath him.

His whole 'What about Hillary' and 'Obama did it too' are childish responses to adult problems.

Why can't he just take his licks like a man and go through the process the way the Duke 3 did?

Why can't he focus on how his predecessors abused and expanded their surveillance powers to the point that even a sitting POTUS (and those around him) can be harassed by those who are working for the Cathedral?

* Trump and his team will probably all end up going down for tax evasion or money laundering as a result of the Mueller investigation, and not any sort of collusion with Russia.

I just hope that before he goes that he will draw attention to and make changes to the way no one truly has any right to privacy.

Who Did it Better?

The Difference

As Eagles fans looted, rioted, vandalized and literally ate shit - the po-po seemed unbothered.
Sure, most of the perpetrators were working-class white dudes - the same dudes who seem to riot after hockey championships - but why did law enforcement respond with little more than a nod and wink?

Sure, burn things up to celebrate a sport which some choose to protest for 'political' reasons but don't dare protest anything that is actually political.

The thing is: protesting injustice is an attempt to change the system - rioting over an almost meaningless game (At least as far as most people's personal lives are concerned.) is supporting the same system.

Sports are intended to to distract the masses from things that actually matter.
As long as anger, jealousy, hatred and other emotion can be directed at entertainers, no one will pay attention to the deeds of either the Official Government nor the Permanent Govern.

As longs as the proles act and think like proles, the elites will remain safe in their roles in our plutocracy.

Hypertiger

 Maybe last week's Super Blue Blood Moon, highlighted with an eclipse, was an omen for Trump.

 Last Friday's 666 point drop on 2-2 would be almost doubled the following Monday.

 Then Trump supporter (And the only man who could rival The Donald for the number of idiotic statements made.) Pat Robertson suffered a stroke.

And then the Patriots lost the Superbowl to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sure, yesterday's 1200 point drop in the Dow may be just a market correction but more than likely it is a sign that the investment bubble is about to collapse and time may be running out on the Trump presidency.

This Generation

I still hate nightclubs,
yet I'm still good at them.

I live in an area where most Blacks are first-generation members of the working to middle classes.
Well paying jobs at the local refineries and the relatively low cost of living here have led many to believe that they have 'made it' or even worse that they are 'rich'.

The area scores lower than most other cities across the nation in heath, education, culture, happiness and a host of other measures of one's quality of life.
Yet many young adults feel as though their adult lives will be as comfortable as their childhoods.

These are children who: never walked more than two blocks, never were cut from an athletic team at school (B and C teams are formed so that the less talented kids can still participate.), had academic standards lowered at their schools so that they could graduate, received participation trophies, were told by broke-assed and unaccomplished Hotep brothas that Black people invented everything and it was all stolen by the white man, were lied to by their parents who told them that they were as pretty as Beyonce when they really look like Leslie Jones, think that every undesirable interaction is 'bullying', and whose only desire is to be rich and famous.
No one ever taught them the social responsibilities that go along with wealth. (Not that most of their parents or grandparents would have known anyway.)

But back to these clubs.
Clubs are more work than most people imagine.
Clubs, for those working in them, are more work than they are fun.

I'm trying to get out of the club business.
I think I'd like to develop a curated shopping center similar to The Lab in Southern California.
The thing is, I'd like to teach and train the next generation of club owners.

My highest paying client is someone who made a little on the street and then bought a small trucking company.
He has taken his profits from his legitimate company and he now owns a nightclub.
He has hired a bunch of twenty-somethings who, to me, are lazy and undisciplined,
Most have to be told to stay off of their phones for personal reasons, to show up on time, to clean up their own messes, to never sit down while working the floor, to not eat behind the bar, and many other niceties one is usually taught at home.

'Are you raising your voice to me?', I calmly asked a DJ who refused to play a request from a customer unless he were tipped.
I went to the register, pulled out his nightly fee to pay him and asked him to never apply to work at any club in which I'm in any way involved.
'I'm an artist.', he said as he angrily packed his computers.
I had another DJ hired before the song that was queued had finished playing.

The club had girls who didn't know how to sweep?
Girls who didn't want to mess up their nails by washing glassware.
Guys who spent more time talking to girls than doing their jobs.
Girls whose tips were higher than their sales,...
They've all been fired without warnings.

The club owner is so frustrated that he wants to only hire white employees who know how to work.
He (A relatively young Black guy from the hood.) is beginning to believe all the stereotypes perpetuated by some about the poor quality of the Black hiring pool.

'Nah, man. You can train a dog, you can train a monkey - you should have no trouble training Black employees.', I said as I reminded him that I had to train his whole management staff even though most had past experiences in failed Black-owned clubs.

But I'm not sure.
Maybe I'm too old and tired to deal with entitled children who fail to understand the value of actually having to do the work in order to earn their reward.
Maybe this whole generation is just beyond me.

Sexy and 17

As a child, I remember hearing Maurice Chevallier singing 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' and thinking, 'WTF?'.

These days (and within many circles) such a song would at least raise an eyebrow - unless you're Roy Moore and/or one of his supporters.
(But he lost his Senate seat and is no longer relevant so... moving on.)

Back to that song by the Stray Cats.
I was in high school when that song came out but I remember thinking, 'WTF?!'.
All the cool senior girls liked the song just fine but Bryan Setzer looked to me a bit too old to be dating high school aged girls.
It was the 80's and New Wave was in and the band was living in the UK and they had a different age of consent there so....
Legally I got it, but it just irked me when college guys would come to our high school to look for girls.
It just seemed kind-of creepy.

A few years earlier The Police had a minor hit with 'Don't Stand So Close to Me.'.
Nabocov novel aside, this song didn't seem as creepy.
Sting seemed to try to distance himself from a girl who had a crush on him - it happens.

But these songs have no excuse:

KROQ would play this catchy little ditty but the video was kinda' Catholic Priestish....
The Suburbs 'Music for Boys' seemed like a NAMBLA theme song.
Sure, I liked the song just fine but the cover for the twelve-inch and the video seemed a bit odd.

Then there is this - The Ultimate Creepy Song.
I liked Oingo Boingo and most of their albums.
Heck, I even liked this song.

Again, it was the 80's and Roman Polanski had been in the news for 'Tess' (Which starred a young Natasha Kinsky) so the idea of an old dude with a little girl kind of creeped me out.

The video for 'Little Girls' showcased little women so I never even thought of the song being about pedophilia until my older sister pointed out the meaning behind the lyrics.

This whole #MeToo thing is sometimes ridiculous - I won't even hug a woman at the clubs anymore for fear that they may say that I tried to grope them.
But judging by the songs from my youth - maybe there is something to it.

It Was Bound to Happen

 Church Martin has gotten the go-ahead to open his museum of Chicano Art in my hometown in the city's former central library.

I'm not a smoker and I always favored listening to Cheech and Chong's albums over watching their movies but a Chicano Art Museum in Southern California seems like an inevitable and natural fit.

Located next to the historic Mission Inn - it would seem to be an ideal location from which to draw maximum traffic.

Californians may now legally smoke recreational marijuana.
In a state thought to be liberal, many may have assumed that this would already be the case.
Weed and California go together like Cheech goes with Chong - they're a natural fit.

My only concern is the area's likelihood of wildfires.

Wildfires in California are as common as heat in the South or snow up North.

In other words...

Count on seeing news of many farms going up in smoke.