Tuesday, July 26, 2005

21 Questions

You don't have to like her views but you have to respect where she came from.

1. By the time they reach two years old a baby can mimic almost everything you do. Why is it so difficult to potty train them?

2. Why is it that when a white person gets killed the news report shows their picture, gives their name and a profile but when a young brother gets murdered he's just another young black male? (We have to start putting a face on the epidemic of black on black violence. No one feels sorry for statistics.)

3. Is it possible George Bush couldn't find one woman or Hispanic worthy enough for the Supreme Court?

4. There is constant fighting in Iraq and bombings in London and Egypt. Just how many terrorist are there?

5. Is the Iraq war really doing anything to stop it at all or is making things worse?

6. When is the American media going to classify these bombings as a large global movement endorsed by millions instead of random acts by a few extremist?

7. Although we criticize her for being with George Bush on most of his policies, isn't Condoleeza Rice just as much of a role model for black people as Oprah? ( I don't agree with her politics all the time but you have to give her credit.)

8. Shouldn't she actually be more of a role model because she succeeded in an arena where very few black women or men get to thrive? (Sorry everybody but Oprah has a talk show. Lot's of people have talk shows. Only one sister has been a Secretary of State.)

9. Since the Michael Jackson trial is over, doesn't it feel strange that there isn't a major scandal involving anybody black right now?

10. Why are there so many fourth and fifth graders in New Orleans that can't read on their grade level?

11. Is there something in the genetic makeup of New Orleans residents that will always keep us from having a competent school system? (Everybody that tries to fix it goes through the same thing. )

12. Does that same genetic flaw make us blame every single thing other than ourselves for the fact that we raise our children to be illiterate?

13. Does 50 Cent have an agreement with radio stations that one of his songs must be played at all times? (I think I heard Candy Shop on the classical music station. )

14. If a rapper can't sit down and formulate a statement that explains his violent and misogynist lyrics, should he be allowed to have any time on TV or radio to promote that junk?

15. Why are there so many women that love those misogynist lyrics and sing along with pride?

16. Why do so ,any young women say it's hopeless to find a good man but have never even had a real boyfriend yet?

17. Do any of them really know what a good man is?

18. Since Luther's passed away, who is the next great soul balladeer? (If anybody says Reuben Studdard they need to be ashamed)

19. The next great soul singer should be R. Kelly. But isn't he just too ignorant and caught up in trying to be a teenager to do it right?

20. Shouldn't our community be taking the fact he SLEPT WITH LITTLE GIRLS AND FILMED IT more seriously?

21. Why are there so many sisters on the internet with inspirational poems, biblical scriptures and all those words praising themselves as black women but have profiles with pictures of themselves bent over in a thong right below?

Monday, July 25, 2005

Mind Blowin Volume 16...Who Do We Vote For


Why are so many black people Democrats without knowing their platform? I am not saying we should be Republicans either but lets review where sticking to one party has gotten us today politically. Democrats take us for granted because we are the given number in the equation. They have absolutely no reason to go out of there way for any type or resources for our community. They know we will vote for them anyway. On the other hand, Republicans feel that they have no need to address any of our issues because we never ever vote majority Republican. The reason is kind of understandable.
The Democrats have the congressional black caucus on their side. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barak Obama and all the other brothers support the Democratic agenda as the being the best interest of their people. In some cases they are right. In other cases they are wrong. It’s been a long time since the Democrats ever had to worry about losing our support.
It is hard to take the Republicans seriously. They have Trent Lott, Tom Delay, and Dick Cheney and not to mention the great David Duke who almost became governor of Louisiana and single handedly eliminated the black population of the state. We don’t expect anything from that party and they don't give too much attention to us either.
That is why I think we should move our entire agenda right down the middle and hold our vote ransom for the highest bidder. Do you know how much chaos we could cause if we actually voted for an independent or Republican candidate based on his or her platform?
If you really think about it, allot of black people, especially my generation, are closer to being conservative than we think. How many of us talk about the fact we are getting tired of all the people in the hood doing nothing with ourselves. We want more respect for our women. Everybody’s talking about how our men need to be more responsible. We speak about crime. That’s called family values. We want opportunities to start our own business and control our own destiny.
This may be just my foolish opinion but I don’t think that welfare and government assistance has done anything for our community but give us an excuse to have absentee fathers and lack of independence and commitment. Even though I just said that, we are also at the point where we do need some extra resources to help us get things going. This is why we should not claim either party. We should let it be known that our support is only predicated on who will do the most and give the most to us. We have to control our ballots and our dollars or nothing will change.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Mind Blowing Volume 15

  • I notice allot of my friends are starting to create their own blogs to write on and that's cool. Just make sure you express yourself and write something that makes sense. The best part about it is that there is no editing and no censorship on anything you say. That doesn't mean you can be wrong and misguided and still feel smart. It's freedom of speech at it's best.
  • When you are a black man growing up in the city of New Orleans, or any inner city for that matter, you are expected to like certain things. How many times have you watched MTV cribs and saw all the rappers and basketball players holding up Scarface as their favorite movie or have a big screen with a playstation in their house. Those things are cool. However, it's time we as young black men start expanding our minds and interest. We all can't just watch the same shows, wear the same clothes or like the exact same music. Lots of us have already and are just too chicken to admit it. Here are 5 of the things that I willing to admit to. I am prepared for any laughter or ridicule that comes my way. Sorry Daddy.
1. I know the words to all the songs from the movie Grease.

2. I own a wrestling tape collection and Ric Flair is one ofmy heroes.

3. I like taking bubble baths.

4. I like Madonna's music.

5. I don't really like Scarface.








  • I haven't been talking about sports too much because we are in that dark space before football season starts but how do you fire Larry Brown and replace him with Flip Saunders? Do the Pistons think that their team is that good they can hire a man that has only left the first round one time with a top five player and still go back to the finals. The minute Rasheed gets less playing time so they can put Darko into the mix is the beginning of the end for this team. If anybody in D Town thinks Sheed is going to sit and watch Darko play they are crazy.
  • I want anyone that reads this post to click on this Link Right Here and tell me how Terry McMilian didn't know that brother was gay. Now, I am not hating on the gay brothers but if you are going to be gay then stay that way and stop getting all these women infected and paranoid. The same thing goes for you bi sisters. Pick a sex and stick with it. Star Jones better be careful.
  • Finally, there have been many comebacks in show business. Some people have hit rock bottom and returned to stardom using talent and hard work. There has been no greater rise back to the top of the charts than Toni Braxton. I have to keep it real. Almost all men keep a secret list of top ten women in their minds. For allot of brothers, Toni had fell out of the rankings for the last few years. I just saw her video for her new song Breathe. I have to say that when you take into consideration she is 35 years old, had two kids and a messed up breast implant operation, she is looking mighty good and is now in the top ten again. I won't say what number she is exactly but it's somewhere after Gabrielle Union but ahead of Venus Williams (yes, Venus is flyer than Serena in my opinion). I guess true beauty always comes back. Now if Whitney Houston can get her act together..


Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Mind Blowin Volume 14....Who's in Control


Karl Rove is the most powerful man in America and it's time that everybody realized it. Why do you think that George Bush called him "The Genius" during his victory speech last November. There is no way Karl Rove gets indicted or gets fired for anything concerning the White House leak about Joe Wilson's wife. I don't care what he says to the press. The Republican party owes Karl Rove too much for bringing them to power to ever watch him fall. He would have to do something really drastic for that to happen and this leak isn't enough. If you watch Fox news and look at the way he is being defended, you can tell they know he is the key to any decision that George Bush makes. Anything you hear the Republicans say they believe Basically, Rove is the puppe tmaster in the White House and Bush absolutely needs him more than anyone else. If it wasn't for Karl Rove, John Kerry would be president right now. I wonder how many people in the inner city even know who is the man with the power to total cripple any chance of anything progressing. My people just don't watch the national news enough and stay inform. They have no idea who Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Bill Frist, Tom Delay and a host of other people are that are making decisions about our lives. They could reverse the civil rights bill and these fools wouldn't even know why they had a separate fountain and a crowd at the back of the bus. It drives me crazy to speak with one of my friends and mention Donald Rumsfeld and they look at me like I am speaking Russian. That ignorance to current events is what allows people like Bush, Rove, and Cheney to send young people to war to keep you occupied while they do all kinds of other things and no one is paying attention enough to create any public outcry. The rich get government contracts and the poor lose benefits and get No Child Left Behind. Four more years of Bush and that is all because of Karl Rove's ability to make Middle America fear gay marriage and Janet Jackson's breast.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Office Space - Dedicated To The Work Day


I think I am getting tired of coming to the office. Some of the people are just a trip to be around. I don't feel like working so I will write about the office. There's a few in every office. Certain people that do these kinds of things everyday. A few of them may even be me. The names of the people who inspired these characters have been concealed to protect the guilty and to keep them from being mad at me.

The Oh My Goodness Here They Come Worker
This is the person at your job that no one really likes or wants to be bothered with. They have bad jokes. They smell a little. Sometimes they are just not that good of a person. The only thing that keeps them around is that they are the CEO's cousin or related to someone else in the company. You have to fake like you want to be around them without saying anything that may get back to mid management. This is the person that never comes to happy hour.
The 30 Minute Breaker
This is the person that is never at their desk because they always have a reason to take a break. These are usually smokers or have a friend on another floor that they want to talk to all the time. You always have to hurry up from your break because they have sucked up all the free time. Every six months you need to have an argument with this person once the break time gets out of hand.
The Potluck Co-Worker
This is the person that can't cook but always wants to have a potluck dinner. Every three months they plan one of these stupid things and ask everybody to bring something. Their dish is usually the worst one on the table. I hate potluck dinners. In every office there's a person that is just a little nasty looking. You try to get them to bring the plates or the cups but they always want to whip up their special recipe and put right at the beginning of the table. They stand there and look to see if anyone eats it. Now everybody has to put some on their plate and figure out how to get it to the trash when no one is looking.
The Company Manual Monitor
This is the fool that actually went home and read the new employee kit after orientation. They know everything about every procedure and always want to point out stuff that is not right. They follow the dress code. Their breaks are 15 minutes exactly. They go to lunch for 60 minutes, clock right back in and go to their desk. These people don't have allot of friends because usually they have gotten a real popular person fired by being so damn correct all the time.
The Wanna Be Manager
This is my least favorite person. This is the fool sitting next to you that makes the same money and has the same title but has been with the company 5 years longer than you so they feel they can tell you what to do. The reason they are in the same position is because they have absolutely no management skills and never get promoted. The wanna be manager always sees the company manual monitor as a threat and they never get along. These are the two that the supervisor manipulates to do all of their dirty work.
The Harassment Dude
Ladies, this is the guy at the office that thinks every woman wants him so he makes all these lewd comments. These guys always get fired for harassment or abuse of the e-mail system. You can always find the harassment dude just standing in the hallway or at the elevator for no reason but to play on women. The funniest thing about the harassment dude is that 80% of the time he works in the mail room or cleans the bathrooms. He still exists because there's that one pitiful woman somewhere in the building that actually breaks him off and gives him reason to keep going on with his routine.
The Hoochie Clothes Girl
This is the biggest test for a young brother working in an office environment. This is the girl who is getting her life and career on track and has never had an office job before. All she has to wear to work are the clothes she wears to the club. Usually, this is mini skirts, tight pants and shirts that show off her tattoos. Hoochie clothes girl is like kryptonite to the harassment dude and extremely distracting to every other guy. As long as she is a nice girl and doesn't manipulate the situation too much everything is cool. A scandalous hoochie dresser can destroy an entire department.
The Gossip Woman
The most dangerous person in the building. This is the person that claims to know who's messing around, who's about to get fired, who's having marital problems, and everything else they really don't know. All of the other people on this list can survive in harmony until the gossip woman is hired. The strangest thing about the gossip woman is that she herself is never in any rumor and no one is ever mad at her. Somehow she knows how to throw the match into the gasoline and pull it out before it burns her hand.
The Potential Postal Worker
Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking this is the guy that is probably going to come into the building and spray everyone with bullets. That's true. However, this person is usually really popular and gets along well with his co workers. He is cool with everyone in the building that is not a supervisor. Postal potential hates authority and pressure. He's usually the guy that does something so specific and complicated that it's almost impossible to replace him so the manager puts up with all his tripping. This is the guy that walks out of meetings. He is the one that refuses to work overtime. He is the one no one asks to work on any kind of special projects because they know he is just itching to go off. He knows he will never get promoted and he doesn't care. The funniest part about the postal man is that as soon as he clocks out and hits the streets he instantly becomes one of the coolest people you have ever met. Clocking in is just like turning Dr. Jeckyl into Mr. Hyde.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Memories To Get Me By


Sometimes things come to you in the strangest ways. I have been real negative lately and complaining allot about everything. I was outside feeding my dog Sandy a few minutes ago. I was noticing how she was fully recovered from having a liter of puppies that she tried to kill the day she had them. She destroyed half and the rest went to the SPCA the next day because they were just too small to take care of without her. Then I realized something while watching her bounce around. She had no mental effects of losing all of her puppies. There was no grief, no depression, or any nightmares. Think about if a woman would have lost 8 kids on the same day. If she lived to be 100 years old she would recall that day for the rest of her life. She could never out grow or out live that thought. The event might actually be too much for her mind to take and drive her insane. I lost one three years ago and not a day goes buy when I don't think about it at least once.
The human brain is what sets us apart from all the other animals in the world. It's what puts us on the top of the food chain. I'm not a scientist but experience has shown me that the quality of human life is dictated by how good or bad the memories in your life are and how good those events affected you. Good memory can make you smart, depressed and sometimes crazy. With the exception of names, I am one of those people that can close my eyes and picture exact places and events in my life. I remember very specific times in my life, good and bad ones. All of those have an influence on me everyday. A song, a building, or something on the TV can send me into a time machine and the replay starts. I can not tell you how much money my parents made when I was a coming up. I know it wasn't allot but I couldn't give you a figure to save my life. I would never remember that. I do remember playing LIFE in the kitchen and Michelle getting mad when my daddy would sue her. I remember crabbing trips. I remember the Solomon Burke record my mama used to play. My little Jennifer scheduled her entire day in a composition book. I remember driving to Florida in a rusty pickup and my crazy brother Walter trying to swim with a broken arm. Jerald needed to have Big Bird's Big Red Book read ten times in a row. I remember my grandmother bringing me cinnamon rolls and that crazy song she used to sing before she gave them to me. I remember my other grandmother's sugar cookies and I remember getting up early to go get ice for the family BBQ with my grandpa. When you add all that up with the other ones, you get a pretty swell life even with all my complaining. That's not too bad for a brother from the Ninth Ward.
When I am in a really hopeless mood, I'll drive around with the radio playing and suddenly something will pop into my head. I'll think about watching Monday Night Football with Daddy. I'll think about catching the bus to work with my grandma when I was small. I'll think about the crabbing trip I took with my brothers when I threw the bait away to soon. Sometimes I think about making wrestling belts with Devin out of liquor boxes and black shoe polish when I was a youngster. It makes everything go away for a few minutes. This is the kind of memories I want my children to have. I want my daughter to say to herself "man, I don't know what my daddy did for a living but I remember when me and him played on the swings". If I can get that I will feel at peace with myself.
Young adults tend to live in the moment at hand. The bills are due. The kids are growing and need you more everyday. The people that raised us are starting to get older and they need you more too. There are so many things currently going on that if you ask how life is going the answer may be not that good. Sometimes you just have to put on a good record, grab a drink and close your eyes. If you take a few minutes and use the memories in your mind to draw on good times, that life question may not be as negative as you think. I know I have way more good memories than bad ones. Judge your life on the totality of all the good things from beginning to end. Don't think mine's hasn't been sweet so far.

Saturday, July 9, 2005

Knowing Love the Way I Do....Top Ten Luther Songs


Luther Posted by Picasa


I'm not going to type a whole bunch of stuff about Luther. I didn't know him personally so I can't say all that stuff. I did love his music so in the that regard I am listing for you the top ten Luther songs in order. Rest in peace Luther.

1. House Is Not A Home
2. So Amazing
3. Since I Lost My Baby
4. Superstar
5. Dance With My Father
6. Nothing Better Than Love w. Gregory Hines
7. Never Too Much
8. If Only For One Night
9. I Who Have Nothing
10. Any Love

Mind Blowin Volume 13

This might be the longest I have went without posting in a long time. Things just got too hectic for a minute. Between a doctor visit, tropical storms, and power outages there just wasn't any inspiration or time to attempt to write anything of quality. I hate covering things that have happened days ago and talk about them now. That means I have to come up with something else to write about off the top of my head. I had several things in mind all week and now that I have sat down to post them they are all gone. I can't remember a thing. Not one single piece of information or idea. I guess I will just give a brief statement of a few things that happen recently.

  • After all the calls for protest and boycotts, the Essence Festival had record numbers last weekend. That means the tow trucks, meter maids and overpriced drinks were in full effect. If anybody reading this plans on staying at the Downtown Hilton in New Orleans, make sure you don't cause trouble and give my best friend Cedric any problems. He told me how his people treated him last week.
  • There is no sadder show in the history of black entertainment than Being Bobby Brown. I don't know if I should laugh or cry about it.
  • Lil Kim got a year in jail and Martha Stewart got 5 months. In America crime doesn't pay unless it's for over a million dollars .
  • Whenever the majority of the population starts to question the war in Iraq, Al Queda or some terrorist group does something like the London Transit bombings and makes people think dropping a few bombs on the Middle East isn't a bad idea.
  • Luther..........gets his own post.
So now I am back to speed I think. Hopefully tonight I will remember the other stuff.