Poetic "Justice" ?

Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized after having a seizure July 30 and falling down.....
I heard God don't like ugly.

Seen and Not Heard

As workforces become increasingly diverse, a new problem employees must face is ageism. I am an intern with the mindset of an exec. So many people focus on 'you have to pay your dues,' but if in the same breath you acknowledge that a good idea can come from anywhere, then paying dues is an antiquated notion.

This week I have been invited by my supervisor to watch him produce a college recruitment video for P&G. I thought, 'Cool, I'm a college senior, I go to presentations like this all the time; I'm the target demographic!' Do you think any of the "creatives" in the room even considered that for a moment?

For example, at one point they had to pick the song to be background music in the video. They had an old-school Stevie song and an upbeat tune. Guess which one they chose? While the video's images were moving fast, they picked a slow song to accompany it, which looked off to me. They also had a million images of Rihanna and Queen Laifah in this little 2:30 spot. I wanted to tell them, 'Hey, if you sit me and my friends in an auditorium and play this video we will fall asleep!' ...But no one wanted to know what I thought, and as an intern in a room of professionals, I was unsure if I would have been stepping out of my place to say it - esp if I had a dissenting opinion.

You can't teach good instincts, and I know I'm still in school, but I am so sure my instincts and judgment are right on many things media-related. Tell me why I should take a backseat when I already understand things execs worked 20 years to get? I don't propose to know everything, and areas such as office politics are things you must learn through experience. But this whole being seen and not heard, speaking when spoken to thing is not for me....It's not that I think I'm too good, I just know what I have to offer.

Attitude Reflect(s) Leadership

Castell V. Bryant was interim president at my school, Florida A&M University, for about two years. She quit in May, less than two months before our 10th president, James Ammons, was to arrive. That move I didn't understand - how do you weather the storm for 2 years and quit right before your time expires anyway?

Unsurprisingly, she is a bitter cookie and has gone on to blast FAMU, her alma matter, in an interview in the St. Petersburg Times, excerpts of which can be viewed on the Tallahasse Democrat Web site, www.tdo.com.

As a senior, I can admit that I am not graduating with overwhelming nostalgia in my heart. FAMU has been a four-year headache brought on largely by administrative issues, so to hear the interim president, the top administrator, lambasting her institution in the media is just disgraceful to herself, first and foremost. Basically, she did not successfully complete the task she was selected to do - and she is upset? What about us? The students she was supposed to serve. Here's what she thinks about her constituents:

"I'll give FAMU students a two." (On a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the best) "But that's awful because we accept them and we could help more be successful."

So... while you do place some of the blame on the school itself, you are basically saying FAMU accepts raggedy students. LET'S KEEP IT FUNKY: I might actually agree there is some truth at the bottom of that mess she said. I can attest to being disappointed at times in the caliber of students on campus. But I have consistently been disgusted and appalled by the leadership of the University. The stank employees to the disorganized administrators and some pompous, inaccessible faculty members. Every single solitary semester, I have financial problems. Every year, the housing office gives me the flux. Every year, there is a problem with the dispensation of football season tickets, or homecoming activity tickets, or more and more clubs are being asked to do more with less. They want my beloved student newspaper to increase from running 3 times a week to 5, but they cut our budget so drastically that I and many overworked student-journalists no longer know where our income will come from next semester.
You read the headlines this year, when campus employees (Students, professors and others) went an entire semester and longer without receiving paychecks from FAMU.

-Reflect a moment on an exchange between the quarterback and Julius in "Remember the Titans," where linebacker Bertier was upset at Julius for not begging the other players to pay attention to the Bertier's leadership: "ATTITUDE REFLECT LEADERSHIP."-

So the leader of our University for the past two years leaves her post, raggedy and half-run, with a horrible attitude and turns on the students. You give the students a two, Castell? In 1997, U.S. News and World Report named FAMU College of the Year. We recruited the highest number of National Merit Finalists, more than Ivy League schools. Florida A&M University is the No.1 producer of black baccalaureates in this country. Just last year, Black Enterprise mag named us the No.1 school in the country for black students.

But let's understand that underneath stats and facts lie people. People like me. Let me tell you what I am not, nor could ever be: a 2 - and neither are the students whose company I keep. FAMU recruited me, 3 years ago, when I was a national merit finalist in the top 10 percent of my high school class with a near-perfect GPA and four AP classes. FAMU begged for me to look at them, so how can I be a 2? Howard University offered me a full ride, and I was accepted and offered scholarships to Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. I was not even in MSU and was awarded a scholarship to study abroad...but I accepted FAMU's offer. And I'm a 2? How so, when I have continued to excel?

Last summer 600 students applied to a national law school prep program at FSU and 40 were chosen...including me. This summer, The New York Times selected 30 of the best student journalists in the country to be reporters in New Orleans, and I was one of them. Right now, I am one of 30 students selected from more than 400 national applicants to receive a paid media-industry internship in New York. This year, I won a Hearst college journalism award (aka the "College Pulitzer prize") and a Society of Professional Journalists Regional Mark of Excellence Award. Another student at FAMU won THREE Hearst Awards in one year!

But Castell gives FAMU students a 2 out of 4??? Girlfriend, please count these last two years as the greatest failure of your life, for you failed to walk among the 13,000 beautiful black students you were asked to serve and recognize our greatness.

Because You're Worth It

Being the magazine fanatic I am, Saturday I picked up the newest "Hip Hop-Soul" mag with R Kelly on the cover. The first page of the mag shows a Kells in an elevator with a girl in her underwear next to him laughing, and I noticed she had a belly ring. She's probably older than I am. I thought back to last summer when I decided I wanted a belly ring and my friend laughed hysterically and said, "Driadonna, you too old for a belly ring.That's what you do when you're 16." Suffice it to say I listened to him then. I'm thinking about it again now, and my tummy isnt even as flat as it was back then.

Last weekend I hung out with a woman who was 52. I met her outside of her level-3 pole dancing class, and she was excited that at her age, she can wear 9-inch stilettos and slide down a pole with one arm like a stripper in her 20s. I thought of the things I'd still like to learn to do; thought of the man I loved who'd always wanted me to dance for him and I was too self-conscious to.

Two weekends ago I walked down 5th Ave with a friend on the way to a club and saw a cute outfit in the window. It had a white top and very high waisted, gray wide-leg pants. I remarked, "That is too cute! But I'm too short to wear that."
"Hey, hey, don't do that!" my friend admonished. "You have one body, so put on it whatever you like."
A self-content smirk spread across my face and broke into a smile
"You're right," I said.

Yesterday I went to brunch with another young lady in my internship program. She was telling me about a date she had with a guy who was starting to show signs of being cheap.
"I feel bad for these guys up here who have to pay for dates," I said. "It's expensive."
"Yea, but you're worth it," she reminded me.

And after she reminded me of that fact, I went to the store and bought the cutest, low-cut, short-short dress. It's almost scandalous.
"Where you gon wear that?" my best friend asked after I told him about that day's relationship woes.
"I don't know," I answered. "Sometimes you got to look good for yourself, cuz when I feel sexy, the world responds."

White People Love Animals

And that's why Michael Vick is going to jail. In the worlds of sports and money, you can kill your ex-wife and walk free. You can stop your game and go whoop some ass of the hecklers in the audience, and just get a little break. As a matter of fact, I read today about a man charged with promoting prostitution on Craigslist and organizing sex tours to DR - he got 10 days of community service and some probation.
But Micheal Vick, with this 5-state ring of dog fighting? It's some white people round here who probably would like to hang that man. I don't think he's going to be able to community service his way out of this one.
Black men with money, why don't yall know how to act? I believe in yall. I want one of you one day. But yall got to get sumwhere and saddown.

Jumanji

Wednesday, July 18 was one of those days where God tests you. My day was like a game of Jumanji, with one unexpected event after another...and I could either be a bitch about it or accept a lesson in humility and grace.
My new producer here at GREY arranged for me to shadow him at a video shoot in Maryland. A P&G cosmetics exec was winning an award, so we were going to her home to make a little vid for the awards ceremony.
In order to get there, however, I had to ride with the equipment down to Cockeysville, Maryland, while the producer and cameraman took a cush, 2-hour train ride. Tom was the driver, and he and I had a 3 hour and 25-minute ride, according to Mapquest.
MAPQUEST, YOU LIE!
After four hours we figred mapquest time might be correct if we drove 80 miles/hr all the way and did not have to battle Manhattan traffic AND a monsoon. I have been here two months and never have witnessed the furious rain, thunder and lightning that wanted to accompany us on our road trip. Literally, we had overcast patches of clouds that alternated with showers so heavy we could barely see the road. And this happened going and coming.
The woman's house was beautiful, in this quiet neighborhood with winding roads and huge houses that must have cost about a mil. I decided as I looked at those mini-mansions that you city people can have the concrete jungle of Manhattan, with 300 ppl on each block, cramped apartments, congestion, and public transportation as your only and most frustrating means of travel. I want a brick house with a backyard and some grass and sunshine. I want to ride my bike down my circular driveway and roll in the middle of the street. Fuck a subway.
Anyway, we get there and I'm working alongside Alice Ericsson oftop NYC beauty creative agency Ericsson Fina. And "top" is not an overstatement here- her companyis responsible for every CoverGIRL and MaxFactor commercial you have ever seen. She directs Rihanna, Queen Latifah - every celeb you've seen, and he company is in LA right now shooting the new Drew Barrymore spots. So yes, it was a great opportunity for me.
We set up the equipment and the backdrop fell on the daughter of the exec. Then I was sniffed by their dog Halle. You'd imagine that name was for a cute animal, but this was a monstrous first cousin of a burmese mountain dog. Then during our interview I was playing with the producer's iPhone, turned his iPod on and couldnt figure out how to turn it off.
The shoot itself only took an hour and a half. Four hours of driving for 90 minutes of filming. I'm not complaining by any means - I was happy to get of the office and see a place I had never been, but I got to work at 8:15 am and got home at 11:15 pm. Why? Because of this Jumanji game.
On the way back in to the city we got lost when we discovered we could not take our van through the Holland tunnel. We drove around and around Jersey (at a cop's instruction) tryning to find the Lincoln Tunnel. Then just as we near Manhattan, Tom's wife called (again) to tell him there was an explosion on Lexington Avenue, right near our destination.
Traffic was backed up and we drove all out the way to come back to 51st and 3rd ave, then i had to help him haul equipment in to the building. we won't mention how he told me to save my receipts like i could actually expense that ish. With the explosion, which turned out to be an old steampipe, of course certain subway trains had stopped running, inlcuding the one i need, so i had to walk down to 59th and Lex to take the N,Q,R or W - along with apparently, half of New York. Even though it was dang 10:30 pm, the first train that came was so crowded I just waited for the next one.
But again, I'm not complaining. If you ride in a car with someone for like 10 hours you talk bout every topic under the sun, from his career as a news videographer to Britney Spears to soap operas and the war in Iraq. Tom and I laughed for most of the ride, and through the confusion, rain, traffic- and steampipe explosion - I think God gave me an extra cup of grace that day.

Coming Soon the Real "Lord of the Flies"

This is one of those things that needs no commentary...I'ma just present it to you.

CBS has a new reality show called "Kid Nation." If you've ever read "Lord of the Flies," the required reading novel for most high school students that depicts shipwrecked children who must govern themeselves and build their own civilization, and over time become savage toward each other, thereby providing commentary that when left to our own devices, men are base and evil at heart...Well, this show brings that book to life.

Tom Forman, exec producer of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," said he was tired of the shows on TV and bored with adult actors who know what to do on camera, so he got the idea to throw 40 kids together (ages 8-15) in New Mexico where the child labor laws are more lax, and charge them with rebuilding the city. It's supposed to be like a deserted ghost town they must operate temselves - including cooking their own meals!- but it was filmed on the same ranch that was in the Matt Damon movie "All the Pretty Horses." On July 1, New Mex tightened their labor laws; luckily CBS had just finished production. Seven days a week, starting at 7 a.m. and sometimes going to midnight or later, they filmed these kids without parents or teachers.

To get around other legalities, all the CBS documentation concerning the show calls "Kid Nation" a "summer camp," so technically the kids are not employees...they were, however, given a $5,000 stipend upon completion of the project. CBS seems to be proud of itself and surprised there were no injuries and whatnot. Excerpted from TVWeek:

"I expected a lot of off-camera hand-holding, but they just didn’t need it," Mr. Forman said. "The kids were better human beings than you’ve ever seen on television. And when they decide to be mean to each other, they’re horrible. You’re seeing kids at their absolute best and worst."

....If it makes for good television, why not.....I guess

Cashing in on Superhead

Some of you may know the New York City radio personality of the show "Miss Jones In the Morning" on Hot 97. She just released her autobiography "Have You Met Miss Jones?" In addition to a very entertaining on-air personality, apparently she used to be an R&B singer and had relationships with several stars, including Busta Rhymes and Doug E. Fresh. Sounds like a sensational tell-all doesn't it?
She fiercely argues that it's not and bristles at any comparison to the immensely popular tell-all/autobio of Karrine Steffans, bka "Superhead" and her phenom of a bestseller "Confessions of a Video Vixen." Miss Jones wants all to believe her book is an admittedly easy read about her struggle to pull herself up from her boot straps, a gripping tale of a brash and outspoken woman succeeding in a man's world.
News flash, Miss Jones: Not many people outside of these burroughs even knows who you are, so what makes you think they are dying to read your story or that your story is important enough for a book? You know very well you are cashing in on Superhead's sucess. Rationalize it to yourself however you wish, but at least be real enough to admit that the video vixen book opened the door for you. I have not read your book, and I don't plan to, but you know good and dang-on well you would never have picked up a pen if you hadn't seen a video hoe do it and think, man, I can do this too!
As much as you call others on their BS (and I like you for it!), you need to own up to yours. Don't clown somebody and then jock their style.

It's Offering Time!

So, I'm one of those people who absolutely loves church. There is something about being in the house of the Lord that just lifts my heart, and I always find something humorous when I go.

A couple of Sundays ago I went to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, which is on Lenox Ave and Adam Clayton Powell, if I recall. I heard it was sort of a tourist-y church. This may be true, as evidenced by the white people in the balcony in jeans, T-shirts and things. Only God can judge you, yes Tupac is right, but that's NOT how we go to church. "Come as you are" is a different argument and one that we can have later...but I'm talking about this day.

I'm not going to talk about the man in the front row in the white suit with pants so high you saw ALL of his mid-calf length dress socks. I won't even mention how my friend Tanda pointed at this one particular dark-skinned old lady with a big white hat (with the top cut out and her bun sticking out the top) and asked if she was Cicely Tyson. No mention of how I was expecting a rocking Baptist choir and this lady stood up singing a song out of a book like an operatic mezzo soprano.

I wanna talk about the offering. The fact that two plates came around just heightened my shame at the fact that i did not have any change to give. But then I realized why I did not have any change. The day before I was in a hurry to get to the MAC store and buy some lip gloss when this young-looking man stopped me on the street with some long-winded tale of how he had been walking all night and was hungry. He may have said something about having to leave his home or whatever, I was just so impatient (People who talk slow frustrate me) I cut him off and asked if he wanted directions or what he was trynna say. He said, "It's hard for me to express myself like this, I only stopped two people because I was scared to say this but I'm hungry and I just wanted to know if you could help me." So I reached in my pocket and my wallet and gave him all the singles I had. I felt bad passing the offering plate down empty, but I remembered what I gave to that man and realized I had already given my offering:

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." -Matthew 25:40

You Knew I Would Go Here

No disrespect to anyone, but I did just want to mention that most of the players in the Philharmonic lookeed to be of Asian descent. Black people, put your kids in some classes - and make them stay there!
My parents had me in piano and clarinet classes, and in high school I played the French Horn. Seeing them onstage made me wish I still did, but I tell you once you learn and appreciate music like that it never leaves. I was close enough to the stage to read their music notes. I know when I start to make the big bucks I will be a supporter of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the DIA (our art museum). Cultural experiences can really have a profound impact on children and on the vibrancy of a city.

And the Band Plays On...

I went to see the New York Philharmonic Tuesday, July 3 for a July 4th-themed concert, "Stars and Stripes." I chose that show because the music consisted of pieces i was familar with, from "West Side Story" and "Porgy and Bess." But as it was an hour and 45-minute show, there were other classical pieces I was introduced to that evening, including a piece being played for the very first time called "Mountain" by a young American composer, Kevin Putts.

The composer, an older British gentleman named Bramwell Tovey, had so much personality! He was our tour guide for the evening, using humor and passion and music vocab to walk us through the pieces. At times he used his baton to direct both the orchestra and audience...and somewhere between the swell of violins and clarion call of the trumpets, I relaized He is the same way. He effortlessly directs us all, even when we think we are on autopilot. I saw harps, English horns, violas, violins, trumpets, percussion, bells, flutes, clarinets and many other instruments, and the conductor with his huge book of music must simultaneously direct them all. He knows your place - you, whatever instrument you play, are intricately layered into a beautiful composition and while there are a number of people around, each one of you can still focus ahead on the same conductor, for He knows your place at all times. He tells you when to rest, start, crescendo and peak.

He pauses between each scores to explain the movements to follow. He explicitly warns you to listen for the tritone in the next piece, the symphonic dances of "West Side Story." He tells you the tritione has an ominous sound, that it's usually associated with the devil in movies. He says to also pay attention to the ending. Because the music is from a movie based on "Romeo and Juliet," and all the great Shakespearean tragedies end with a "why?", the music will as well. He gives you the instructions beforehand, now you must listen as the movement starts.

Sometimes the baton bounces softly, and the other hand makes grand, gentle waves. The baton is now only in his fingertips, flopping lazily because he's confident you know the right notes to play and you're keeping time.
At times the conductor's signals are frantic - he waves, jabs, points, flaps, raises his hands and quickly drops them, he's looking left, right, pulling those arpeggios, and moving the pace, telling you to play faster, shorter, lighter....the tone rises and everyone has joined in, it's clearly the climax and with a flick of the wrist - boom! Now there's silence. In the audience you think it's over...you go to applaud...but then you hear a lone, plaintive trumpet wailing through. Just when you think it's over, He gives you another chance. Other instruments join in softly. He's telling you you're not alone.

Now you remember the conductor telling you what to listen for and how the piece would end. But you got caught up in all the movement and forgot your instructions.
You had a copy of the sheet music in front of you at home...you were supposed to practice, but you figured you'd just wait until rehearsal. But we have to practice daily. We must play so much we memorize and internalize the notes. Then we will never forget the instructions. But when we do forget....there's the conductor. Who will whip us into shape, and guide us to play our instruments together perfectly in tune with the intent of the Composer.

Who is your Composer? Conductor? Where is your recital hall? For those who understand what I mean, all the word truly is a stage.

And For the Record

I Knew Saaphyri would win VH1's "Charm School."
I never watched "Flavor of Love," so don't ask me why I watched "Charm School." I think it was the only thing on and my bf would always flip to the channel. And really, I've been so busy I haven't seen it since Goldie was kicked off back in May, I think...but I picked Saaphyri from day one. No comments really, on her, I just want to know why I got an e-mail announcement about it from Essence.

Essence is personal to me, as most magazines are to their loyal readers. It is supposed to be such an empowering and unifying tool for black women, all about "being your best self" and all that, as they say. So why did Essence get involved so heavy with...Charm School? A show about women who made themselves look like air-headed hoes for an old washed-up hype man.

I don't understand. I'm going to ask Angela Burt-Murray myself. I'm not trying to disrespect Essence, I'm just telling you my mouth fell open when Mikki Taylor appeared on my TV screen as a judge on the show.

Essence, do you all have a deal with Mo'Nique, who has been spreeeaaaddd across the cover of the magazine twice in the past year or so? Or do you have a deal with VH1? Which is it? Because instead of money tips and black skincare advice, I'm getting all kinds of e-mails with interviews with people named "Like Dat" and "Hottie."

I Need Friends Like George Bush

Did anyone really think Lewis "Scooter" Libby was going to sit in jail for 30 months? Yes, he was convicted of lying to a grand jury and the FBI involving the investigation of whoever leaked CIA agent Valerie Wilson's identity. Convicted means you sat before a judge and jury and most of the people in the room believed you did it...that's a little more substantial than just being accused. But he did it for Cheney and Bush, and they repaid the favor.

Today W. commuted Libby's sentence. So while he still has a record, two years' probation and a $250,000 fine (which I'm sure is a drop in the bucket), he does not have to leave his family and sit in prison. If I was Valerie I would find a way to slap George Bush. She's going to release a book now, but is that really as exciting or fulfilling as being a CIA operative, a career which she can never reclaim now that her cover is blown?

You can lie to the FBI and get probation, but my cousin can try to steal a car and get 10 years in lockup...

Via The New York Time, let me show you how upper class, privileged people think: "This is not a man who deserves to go to jail in any sense of the word,” said Kenneth L. Adelman, a former Defense Department official and longtime friend of Mr. Libby, who stayed at his Colorado vacation home before his trial.

“Whatever he did wrong, he certainly paid,” Mr. Adelman said, referring to Mr. Libby’s resignation from his prominent position and his public humiliation. “This is a good person who served his country very well and is a decent person,” he said.

Explain to me why they feel the justice system doing its job is so humiliating? No, embarassment is not a good damn punishment if you commit a crime. Is he serious? Same with the Duke Lacrosse boys. You were charged with a crime. The justice system did its job and let you go....why do you feel like you have to be paid for going through a process millions of people rightly (and wrongly) go through a year? Now, I've never been to jail, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but there are people who have actually gone to prison for years for a crime they did not commit. Thanks to DNA or whatever they get out, and what do they get for all the lost time and income? Not a damn thing. The Lacrosse boys get millions of dollars. And Libby, who was found guilty, gets a "get out of jail free" card from Bush.

Last Week in Review: -1 for Integration

Also last week, on my birthday, June 28, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that schools in Seattle and Louisville, Ky. cannot seek integration with plans that explicitly consider race. So...how else do you achieve integration? That's like saying you can't plan for mixed-sex schools by considering gender. If you, as some programs do, discard "quotas" but reach instead for "goals," such as seeking a student body that reflects the population around it, then what's wrong with having a 50-percent white student body if the school is in a 50-percent white city? The programs in the states mentioned limited transfers on the basis of race and used race as a "tiebreaker" for admission to certain schools based on the racial composition of each school.

Chief Justice Roberts said such programs were “directed only to racial balance, pure and simple,” a goal he said was forbidden by the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. I don't understand his logic there. Racial balance is NOT equal protection? Seeking an integrated school body is unconstitutional?

So what, then, is a better way to ensure integration? Segregation is our inclination; we only come in contact with different people for a reason. Think about it. As a kid, if I didn't have to go to church or school I would only know my family. Someone forced me to do both things. Perhaps the only way to get around that is to plan schools based on economic income. Because you'll see poor blacks and Latinos in the same schools, no problem. And blacks with money move to the suburbs and raise assimilated kids who are as scared of their own people as Paris Hilton would be walking in Detroit. I think what the Court is ultimately saying is forced integration is not necessary. That people should go to school wherever they want; they should not be forced to interact with anyone whom does not naturally live, work or attend school with them. I can buy that, but then the only thing you'd know about black people is what you saw on BET. How scary is that?

According to The New York Times, Chief Justice John Roberts said, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." But Justice Stephen Breyer in the dissenting opinon said, "This is a decision this court and this nation will come to regret." He also said, so eloquently, that the Court "would substitute for present calm a disruptive round of race-related litigation." In other words, the floodgates are open. Affirmative what? Kiss that goodbye.

And you already know Clarence Thomas was in the majority.

Last Week in Review: The Canadian Crippler

Tragedy struck last week, June 22-25, when WWE Championship wrestler Chris Benoit killed his 7-year-old son and wife and then hung himself. Some reports say the son was killed Friday, the wife Saturday and then Benoit. The incident hit the news big Tuesday, but an Associated Press story said investigators were looking to find the person who changed Benoit's Wikipedia page early Monday morning and mentioned his wife's death - before the bodies were discovered by police. The story said the IP address was registered in Samford, Conn., which is where World Wrestling Entertainment is headquartered. I wonder if someone knew what was going to happen (or was involved). Reports did say Benoit sent a series of text messages to several people throughout the weekend, one saying the garage door was open.

Tell me why he placed a Bible by their bodies? Ladies, if your husband is that big and snaps on you one day, what could you do? Nothing. That's a scary thought. If he did have " 'roid rage," fits of anger and depression caused by steroid use, I hope the murders cause athletes nationwide both professional and aspiring, to stop using the drugs. It's not worth it.


R.I.P.

The FIRST black president...

No disrespect to Bill Clinton, but Sen. Barack Obama reported yesterday that he has raised at least $32.5 million for his campaign between April and June, a record breaking figure for a Democratic candidate.
This means that Hillary, backed by Steven Spielberg and in the shade of her husband's shadow, TRAILS Barack by about a $5 million difference. Records show Barack raised $25.7 million in the first THREE months of the year.

That is just amazing to me.
He's in the lead!!!! In terms of money, at least...but some of us are still in the contingent that says he just doesn't have enough experience. Well, tell me: what experience fully prepares you to be president? It's comparable to parenthood: What preps you for that? Is it because you did well with a pet, now you can raise a child? Same principle here: no job is like that of presidency, what with all the unpredictability involved. Tell me George Bush's term as governor prepared him to handle 9/11. Tell me Bill Clinton's governorship prepared him for Monica.
So what determines "enough" experience for a job unlike any other?

I'm not telling you I'm knocking on doors with Obama buttons, but this is my second election being able to vote, and I care enough to believe that what is going on right now is historic.

While politics are certainly not a popularity contest (we vote based on the issues, right?), what's doing it for Barack is his sincerity. He just doesn't feel like a politician. And Hillary is just plain boring. I hate her voice. I would not watch the State of the Union Address if her scratchy, wildly intonated voice is delivering it. But that gravelly, smoke-tinged Barack baritone? Talk about global warming, brotha. Speak on it!

I'm on his e-mail list and I tell you as a former public relations student his campaign is just brilliant. I would kick butt to be a member - the strategy here is just amazing. For example, five ordinary, everyday people were selected nationwide to have dinner with Barack. You, housewife from Idaho, can break bread with a presidential hopeful. You see how he works? The e-mails are personalized, like Barack is in his kitchen writing a letter to only you.
Don't you believe in Barack?

The letters go like this:
"Dear Friend,

We are almost there. This spring we launched an audacious campaign fueled by a dream of hope, and Americans everywhere responded overwhelmingly. You said you were tired of being sold on lies and wallowing in years of destructive politics, and now you are ready for restoration. This is your chance to rewrite history, and we need your help. Together we can make America the land of Martin Luther King's dream. If you write me a check for just $25, I can help you get through tomorrow.
Won't you join me?
Love,
Barack"


Will I vote for Obama? That's not your business. Do I think he will win? No. But he is just audacious enough to give me hope.

My 7-year-old sister can see this man running for president and when she gets older, the notion won't be that outrageous to her that if she wanted to, she could do the same thing. His life right now is an example.

Honeymoon's Over

I am officially out of love. Previously I identified Diddy as my favorite businessman/media mogul, but he is now my ex. Sean Combs, don't you dare get on TV bragging about how you throw the hottest parties and you can't stop cuz you won't stop, knowing good and well you are robbing people at your dang restaurant! Justin's on 21st in New York, let me tell you, is a rip off!

Diddy, why did you charge me for water? That's like charging me for air. Friday night my girl Brittni and I wanted to go to dinner to celebrate my 21st birthday. She said she would buy me a drink at Dallas BBQ, our usual dinner spot, but since I was feeling both celebratory and exploratory, I suggested Justin's. So, we get all cute and we step out. Brittni said before we got there, "Oh, the prices don't look too bad, between $10 and $20." I don't know what menu she saw...because you can't find an appetizer for less than $15. And Diddy charged me $7 for a bottle of water.
Listen to what I'm telling you. You cannot just get a glass of water. You must purchase a bottle for the table.
Sean, do you NEED them $7? Be real with me. I bet you on the French Riviera or in Buckingham Palace they are gracious enough to supply water. Should I consider nature's most abundant resource a luxury?

The waiter was OK, by New York standards, (which isn't saying much - but that's a seperate entry), but he didn't have much to do because the joint was empty. That shoulda been my first clue.
After we cracked open the menu and choked on the prices, I was looking toward the door, but Brittni said, "My pride won't let me leave." We both agreed the place was nice ... for a date. A woman should NEVER have to pay as much for a meal as we did that night. There's no excuse. But shoot, maybe they thought we were on a date...this is New York...

There is a redemptive element in this tale - my food was indeed good. The waiter recommended seafood or steak, so we both ordered yams, macaroni and cheese and fried catfish. (Oh, did I mention your meal only comes with 1 side? O-N-E.) But everything tasted great, and any place that automatically brings hot sauce with your catfish gets extra credit. Plus, the cornbread was jammin.

So Sean Combs, you screwed me with your prices. You don't need my money like that.
Why did you charge me for water?
I'm a strugglin sista on the comeup, you already there. Why you gotta steal from your people like that?
But I would consider going back...with a man... with money.