She said she wanted to talk about reparations
but what she really was about was separation:
me from anything that (at the least) whispered
happiness
or joy to me;
my hard- earned money.
-alexgeorge
31 May 2010
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. --John Wooden
28 May 2010
27 May 2010
Have you seen the new 50 cent?
The 34-year-old actor plays a football player diagnosed with cancer.
And just think, my doctor wants me to lose 50 pounds. Even if I could, I refuse to do so. The picture says it all. I do know it has alot to do with what you're used to seeing, though.
Overheard today @ the food court
(two tables away from me)
Black woman: Girl, where you been?
Asian woman: Working 2 jobs, trying to pay off bills. You know how it is.
Black woman: Isn’t that what that nigga Tre’ is for?
Asian woman: Girl, please. He can barely cover his cell phone bill. He expected me to pay for that.
Black woman: So why you got him around?
Asian woman: Girl, he gone. He outta here, okay? Went bye bye.
The black woman laughs
Asian woman: I tried everything to get rid of him, and he said he wasn’t going nowhere.
Black woman: So how did you get him to leave?
Asian woman: I lied and told him I was pregnant. That nigga left in the middle of the night. While I was taking a shower, he took all his clothes and he vamoosed! Changed his number and everything. I aint seen him since.
They both laughed.
Black woman: That sounds like my ex Deon, except I was pregnant for real, and I didn't want him to leave.
Black woman: Girl, where you been?
Asian woman: Working 2 jobs, trying to pay off bills. You know how it is.
Black woman: Isn’t that what that nigga Tre’ is for?
Asian woman: Girl, please. He can barely cover his cell phone bill. He expected me to pay for that.
Black woman: So why you got him around?
Asian woman: Girl, he gone. He outta here, okay? Went bye bye.
The black woman laughs
Asian woman: I tried everything to get rid of him, and he said he wasn’t going nowhere.
Black woman: So how did you get him to leave?
Asian woman: I lied and told him I was pregnant. That nigga left in the middle of the night. While I was taking a shower, he took all his clothes and he vamoosed! Changed his number and everything. I aint seen him since.
They both laughed.
Black woman: That sounds like my ex Deon, except I was pregnant for real, and I didn't want him to leave.
Look @ Janet!
On the American Idol season finale last night.
I didn't watch it (but my tivo recorded it)
click here
My girl never look hotter
Finally, some representation on tv in the fall
and it's not a sitcom or some stupid reality show!! It looks promising.
This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a poem...
-- Walt Whitman (from the preface to Leaves of Grass)
this is a repost. I came across it again, and felt that it needed to be shown again
On today, May 27
in 1863, In ill-conceived assault on Port Hudson, La., two Louisiana regiments (First and Third Native Guards) made six gallant but unsuccessful charges on rebel fortification. A Black captain, Andre Cailloux, was hero of the day. --courtesy blackfacts.com
Andre Cailloux, a Black Creole who was born a slave, attained freedom, carved out a niche for himself and his family as an artisan in the antebellum Afro-Creole society of New Orleans, and died a U.S. Army captain and Civil Was hero whose courageous example continue to inspire civil rights activists in New Orleans down into the mid-twentieth century.
The life of Captain Andre Cailloux, a thirty-eight-year-old Afro-Creole had ended two months earlier, on May 27, 1863, as he gallantly led Company E of the 1st Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards in a doomed assault on the Confederate bastion at Port Hudson, Louisiana.
He landed as the nation's first black military hero, one of the first black men to hold an officer's commission in the United States Army, and a member of the first black regiment to be officially mustered into the Union army and to engage in a major battle.
Claude Paschal Maistre one of the earliest white radical voices in New Orleans and practically the sole public champion of abolitionism and racial egalitarianism among the local Catholic clergy.
Maistre would perform the funeral rites of his church in defiance of New Orleans' formidable archbishop, Jean-Marie Ordin, who, like Maistre was a native of France.
A black patriot and a radical white priest: two relatively ordinary men transformed by their responses to the crisis of war into symbols of freedom and hope for people of color in New Orleans and of dangerous radicalism to many southern whites.
To Creoles, this funeral for one of their own attested to their capacity for patriotism, courage, and martial valor. They also intended the public tribute to atone for the desecration of Cailloux's corpse, which had lain neglected and rotting on the battlefield for forty-one days until the surrender of the enemy fortress.
As word of the captain's death had filtered back to New Orleans, women of color had donned crepe rosettes in mourning.
Immediately after the Confederate surrender of Port Hudson, black troops recovered Cailloux's body, identifiable only by a ring in his finger.
Union Officials sent Cailloux's remains, accompanied by wounded members of his regiment, to New Orleans via the steamer Old Essex. Arriving on July 25, the body lay in state in a closed casket for four days in the Urquhart Street hall of the Friends of the Order, a mutual aid society in which Cailloux had played a leading role and whose ring he had worn at the time of his death.
Flowers and lit candles, characteristic of Catholic funeral rites, framed the flag-draped coffin; Cailloux's sword, belt, uniform coat, and cap lay on the flag. A guard solemnly paced back and forth near the casket.
Northern newspapers such as the New York Times, the New York Herald, and Harper's Weekly, which had urged the use of black combat troops in the war, gave extensive coverage to Cailloux's funeral.
The Times correspondent eulogized the fallen captain as a soldier who "had sealed with his blood the inspiration he received from Mr. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation," and noted that the scene called forth a single sentiment in those who witnessed it: "the struggle must go on until there is not legally a slave under the folds of the American flag.
In life and in death, Cailloux, an Afro-Creole who took great pride in his ebony color, helped to bridge the gap between Creole free people of color and slaves on the one hand and Anglophonic, Protestant blacks on the other. His wartime experience pointed to a growing alliance between leaders of the two groups and to their shared embrace of radical politics. Cailloux's heroics represented the zenith for black combat officers during the Civil War.
No other black officer figured so prominently in a major engagement, since most were forced out of the army within a year. With Cailloux's death, Union officials effectively buried the brightest hope for black combat officers in the U.S. Army. --courtesy, frenchcreoles.com
No known photograph of him is available.
Andre Cailloux, a Black Creole who was born a slave, attained freedom, carved out a niche for himself and his family as an artisan in the antebellum Afro-Creole society of New Orleans, and died a U.S. Army captain and Civil Was hero whose courageous example continue to inspire civil rights activists in New Orleans down into the mid-twentieth century.
The life of Captain Andre Cailloux, a thirty-eight-year-old Afro-Creole had ended two months earlier, on May 27, 1863, as he gallantly led Company E of the 1st Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards in a doomed assault on the Confederate bastion at Port Hudson, Louisiana.
He landed as the nation's first black military hero, one of the first black men to hold an officer's commission in the United States Army, and a member of the first black regiment to be officially mustered into the Union army and to engage in a major battle.
Claude Paschal Maistre one of the earliest white radical voices in New Orleans and practically the sole public champion of abolitionism and racial egalitarianism among the local Catholic clergy.
Maistre would perform the funeral rites of his church in defiance of New Orleans' formidable archbishop, Jean-Marie Ordin, who, like Maistre was a native of France.
A black patriot and a radical white priest: two relatively ordinary men transformed by their responses to the crisis of war into symbols of freedom and hope for people of color in New Orleans and of dangerous radicalism to many southern whites.
To Creoles, this funeral for one of their own attested to their capacity for patriotism, courage, and martial valor. They also intended the public tribute to atone for the desecration of Cailloux's corpse, which had lain neglected and rotting on the battlefield for forty-one days until the surrender of the enemy fortress.
As word of the captain's death had filtered back to New Orleans, women of color had donned crepe rosettes in mourning.
Immediately after the Confederate surrender of Port Hudson, black troops recovered Cailloux's body, identifiable only by a ring in his finger.
Union Officials sent Cailloux's remains, accompanied by wounded members of his regiment, to New Orleans via the steamer Old Essex. Arriving on July 25, the body lay in state in a closed casket for four days in the Urquhart Street hall of the Friends of the Order, a mutual aid society in which Cailloux had played a leading role and whose ring he had worn at the time of his death.
Flowers and lit candles, characteristic of Catholic funeral rites, framed the flag-draped coffin; Cailloux's sword, belt, uniform coat, and cap lay on the flag. A guard solemnly paced back and forth near the casket.
Northern newspapers such as the New York Times, the New York Herald, and Harper's Weekly, which had urged the use of black combat troops in the war, gave extensive coverage to Cailloux's funeral.
The Times correspondent eulogized the fallen captain as a soldier who "had sealed with his blood the inspiration he received from Mr. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation," and noted that the scene called forth a single sentiment in those who witnessed it: "the struggle must go on until there is not legally a slave under the folds of the American flag.
In life and in death, Cailloux, an Afro-Creole who took great pride in his ebony color, helped to bridge the gap between Creole free people of color and slaves on the one hand and Anglophonic, Protestant blacks on the other. His wartime experience pointed to a growing alliance between leaders of the two groups and to their shared embrace of radical politics. Cailloux's heroics represented the zenith for black combat officers during the Civil War.
No other black officer figured so prominently in a major engagement, since most were forced out of the army within a year. With Cailloux's death, Union officials effectively buried the brightest hope for black combat officers in the U.S. Army. --courtesy, frenchcreoles.com
No known photograph of him is available.
26 May 2010
Do you ever feel that you are running low on common sense? That the space it generally rents out in your brain has become completely occupied by information and decisions…? The ability to make a decision based on emotion, rather than fact, has also been asked to leave. I wonder if you can ask it to come back sometime…you know, when work calms down and terrifying episodes are over with, can you ask it to come back so you can start feeling things again? Just feel them, without analyzing them, or investigating the myriad of potential outcomes instead of just saying yes. Can you pretend, and just say yes, even if you can’t feel anything… is that a sign that you’re open to wanting it back for real? Or should you just wait, and hope, that someday, life will be more than just a decision (Again, I hope this makes some kind of sense).
25 May 2010
.
The worst advice to listen to is often all of the advice that is offered. Maybe some situation, to the outside world, is not normal. Maybe it appears unhealthy, or illogical, or unworthy, or just..odd. But - for you, it works. It feels like it should. So don’t take the outside advice and try to change something so personal, so perfectly odd, just so it suits outside perception. Just…enjoy it. Stop questioning it, stop asking for advice, stop taking advice, stop gossiping about it, stop wondering and starting rows and testing, testing…stop pushing the buttons and just go with it. No-one can give you the answers you need, if you don’t even know what the real questions are…
..and maybe, just maybe, there are no questions.
1980- Remembering
something my mom said, without even trying to be funny;
"My son don't want no recycled goods."
Said to the first girl I ever loved, when she approached my mom to find out if I'd ever forgive her and take her back, a year after having cheated on me with my then-best friend.
I love my mom!
"My son don't want no recycled goods."
Said to the first girl I ever loved, when she approached my mom to find out if I'd ever forgive her and take her back, a year after having cheated on me with my then-best friend.
I love my mom!
Jesse Jackson Calls for BP Boycott
"Don't pay the bill for the spill."
(Already at the top of of my To Do list)
*The Reverend Jesse Jackson joined members of a prominent environmental group in calling for a nationwide boycott of BP, claiming the company is not moving fast enough to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jackson and protesters from the Sierra Club were part of a picket line at a BP station in Chicago, holding a sign that said, “Don’t pay the bill for the spill.”
“The birds are already affected. The economy is affected. And the ecology is affected,” Jackson said. “And now people who have been watching this drama cannot just watch it and be spectators. It is now time to act. We do not have to subsidize BP’s behavior.”
President Obama's Oil Spill Task Force
“There’s been a failure of leadership on all levels. Who in the hell is in charge?” said Nungesser, who is prodding the administration to back a controversial plan to build sand barriers to block the oil.
“I’m a big Republican, but the president spent two hours with me and really impressed me. … He really seems to care, but I don’t think he’s getting good advice,” he told Politico. “I don’t think they’re telling him the truth about what’s going on around here. He needs to get more personally involved.”
--courtesy eurweb.com
WOW-- very OBVIOUS - Video: GOP Candidate Plagiarizes Obama Speech
click here for the story and side by side videos
My worst/best
“If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
--Marilyn Monroe
This right here, is what a great relationship is about, to me. Like when wedding vows are made, and the pastor says, in good times and bad. Because there will be bad times.
It’s easy to stay together when everything is all perfect, when the sun is shining, and there is true happiness and fun and laughter, but the true test is will you stay with me through the storms? When I’m at my lowest and it would be so easy for you to walk away, can I depend on you to be by my side or will you fall off when things go bad?
I recently watched the Common & Queen Latifah flick, Just Wright. Common’s character Scott McKnight was a successful basketball player and Queen Latifah’s Leslie Wright was a physical therapist. Scott started dating her cousin Morgan Alexander, played by Paula Patton. Morgan was obviously seeing dollar signs, and Scott fell in love with her and had announced their engagement. Shortly before the wedding, he suffered a serious injury just before the renewing of his new contract. When everything was against him ever playing again, Morgan dropped him like it was hot.
Of course, she came back to him once Leslie helped get him back up on his feet and playing basketball again. And yes, he took her back, but in the end, he realized he wouldn’t be where he was without Leslie Wright.
That quote comes to mind...Leslie had seen him at his worst and stood by his side and never left. She deserved him at his best.
--Marilyn Monroe
This right here, is what a great relationship is about, to me. Like when wedding vows are made, and the pastor says, in good times and bad. Because there will be bad times.
It’s easy to stay together when everything is all perfect, when the sun is shining, and there is true happiness and fun and laughter, but the true test is will you stay with me through the storms? When I’m at my lowest and it would be so easy for you to walk away, can I depend on you to be by my side or will you fall off when things go bad?
I recently watched the Common & Queen Latifah flick, Just Wright. Common’s character Scott McKnight was a successful basketball player and Queen Latifah’s Leslie Wright was a physical therapist. Scott started dating her cousin Morgan Alexander, played by Paula Patton. Morgan was obviously seeing dollar signs, and Scott fell in love with her and had announced their engagement. Shortly before the wedding, he suffered a serious injury just before the renewing of his new contract. When everything was against him ever playing again, Morgan dropped him like it was hot.
Of course, she came back to him once Leslie helped get him back up on his feet and playing basketball again. And yes, he took her back, but in the end, he realized he wouldn’t be where he was without Leslie Wright.
That quote comes to mind...Leslie had seen him at his worst and stood by his side and never left. She deserved him at his best.
Whatever Happened to Lindsey?
They’re sitting on the sofa together for the first time in thirty years, wondering what to do or say to each other. After five minutes of silence, Sally can’t stand another second and she opens her mouth to say whatever, to break the unbearable silence….
Sally: well, he’s gone.
Timothy: yeah, he’s gone.
Silence for another minute.
Timothy reaches in his pocket and retrieves a cigarette. He lights it and sucks on it, blowing smoke in the air.
Sally: the last one.
Timothy: yeah, Scottie, the last one.
Sally: it’s raining outside.
Timothy: it’s storming. Don’t you hear that wind?
Sally: hope he makes it to Knoxville. It ain’t far away but it’s raining.
Timothy: he’ll call when he gets there.
Sally: I don’t know why he needed to leave today. His parents told me school
doesn’t start until next week
Timothy: guess he wanted to get away.
Sally: from us?
Timothy: maybe he wanted to spent time with his parents before school.
Sally: who’d ever think that after raising kids we’d have to raise our grandkids
too?
Timothy: well, he’s gone.
Sally: yeah, the last one.
Silence.
Sally gets up and leaves the room. She goes to the dining room. Ignoring the glass on the floor, she shuts the window. She sits back down. She looks blankly off into space, like her husband.
Silence for another minute.
Timothy: I guess we gotta know each other again.
Sally: yeah, but how do we do that?
Timothy: I don’t know.
Silence.
Sally: Whatever happened to Lindsey?
Timothy: Lindsey who?
Sally: how many Lindseys do you know?
Timothy: only one.
Sally: well, that one. Whatever happened to her?
Timothy: you mean the girl that fell over the balcony, breaking her neck, her
spinal cord, both legs, right arm, and crushing her pelvis?
Sally: yeah, her. What happened to her?
Timothy: Oh, she died.
Sally: oh, sorry to hear that.
Timothy: yeah.
Silence.
Then….
Sally: Lindsey fell over the balcony?
Timothy: that’s the story.
Sally: how old was she?
Timothy: 4 months old.
Sally: 4 months old?
Timothy: Yep.
Sally: Oh my God, that’s sad. How does a 4 month old baby fall over a balcony?
That would imply that she was standing, but 4 month-old babies can’t stand.
Timothy: True.
Sally still looking blankly into space. She looks at her husband.
Sally: well then what really happened?
Timothy: Sssh. I think we have an audience.
Sally: what?
Timothy: I feel eyes looking at us through the peephole at the front door.
Sally: what really happened to Lindsey? Who is she?
Timothy: I’m going to whisper. Lindsey was our only granddaughter.
Sally: and?
Timothy: I came home from work and she was on the floor in her diapers, as
lifeless as a doll. You were on the second floor, looking down, and
screaming and crying.
Sally: why don’t I remember any of this?
Timothy: You went crazy afterwards and had been in an insane asylum for quite a while.
We agreed-you and I agreed to protect you.
Sally: I don’t feel crazy. When did this happen?
Timothy: You’re fine now. That was 30 years ago.
Sally: I feel sick. What really happened?
Timothy: you were high on marijuana when you were holding her above the
balcony at our old house, and you dropped her.
Sally: Oh my God! My grandchild! Was there a funeral?
Timothy: No. There wasn’t even a memorial service.
Sally: why?
Timothy: we told everyone the baby was kidnapped.
Sally: Oh my God, we did?
Timothy: Yes, we did.
Sally: what did we do with her?
Timothy: we put her in a shoe box and buried her underneath the swimming pool
in the backyard.
Sally: Oh my God, really?
Timothy: yeah.
Sally: did her parents ever find her?
Timothy: No, but we did post notices all over town. We even filed a missing
person’s report, even offered a hundred thousand dollar reward for
her safe return.
Sally: and no takers?
Timothy: Not one.
Silence.
Sally: well, he’s gone.
Timothy: yeah, he’s gone.
Sally: I hope Scottie finds a good girl while he’s at school. Someone educated and
from a rich background like us, so we’ll know she’s not after his money.
Timothy: Yep.
Sally: and if they get married, and have kids, if they have a girl, they can name
her Lindsey. I love that name.
Timothy: yeah.
Sally: whatever happened to Lindsey?
Timothy: Lindsey who?
Sally: how many Lindseys do you know?
Timothy: only one.
Sally: well, that one. Whatever happened to her?
Timothy: Sssh. I think we have an audience.
Sally: what?
Timothy: I feel eyes looking at us through the peephole at the front door.
Sally: what really happened to Lindsey? Who is she?
Timothy gets up and tip toes towards the bedroom door. He looks at the peephole.
At first he sees darkness then he sees light. He suddenly opens the
front door. Unbeknownst to the both of them, a hurricane had touched
down,destroying every tree in the area. There are trees lying down on
the front lawn and all the lawns of his neighbors. He doesn’t mention it.
He walks back to the sofa as if he had seen nothing.
Timothy: She’s out back.
Sally: doing what?
Timothy: You know how she likes to swim.
Sally: Oh yeah, that’s right. I should go out there with her.
Timothy: why don’t you take your medication first? You know you’re supposed
to take it every morning.
Sally: I know, but it makes me sleepy. You’re right though. Ok, tell Lindsey I’ll
see her later.
Timothy: Ok, I will.
Sally: Why would she be outside if it’s raining?
Timothy: She’s not wet.
Sally: We’re talking about Scottie’s daughter right?
Timothy: Right
Timothy lights another cigarette and sucks on it until he couldn’t suck on it anymore. He looks at his wife, and realizes he knows all that he needs to know about her.
by alexgeorge
this is a repost... re-edited.
24 May 2010
I'm rich !!!
This was in my email this morning--
"Re: Urgent Payment Confirmation:
From: Jennet Michael (jenetm@cent.bank.com)
Sent: Mon 5/24/10 10:53 AM
To: Alieux Casey
Re: Urgent Payment Confirmation:.
Attention Beneficiary, Did You Permit Mr. Jerry Richard To Claim Your Approved $5.5millon Inheritance Payment On Your Behalf? Mr. Jerry Richard Told Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi That You Appointed Him To Represent You On The Claiming Of Your $5.5millon Inheritance Payment, Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi Is About Releasing Your $5.5millon Inheritance Payment To Mr. Jerry Richard As Soon As He Complies With The Mandatory $198.00 Courier Fee For The Delivery Of Your $5.5million ATM Card To His Address At 100 Eggerding Dr.Cincinnati,OH 45215.USA As Your Representative.Urgently Confirm To Mr Jaiye Ebinisi Whether Yes You Permitted Mr. Jerry Richard To Pay The Courier Fee Inorder To Claim Your $5.5millon ATM Card Payment On Your Behalf Or No You Shall Be Paying The Courier Fee Yourself Inorder To Claim Your $5.5millon ATM Card Payment As The Legal Beneficiary. Send Your Confirmation To Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi (Debt Settlement Officer) His Email: jaiyeebinisi234@yahoo.co.jp Do Also Reconfirm Your Full Names, Address And Telephone To Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi For Verification.Your Immediate Confirmation Is Highly Needed.Jenet E. Michael.Payment Confirmation Dept."
So all I have to do is provide my personal information.
LOL
"Re: Urgent Payment Confirmation:
From: Jennet Michael (jenetm@cent.bank.com)
Sent: Mon 5/24/10 10:53 AM
To: Alieux Casey
Re: Urgent Payment Confirmation:.
Attention Beneficiary, Did You Permit Mr. Jerry Richard To Claim Your Approved $5.5millon Inheritance Payment On Your Behalf? Mr. Jerry Richard Told Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi That You Appointed Him To Represent You On The Claiming Of Your $5.5millon Inheritance Payment, Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi Is About Releasing Your $5.5millon Inheritance Payment To Mr. Jerry Richard As Soon As He Complies With The Mandatory $198.00 Courier Fee For The Delivery Of Your $5.5million ATM Card To His Address At 100 Eggerding Dr.Cincinnati,OH 45215.USA As Your Representative.Urgently Confirm To Mr Jaiye Ebinisi Whether Yes You Permitted Mr. Jerry Richard To Pay The Courier Fee Inorder To Claim Your $5.5millon ATM Card Payment On Your Behalf Or No You Shall Be Paying The Courier Fee Yourself Inorder To Claim Your $5.5millon ATM Card Payment As The Legal Beneficiary. Send Your Confirmation To Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi (Debt Settlement Officer) His Email: jaiyeebinisi234@yahoo.co.jp Do Also Reconfirm Your Full Names, Address And Telephone To Mr. Jaiye Ebinisi For Verification.Your Immediate Confirmation Is Highly Needed.Jenet E. Michael.Payment Confirmation Dept."
So all I have to do is provide my personal information.
LOL
23 May 2010
the what ifs
and just went on with my life, accepting the choices I’ve made, and trying to make better decisions than I’ve made in the past? What if you considered your mistakes beautiful?
what if;
The future
what if;
You lived everyday like it was all that mattered.
You put your passion to work 24/7.
You changed everything.
The structure around you was just an illusion.
Things were infinite in all directions.
Nothing was as out of reach as it seems.
You stopped overthinking and started acting.
You focused on the small things to achieve big.
You learned one new thing every day.
You decided to stand out.
You showed your true personality.
You considered your mistakes beautiful.
We all found a common ground.
You helped give someone new a chance.
You worked to improve things bit by bit everyday.
You were exactly who you wanted to be.
You approached everything without fear.
You defined a career mission.
You were the one changing the world instead of watching the world change.
You worked backwards.
You stopped looking in just one direction.
You cared about being remarkable more than making money.
You used your influence for good.
You took action today.
You didn’t just follow, you made genuine connections.
You spent time each week trying to inspire someone.
You ignored those around you who are jaded and surrounded yourself with the right influences.
Your work was just like breathing.
You embraced forgiveness.
You weren’t afraid to join the conversation.
You kept a positive mindset, even when things aren’t perfect.
You took a chance.
You decided to set yourself apart from the crowd.
You worked to achieve your dreams instead of just dreaming them.
(someday) Imma Be
leaner (much)
cooler
wiser
sexier
smarter
wittier
a playwright
internationally known
a husband
dad
homeowner
and after I get all that, I’ll want more. and more. b4 i live (b4 i die)
rain rain go away!
september october 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031november december12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june) this is why the plants, lawns and trees are so green here in oregon during the summer (january february march april 29 days in may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031april may june september october november december january 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031february march april may june september october november december january february march april may junethis is why the plants, lawns and trees are so green here in oregon during the summer (january february march april 29 days in may june september october november december january february 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031october november 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march this is why the plants, lawns and trees are so green here in oregon during the summerapril may june september october november december january february march april may june september october november december january february march april may june 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 (january 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 february 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031march april 29 days in may june september october november12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 december 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031january february march april may june september 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 october november december january february march april may june september12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 october november december 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031january february march april may june september october november december january february 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 march april may june september october12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 november december january february march april may june september12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 october november december january 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 february march april may june september october november december january february march 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031april may june september october november 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 december january february march april may june september october november december january february march 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031april may june september october november december january 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031february march april may12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 june) this is why the plants, lawns and trees are so green here in oregon during the summer
22 May 2010
21 May 2010
Good is the Enemy of Great
Success is a journey, not a destination. -Arthur Ashe
About 20 years ago, I had read a book that explained how to give the best interviews. Beyond the obvious- how to dress, having good hygiene, eye contact, and posture, it asked a series of questions. It gave a listing of answers and the author's opinions of each answer. There were 2 questions in the book that, though, of which I have never been asked, they have always stuck with me. I was always prepared to give the correct answer:
- If you were a tree, then what kind of tree would you be? My answer (the book’s answer) was, “I’d be an Oak tree, because an oak tree is strong, durable and can withstand a lot more the other trees, without bending or breaking.”
- On a scale of one to ten what would you rate yourself? My answer ( the book’s answer) was,” I would rate myself an 8. No one should ever profess to know everything there is to know about their chosen profession or any subject. There is always something new to learn, and I’m eager to learn as much as possible.”
My nephew, for example, is currently making C grades. Being complacent, he's satisfied with that because he said he's passing. But I know than he can do better. Good is the enemy of great. He may not be able to get A grades, but a C should never ever be his goal.
Good is the enemy of great.
Who is Mary Jane Patterson?
Although she is a not well known figure Mary Jane Patterson was a pioneer in black education and paved the way for other black female educators.
She was the first black woman in the U.S. to earn an M.A degree May 21, 1862- when this is awarded by Oberlin College. Oberlin had a large community of black families, some were freed slaves and some were fugitive slaves. Oberlin was popular because it had racially integrated Co-ed college. Henry Patterson worked as a master mason, and for many years the family boarded large numbers of Black students in their home.
Mary Jane Patterson enrolled in Oberlin College in 1857 for a one year preparatory course. After one year she enrolled in what was called a “gentleman’s” or classical course. At the time woman would take the “ladies” course which gave one a literary certificate not a bachelor’s degree. Patterson’s classmate Emma Brown (a black educator) wrote in a letter on May 27, 1860, quoted by Dorothy Sterling in We Are Your Sisters: Black Woman in the Nineteenth Century, in it she says: There are 200 lady students. Quite a number . . . There are very few colored students - that is comparatively speaking . . . There is one colored girl [presumably Mary Jane Patterson] taking a classical course. I have been told that she is a pretty good scholar. [1] Mary Patterson’s sibling’s John, Emma, and Chanie Ann all attended Oberlin College as well. Patterson graduated with a B.A. and highest honors from Oberlin. She was the first black woman to graduate from an established college with a four year degree. --courtesy, blackfacts.com & wikipedia.
If my God-daughter or future daughters ever ask me 'who was the first black woman to get a Master's degree', I can tell her.
She was the first black woman in the U.S. to earn an M.A degree May 21, 1862- when this is awarded by Oberlin College. Oberlin had a large community of black families, some were freed slaves and some were fugitive slaves. Oberlin was popular because it had racially integrated Co-ed college. Henry Patterson worked as a master mason, and for many years the family boarded large numbers of Black students in their home.
Mary Jane Patterson enrolled in Oberlin College in 1857 for a one year preparatory course. After one year she enrolled in what was called a “gentleman’s” or classical course. At the time woman would take the “ladies” course which gave one a literary certificate not a bachelor’s degree. Patterson’s classmate Emma Brown (a black educator) wrote in a letter on May 27, 1860, quoted by Dorothy Sterling in We Are Your Sisters: Black Woman in the Nineteenth Century, in it she says: There are 200 lady students. Quite a number . . . There are very few colored students - that is comparatively speaking . . . There is one colored girl [presumably Mary Jane Patterson] taking a classical course. I have been told that she is a pretty good scholar. [1] Mary Patterson’s sibling’s John, Emma, and Chanie Ann all attended Oberlin College as well. Patterson graduated with a B.A. and highest honors from Oberlin. She was the first black woman to graduate from an established college with a four year degree. --courtesy, blackfacts.com & wikipedia.
If my God-daughter or future daughters ever ask me 'who was the first black woman to get a Master's degree', I can tell her.
20 May 2010
I made room
an opening
a spot
reserved for you
though you have no name yet
I made for you
in my heart/ an
open for business sign
Dangling
/ invisible
for others
for your eyes only
that you might see as your rightful place
like a thousand suns
the heat
converging into
1;
& the door is already open
you will see it
and
know.
--alexgeorge
Van Hunt- Down here in hell /with you
What would I do if we were perfect?
Where would I go for disappointment?
Love without pain would leave me
Wonderin' why I stay?
This is both a love song and a tribute to the fire of those "break up to make up relationships"...
Reminding me of something people promise each other as they stand before God in marriage:
Through good times and bad times....
Look @ Janet!
I know that short hair is all the rage right now,
but I am NOT a fan of weaves,
so I love it.
50 Things About Me That No One Will Ever Read
(since only 5 other people read it without my having to send them excepts )
1. What time did you get up this morning
6:45 am
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium Rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Just Wright
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Fringe
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Jamaica
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Bowl of oatmeal, cottage cheese, cup of coffee with 2 shots of espresso, cranberry scone
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Sushi
8. What foods do you dislike?
Russian , Greek, Tofu
9. Favorite Place to Eat?
Koji Sushi, on West Broadway, Portland
10. Favorite dressing?
oil and vinegar
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
No car at the moment
12. What are your favorite clothes?
Suit, dress shirts, ties, dress slacks
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Ghana, Gambia, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Morocco, South Africa, Iran, Jamaica, Mozambique
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full
1/2 full
15. Where would you want to retire?
Jamaica and Paris
16. Favorite time of day?
The end of the workday
17. Where were you born?
either brooklyn or manhattan
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
basketball
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
alot
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
maybe, don
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
everyone
22. Bird watcher?
No.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night.
24. Pets?
1.5 cats
25. Any new and exciting news that you’d like to share?
I lost 10 pounds within the last 2 months!
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Architect
27. What is your best childhood memory?
sitting on a stool in the kitchen watching my grandfather cook and listening to stories about when my mother was a child
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
both
29. Are you married?
no
30. Always wear your seat belt?
Of Course.
31. Been in a car accident?
Yes.
32. Any pet peeves?
uncleanliness, rudeness, inconsiderate people, liars, the selfish, cheap people, thoughtless people
33. Favorite pizza topping?
sausage & pepperoni
34. Favorite Flower?
Calla lilly
35. Favorite ice cream?
Butter Pecan
36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
None
37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
1 time
38. From whom did you get your last email?
Abasiama; Friend in Nigeria
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Nieman Marcus in Beverly Hills
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
I went to bed at 8 pm last night; I'm normally in bed at 1am
41. Like your job?
Yes.
42. Broccoli?
No.
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Any of my trips to LA
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Melanie, my match.com date from hell (click here)
45. What are you listening to right now?.
Corinne Bailey Rae
46. What is your favorite color?
Burgundy & Purple
47. How many tattoos do you have?
4.
48.How many are you tagging for this quiz?
0
49. What time did you finish this quiz?
10:31am.
50. Coffee Drinker?
Yes.
This is a repost, some of the answers have been updated.
1. What time did you get up this morning
6:45 am
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium Rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Just Wright
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Fringe
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Jamaica
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Bowl of oatmeal, cottage cheese, cup of coffee with 2 shots of espresso, cranberry scone
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Sushi
8. What foods do you dislike?
Russian , Greek, Tofu
9. Favorite Place to Eat?
Koji Sushi, on West Broadway, Portland
10. Favorite dressing?
oil and vinegar
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
No car at the moment
12. What are your favorite clothes?
Suit, dress shirts, ties, dress slacks
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Ghana, Gambia, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Morocco, South Africa, Iran, Jamaica, Mozambique
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full
1/2 full
15. Where would you want to retire?
Jamaica and Paris
16. Favorite time of day?
The end of the workday
17. Where were you born?
either brooklyn or manhattan
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
basketball
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
alot
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
maybe, don
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
everyone
22. Bird watcher?
No.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night.
24. Pets?
1.5 cats
25. Any new and exciting news that you’d like to share?
I lost 10 pounds within the last 2 months!
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Architect
27. What is your best childhood memory?
sitting on a stool in the kitchen watching my grandfather cook and listening to stories about when my mother was a child
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
both
29. Are you married?
no
30. Always wear your seat belt?
Of Course.
31. Been in a car accident?
Yes.
32. Any pet peeves?
uncleanliness, rudeness, inconsiderate people, liars, the selfish, cheap people, thoughtless people
33. Favorite pizza topping?
sausage & pepperoni
34. Favorite Flower?
Calla lilly
35. Favorite ice cream?
Butter Pecan
36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
None
37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
1 time
38. From whom did you get your last email?
Abasiama; Friend in Nigeria
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Nieman Marcus in Beverly Hills
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
I went to bed at 8 pm last night; I'm normally in bed at 1am
41. Like your job?
Yes.
42. Broccoli?
No.
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Any of my trips to LA
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Melanie, my match.com date from hell (click here)
45. What are you listening to right now?.
Corinne Bailey Rae
46. What is your favorite color?
Burgundy & Purple
47. How many tattoos do you have?
4.
48.How many are you tagging for this quiz?
0
49. What time did you finish this quiz?
10:31am.
50. Coffee Drinker?
Yes.
This is a repost, some of the answers have been updated.
why are you here?
If you ask me why I came to this Earth, I'll tell you: I came to live out loud.
-- Emile Zola
Why are you here?
As a Christian, I don't believe in reincarnation, but if there is such a thing, then, I'd like to think that I will be rewarded in my next life, and that I'm making up for a past life by being as friendly, as cool, as nice, as loving, and as thoughtful as I can be in this life. I'm convinced that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, then in a past life I was probably a tall rich white male with a bunch of baby mamas and kids I won't claim--
(this current life being the opposite)
19 May 2010
divine intervention
God knows what we need
before we even know
we’re in need,
and in His infinite wisdom,
He sets things in motion
so that everything can be in alignment
for His blessing.
some occurrences don't seem to make sense;
we always want Him to hurry up with the blessing.
some occurrences don't seem to make sense;
we always want Him to hurry up with the blessing.
I know this personally;
I asked Him to get me back on track career-wise.
I was stuck at a low-paying dead end job.
meanwhile one of my close friends met a girl,
dated her,
fell in love,
and planned a wedding.
someone here took a different job.
her previous job was vacant and they posted for it.
someone was hired.
that hiring caused another vacancy
and they posted for it.
someone was hired.
that hiring caused another vacancy
and they posted for it.
someone was hired.
then her previous position was vacant.
I had given up the job search,
deciding to tough it out at the job I hated,
and planned to come to Portland
to be the best man at my friend’s wedding.
a recruiter called me out of the blue,
asked how I felt about Portland.
I told him I would be there in 4 days
for a wedding!
I interviewed for that job
which was what I had been looking for,
which was what I had been looking for,
got the job,
and I have never been happier....
(it was as if that last job was given to me just so that I could have something to do until this one was ready for me)
(it was as if that last job was given to me just so that I could have something to do until this one was ready for me)
Tell me something good 5/19/10
Question of the day
Arizona Governer Jan Brewer says "charges that the new Arizona Immigration Reform law will lead to racial profiling are “just pure rhetoric.”
Wikipedia refers to racial profiling as : the "use by law enforcement personnel of an individual’s race or ethnicity as a factor in articulating reasonable suspicion to stop, question or arrest an individual, unless race or ethnicity is part of an identifying description of a specific suspect for a specific crime." [1] It is often confused with the more comprehensive offender profiling. The practice has became particularly controversial in the United States due to resulting violations of civil rights."
I have two female friends that currently live in Phoenix. They're blonde, with blue eyes. They're Swedish. Their work visa expired 3 years ago. They had to quit their job. They love it here in the U.S. They live in Phoenix (illegally) with a friend, a female, who is Mexican-American. 2nd generation, American, born and raised in Madison,Wisconsin, she lives in Phoenix, working as a teacher.
Say, they're out some where, and the cops see them. And now that the above law has passed-
Of those 3, who will the cops in Arizona ask to show identification and proof of American citizenship?
18 May 2010
song in my head this evening
"Roll down the gangway
So they`ll see that it`s me
I know they`ll wonder about my recovery
Yes, I lost a love that promised happiness
What my heart wouldn`t accept
Put me to the test
They keep a holding me down
But I rise
Yes it can be done
They keep a holding me down
But I rise
They can`t make me run
Keep a holding me down
But I rise
Got my second wind
Keep a holding me down
But I rise
Tell `em I`m back again
Just say
I ain`t been licked
I ain`t been licked
I ain`t been licked
Tell `em for me
I ain`t been licked..."
Diana Ross
I love this story- Entire Graduating Class of Urban Prep Charter Academy Accepted to College
Only 4 Percent of Class Read at Grade Level When School Was Founded
& here as well
I like that Tim King said, It's not about excuses. It's about expectations
I'm emailing this blog entry to my 14 yr old nephew
"Dont tell me the sky's the limit, for there are footprints on the moon."
--mr beck.
Love that quote
Tell me something good - 5/19/10
I checked my hotmail account today for the first time in five years. MSN considers it still active account because it keeps getting filled with junk email. A friend in Manhattan had emailed me today, and asked if he could have my permission to write a play based on the first short story I wrote ( & he edited and has a copy), called "I know why the dying back man is happy."
Of course I said yes.
I'm cautious, doubting it will ever get off the ground. In the 30 years that I've known him, he hasn't been the most reliable person . But I haven't heard from him in 10 years, and perhaps, he's changed, for the better. Anyway, that was my something good for today.
Of course I said yes.
I'm cautious, doubting it will ever get off the ground. In the 30 years that I've known him, he hasn't been the most reliable person . But I haven't heard from him in 10 years, and perhaps, he's changed, for the better. Anyway, that was my something good for today.
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