29 September 2012

* Oregon

5 years ago today, the moving truck left my beautiful, spacious 2-floor apartment with all my belongings, and I left the safety net of family and friends (and a culturally diverse environment) in Milwaukee Wisconsin to start a job in Beaverton Oregon ( suburb of Portland where I now work), the following Monday--

If I live to be 70 or older, God willing, in the list of places I will have lived, the state of Oregon will have been the most unique of places I will have ever lived. It's the most unique so far. I'm not talking about the climate. That wasn't a surprise. I'm not talking about my job. I love my job. God really blessed me in that area. 

I'm talking about the people. Not just the people I met when I moved here, but the people I knew in Oregon before I moved here. 
Yes, the asterisk is there in the title for a reason. 



27 September 2012

‘Offensive’ Obama photos pulled from Virginia GOP county committee Facebook page

A tiny Republican Party unit in southside Virginia appears to have given in to state GOP leaders’ demands that it remove “offensive” photos of President Obama from its Facebook page.

R. Wallace “Wally” Hudson, chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Committee, had vowed on Tuesday to ignore calls from the Republican Party of Virginia to take down doctored photos portraying Obama as a witch doctor, caveman and thug. He defended the images as harmless spoofs — and as a matter of free speech.
State party Chairman Pat Mullins had strongly condemned the photos, saying that posting them on the unit’s Web site was “unacceptable behavior from any local unit associated with our party.” The matter appeared to be at a stalemate Wednesday, when the pictures remained on the site for most of the day. At some point that day, the witch doctor photo was yanked, but the others were still up.
But by Thursday morning, all of three images had been removed and about 100 new, less controversial images had been added to the site. By afternoon, the site was “temporarily unavailable.”
Hudson and state party officials declined to comment.

--courtesy, The Washington Post

Excuse my french, but fuck freedom of speech. This is some bullshit

:-)

26 September 2012

A sign of weakness

The strong man is not the good wrestler, the strong man is only the one who controls himself when Angry.
                                 -- Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh)

Wednesday Flashback- The Deele


25 September 2012

Note to self


New NFL Rule

I'm still upset about the Packer/Seahawk game. Everyone I know here in Oregon knows I'm from Wisconsin, so of course I had to hear about the bad call all day yesterday and today.

-Sun ra

Hillary Texting Bill


We're lucky


  
The door of no return



















If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated...
~Dr. Carter G. Woodson.


The Door of No Return

For many, it was their last glimpse of Africa. Pushed through the "door of no return," millions of Africans were shipped from places like this whitewashed fort in Elmina, Ghana, to a life of slavery in Brazil, the Caribbean and America.We're very lucky. If we were to visit,  we would be able to go back out of this room the way we came.
Don't take our history for granted. 



24 September 2012

Keep'em coming

My next-door neighbor had a Romney bumper sticker on her car for months now and a sign on her front lawn. Yesterday,  I saw her scraping it off with a razor. And the sign is gone too. Today,  I asked her why she removed it and she said her parents were of the 47% that Romney was talking about. She said she was livid when she heard what he had said.

Romney- keep the gaffes coming. We need more repubs to think WTF

A for Effort


Barack H. Obama
 “No matter how old you are now. You are never 2 young or 2 old for success or going after what you want. Here’s a short list of people who accomplished & (against the odds) great things at different ages…


1) Helen Keller At the age of 19 months Helen became deaf & blind. But that didn’t stop her.She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

2) Mozart was already competent on keyboard & violin, he composed from the age of 5.

3) Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on “Bright Eyes”.

4) Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.

5) Magnus Carlsen became a chess Grandmaster at the age of 13 years.

6) Nadia Comăneci At age 14, gymnast of Romania scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics.

7) Tenzin Gyatso was formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama November 1950, at the age of 15.

8) Pele soccer superstar was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.

9) Elvis was a Superstar by age 19.

10) John Lennon was 20 years & Paul Mcartney 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in1961.

11) Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936 .

12) Beethoven was a Piano virtuoso by age 23.

13) Issac Newton at 24 wrote Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

14) Roger Bannister was 25 When he broke the 4 minute mile record.

15) Albert Einstein was 26 when he wrote the theory of relativity.

16) Lance E Armstrong was 27 when he won the tour de France .

17) Michelangelo created the two of the greatest sculptures “David” and “Pieta” by age 28.

18) Alexander the Great by age 29, had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world.

19) J.K.Rowling was 30 years old when she finished the first manuscript for Harry Potter.

20) Amelia Earhart was 31 years old when she became the first woman 2 fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

21) Oprah was 32 when she started her talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind.

22) Edmund Hillary was 33 when he became the first man to reach Mount Everest (highest Mountain in the world.

23) Martin Luther King jr was 34 When he did the speech “I Have A Dream”.

24) Marie Curie was 35 years old when she got nominated 4 Nobel Prize in Physics 1903.

25) The Wright brothers, Orville (was 32 ) & Wilbur (was 36) when they invented & built the world's first successful airplane & making the first controlled, powered & sustained heavier-than-air human flight.

26) Vincent Van Gogh was 37 when he died & virtually unknown yet his paintings today are worth millions.

27) Neil Armstrong was 38 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon.

28) Mark Twain was 40 when he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and 49 years old for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

29) Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused 2 obey bus driver’s order 2 give up her seat 2 make room for a white passenger.


30) John F. Kennedy was 43years when he became President of the United States.


31) Henry Ford Was 45 when the Ford T came out.


32) Suzanne Collins was 46 when she wrote “ The Hunger Games”.


33) Barack H. Obama was 47 when he became the first black President.


34) Charles Darwin was 50 years old when his book On the Origin of Species came out.

35) Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.

36) Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he became President.

37) Ray Kroc Was 53 when he bought the McDonalds Franchise and took it to unprecedented levels.
.
38) Dr. Seuss was 54 when he wrote “the cat in the hat”.

40) Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III was 57 years old when he successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549, in the Hudson River in, 2009. All of the 155 passengers aboard the aircraft survived.

41) Colonel Harland Sanders was 61 when he started the KFC Franchise.

42) J R R Tolkien was 62 when the lord of the ring books came out.

43) Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became President of the United States.

44) Jack Lalane at age 70 handcuffed, shackled, towed 70 rowboats.

45) Nelson Mandela was 76 When he Became Presidident.   

 In a few weeks I'll be 50.  Most of my aspirations have not been met yet, but suddenly, for the first time, I don't feel old. My grandfather used to always tell my mother  'not to let age dictate what she's supposed to be doing.'   He's right.

I will show this list to my nephew.  He's in his senior year of high school. He's a good young man and makes good grades. He's got lots of aspirations, but he's lazy. I'm glad that we've always been close and that he listens to me. Soon we'll talk about what he's most passionate about doing and  I'll try to inspire him to put more of an effort. I don't want him to just talk about it. I want him to be about it.
The same with my self. I don't want to just talk about it. I want to be about it. I need to put in more of an effort, I will admit.   And I'm not too old. 

Angie Stone says it's gonna be 'alright.'

23 September 2012

yummy

A White Chocolate Kahlua Cake with Tequila Butter Creme Frosting
The first of 3 cakes I made for a client (a coffee shop) this morning.  I think my grandfather would be pleased.

20 September 2012

Love is hard enough


In order to go to Heaven, I'm required to love everyone, even my enemies. Even my fake friends. Even the back stabbers. Even the liars. Even the thiefs.  Even the users. I must love all who mistreat me.  I'm also required to treat people the way I'd like to be treated.  That's the difficult part-knowing that they don't deserve it, knowing that they may not do the same towards me.  But I have to do what I have to do, to reserve my spot in Heaven. The command to love is really a command to be like Christ, and I am a Christian. 

But there's no reason why I have to like them. If I may be honest with how I feel - 

loving them is hard enough.

Just a thought.

Texas Republican Lynches Empty Chair in Racist Presidential Effigy in Northwest Austin!

Republican Texas homeowner Bud Johnson has a "lynched" empty chair on display in his front yard in what is likely a display of opposition to President Barack Obama.
A photo of the display at Johnson's Northwest Austin home was posted on Thursday. 
When asked about the display, Johnson said he didn't "give a shit" if it was offensive and went on to criticize the president.
"I don't really give a damn whether it disturbs you or not," Johnson told Burnt Orange Report. "You can take [your concerns] and go straight to hell and take Obama with you. I don't give a shit. If you don't like it, don't come down my street."
The image of an empty chair became synonymous with Obama after actor Clint Eastwood talked to an empty chair representing the president while speaking at the 2012 Republican National Convention. This isn't the first time a racist public display has been made against Obama. A photograph of a bumper sticker featuring racist anti-Obama language went viral on Facebook in March, and a Georgia bar is facing backlash after posting a sign that read, "I heard the White House smelled like collard greens and fried chicken."

--courtesy Huffington Post

I'm speechless.

In the end

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win . 

-- Mahatma Gandhi


BE (basement elevation) #3

"Time for me to take some steps
Easy for me to blame somebody else,
but
Not this time."
-- Erykah Badu

Thursday Flashback


 

19 September 2012

so smile!

A smile is a language that even a baby understands.
                --Author unknown

Word of the week

Actually two words.

Political schadenfreude


Defined as -The pleasure experienced when a member of an opposed political party is experiencing embarassment or dysfunction. 

according to The Urban Dictionary.

Can you use it in a sentence? 

Clint Eastwood: The Republican Party Was "Dumb" To Invite Me to Speak at RNC

“If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re going to have to take what they get,” the 82-year-old star told Extra earlier this week about his now-infamous August 30 Republican National Convention appearance, during which he addressed an invisible Barack Obama “seated” next to him.
Eastwood explained himself further to Ellen DeGeneres during a Tuesday sit-down with the comedienne.
“The Democrats who were watching thought I was going senile. And the Republicans knew I was!” joked the legendary actor and director.
Eastwood also seized the opportunity to clarify his political views — he’s not a Republican or a Democrat, but a Libertarian.
Explaining that fiscal responsibility is what matters most to him, the San Francisco native said his views also extend to social issues, too; Eastwood revealed he takes issue with any government interference in citizens’ personal lives, including attempts to define marriage, same sex or otherwise, through legislation.
Said the Gran Torino star, “[It's] a part of the Libertarian idea: Leave everybody alone!”
Later in the show, DeGeneres and Eastwood took a break from talking politics to discuss Mrs. Eastwood and Company, a reality show focused on Eastwood’s wife, Dina, and daughters Francesca, 19, and Morgan, 16.
When asked how he feels about the series, Eastwood said he “doesn’t feel much.”
“If they want to do a reality show, that’s fine,” the notoriously private star shared. “My only request was to please leave me out of it as much as possible!”

courtesy USA Today

Listening to...

18 September 2012

first name Luke, last name Warm



Good stuff.

I will wait too.

A friend's Facebook status that I had to share

This was a friend's Facebook status that I had to share
 
What up FB... Since there are only a few months left in this year 2012, I would like to challenge you guys to TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS for the rest of the year! Put that energy into yourself do something u always wanted to do, focus on that dream or goal you have. Go back to school, work on ur credit, learn to cook, learn a different language, beat your kids when they act up but dont tell them why let them figure it out!(i didn't say child abuse). So when 2013 come u will have a better picture of what u would like for the coming year.....
 
 
 
 
And there you have it.

Song in my head


The jig is up...

Quote of the day





                                                " Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."
                                                              --William Shakespeare

                                 This, I told my son when we was in college. He still remembered it.


17 September 2012

The People Pleaser


On today

 in 1983,


Vanessa Williams was the first African American woman to be crowned Miss America.


1983

2012
Black don't crack.





also on today in 1970,

The Flip Wilson Show premiered on NBC. It was the first prime time variety show starring an African American male since the Nat King Cole Show.





and also, on today, in  1968,

Julia premiered on NBC with Diahann Carroll in the title role. It was the first modern television show to star an African American woman since Beulah in the 1950's.







The right place, the right people, the right time

"life doesn't give you the people you want. it gives you the people you need. to help you. to hurt you. to love you. to leave you. and to make you into the person you were meant to be."
                 - anonymous

 Right after 9 11 when I worked in DC, I had started dating Shakara. I had a good friend named Henry at the time. As a result of 9 11, my company lost alot of business (some of the companies we consulted were housed in the Twin Towers)  and a lot of us were fired. I didn't want Shakara to know I didn't have a job, and unemployment wasn't going to cover my place. At the same time, Henry's girlfriend kicked him out of her apartment, so  before I asked him to move in to the guest room, he had asked me to do just that. And he paid about 60% of the rent. So I collected unemployment and  I cooked dinner and baked for my neighbors and I drove Henry to and from work so that I could use his car for job-hunting and for my dates with Shakara.  I had managed to date Shakara for 2 yrs without her knowing I was unemployed. She was disappointed that I hadn't told her but impressed that I managed to date her without ever having her pay for anything. Henry was a big help to me. When a recruiter got me a job back in Milwaukee, Shakara moved there with me. Henry paid 50% of the moving expenses.  I never heard from him again. I've tried to connect with him on Facebook to say thanks and to pay him back but can't get a hold of him.

When I  saw that above quote I was reminded of my friend Henry. His friendship came at the right time, and though I intend for good friendships to last forever, it seemed to end at what God might have determined to be the right time.

God is  good God.

16 September 2012

Thank you, American Idol

This is the new set of judges for the upcoming season of American Idol.
I'm a fan of Mariah Carey, but for obvious reasons, I removed the show from my DVR programming list today. I've also removed X Factor for obvious reasons ( Britney Spears), and though I'm a fan of Christina Aguilera, I removed The Voice.
I'm glad they hired mediocre artists as judges on the first two mentioned singing popularity shows (as the winners are based on the most popular versus the most talented).  I watch too much Tv anyway. This was the perfect time to reduce my television-intake.

Now I'll have more time to write,  study french for my upcoming trip to Paris, do more cardio, and look for a part-time job to supplement my income when I return to The States.

So, thank you American Idol, for hiring that Nicki Minaj. And thank you , X Factor, for hiring that Britney Spears.


Song in my head

15 September 2012

I know alot that need it on the inside




                                You create beauty with your attitude, your behavior, your actions… it’s all up to you.
                                                            -author unknown

People change, things change





                         It's sad when people you know become people you knew.
                                                    

13 September 2012

-Apathy




                            Evil triumphs when good men do nothing - Edmund Burke


         Are you registered to vote?  Are you going to vote?  




Equilibrium



Balance – n. 1. a state of equilibrium; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc….. 4. mental or emotional steadisness…..7. the power or ability to decide an outcome


Don't be disappointed or surprised if the love,the attention, and the respect that you will receive from now on  is equal to the love, the attention, and the respect that you have given.  This applies to friendships as well.

--Alieux casey-George

11 September 2012

That's right!


As a matter of fact

 

"as a matter a fact I'm the dopest Nigga u eva wanna fuck wid"

I'm not the one.

4:00 PM

So,  I'm coming from the cafeteria after getting a pre-workout snack at work and  I'm heading towards the scanner, past security, saying hello as I pass,  with my Id,  and  I see a woman  who had just walked in the door. So as I head towards the door, thinking she would hold it for me, she looks at me and physically pulls the door shut. And walks away. I'm about 6 feet away. Yes she did ( probably thinking, let me get this door shut so this nigger can't get in).   So I scanned my card and the door opened. I rushed pass the door to make sure I caught up with the heifer woman before she got in the elevator. I told her, "Thanks for physically pulling the door shut to keep me from entering."
The heifer woman said,  "I didn't see your Id."
And I said, " You mean this Id that I've had in my hand since I left the cafeteria?  No one gets past security without showing Id. Besides, you're supposed to ask to see Id if you don't see it and someone's trying to get inside.
The heifer woman  didn't say anything.  She didn't even get in the elevator. I walked past her and in the elevator as she stood there, like a deer in the headlights.

I guess she was shocked I spoke up. And probably scared to get in the elevator with me. 

I am not the one.
And I have never been the one
I have absolutely zero tolerance for rudeness. I am not the confrontational type, but if you're rude to me, you will be called on it. 

Erykah Badu's Everything

Cloud Atlas

“My life exists far beyond the limitations of me."






In the time-shifting movie examining the impact of destiny, Tom Hanks portrays assorted good and evil roles, including a tribal warrior in a post-apocalyptic world, a 1970s scientist, a 19th-century doctor and a murderous thug who becomes an author. Halle Berry plays the female lead, in assorted  good and evil roles as well.


Written and directed by Andy and Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski , the same people who did The Matrix trilogies.



Reading about the movie, I still have no idea what it's about, but I loved The Matrix trilogies, and everyone knows how I feel about Halle Berry--
So,
yes, I'm seeing it.


The 11th Anniversary of 9/11

On every anniversary of 9/11, two light beams representing the Twin Towers are blasted into the night sky over downtown Manhattan.

We R Magical

sometimes love feels like a dance. as long as we can stay on beat, b ready 2 improvise & hold on when we dip, we r magical! 
-- Saddi Khali.

10 September 2012

It's a waste of time




                                       It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument.                                                                                       --William G. McAdoo


#dontwasteyourtimewithstupidpeople
                       

Song in my head

What we think we deserve



 I was thinking about my mom, my sister, my aunts, my nieces, some cousins, some exes, some friends,  some past bosses---

Q: Why do some of us pick people who treat us like we're nothing?


 A:  Initially, we accept the love we think we deserve. Over time, some of us realize we can do better. Some of us act on it. Some of  us don't.  And some just talk about it.

Note to Self


All that I am



all that i am
all that i know
all that i ever will be and more