Teblowing

I have to get on my sports talk for a minute.  There is one person that I am so tired of hearing about.  It should be pretty obvious from the title who I'm talking about.  Tim Tebow.  I've never been a fan going back to his freshman year in college.  He took snaps away from Chris Leak who, to me, was the better quarterback.  Tebow became the most overrated college player of all time, even winning a Heisman Trophy.  I won't even get into a football discussion about him because it's pointless.  People keep trying to say that he just knows how to win, yet they always call football the ultimate team sport.  So why does he get all the credit for the wins?  That falls back to a much larger issue with the quarterback position, which has traditionally been played by Whites, being the glamour position.  Go figure.  Getting back to Tebow, he sucks.  His defense has carried him, but all these analysts want to act like it was all Tebow.  It's ridiculous.  The way that people treat him is the main reason why I don't like him.  It's good that he has such high morals and he has every right to talk openly about his religion.  That doesn't bother me one bit.  I'm talking about the fact that people give him a pass because of those intangibles.  They ignore the fact that he can't play.  Isn't that what matters in the end?  All the attention he gets makes me dislike him even more.  I don't like hearing him speak because everything he says sounds rehearsed.  He is such a robot that it drives me insane.  Show some personality.  I am not just making a blank argument here either.  I can make this into a football discussion very easily.  Tim Tebow has a weak, inaccurate arm with a slow delivery.  That spells career backup.  The exception here is that we're talking about Tim Tebow.  He just knows how to win.  Ignore the fact that his defense has been playing good and Willis McGahee looks like the Willis McGahee before he blew out his knee at The U.  So I can have this conversation with anybody.  It doesn't matter if you know football or you're just a fan of Tim Tebow.  I'm willing to discuss this thoroughly.  I won't Teblow it.   

Baby Girl

It's hard to describe the way life goes.  There can always be a twist thrown in just for the hell of it.  I have had a baby girl for at least ten years.  No matter how things change or go wrong.  There was always a baby girl lurking in the shadows.  That is still true now.  I see her and I can't help but smile.  Why?  I don't know.  I love her; always have and always will. I wanted a little sister when I was younger because I couldn't stand being called the baby.  I'm twenty nine and I'm still the baby boy.  That will never go away and I've accepted that.  I can at least say that I made it that long being relevant in my family.  I have become irrelevant.  It's hard to understand, but I fall right in line.  I'm sure the same thing happened when I showed up.  It's no secret that Anthony Hamilton is my guy.  He has a song called Baby Girl on his newest album and it was my motivation on this song.  If you know me then you know I have a soft spot for women who are trying to do what they can with what they have.  I'm prone to helping out when I can.  This probably doesn't make any sense but it makes complete sense to me.  And if you know my history and my character, then it would to you too.  I can't stand anyone but my family questioning anything that I do or have done.  Let that sit for a minute and it will make sense.  Or just listen to the song.  It will all make sense.  Free promotion for Anthony Hamilton.    

Better

"You can do better."  I've been hearing that quite a bit lately.  It seems that people aren't satisfied with my performance.  In different parts of my life, I'm not living up to someone else's expectations for me.  Does that make those points valid?  I'm not sure.  It seems like people have always had high expectations for me because of things that I have no control over.  I can't help what influences how people see me, but I have to accept them.  Can I do better?  Sure I can.  It's not as easy as it sounds.  Sometimes I just want to be ordinary.  It's hard to do because I'm so awesome.  Seriously, I have to do better.  Only time will tell if I live up to everyone's expectations.  I know I will never be able to live up to my own.  I had big dreams and I still hope to live up to them one day.  My time is running out for some, but I won't reveal what those dreams are here.  That will keep the suspense up.  I'll do better though.  I'm new to some things.  Patience is necessary with me.  Give me time and I'll be what I'm supposed to be.  

Aging

For some reason, I have a much easier time letting my guard down on here.  You see me in real life and I try not to let you know what I'm thinking.  One thing that really bothers me is getting old.  I love my parents to death even though I don't say it.  I think about what's going to happen when they pass away.  It really feels like a nightmare.  I really shouldn't even think about it, but I do, all the time.  I'm almost thirty but I think about myself passing on too.  I want to do so many different things, but I haven't even made a dent in my plans.  I'm not sure if my fear is death or failure.  Maybe they both go hand and hand.  Eventually it will be me who has to run a family and make sure everyone is taken care of.  That's big responsibility for someone who doesn't even know what they want to do with the rest of their life.  The worse part is that there is no way around it.  I'm getting older everyday.  I'm just waiting on that first gray hair to pop up.  When it does I'll know it's all downhill.  Hopefully I won't start balding.  I don't think my head will look right.

Penn State University

We're in the midst of a very exciting college football season.  LSU vs. Alabama was considered a classic by many (not me).  My Alma mater is finally having a good season.  Realignment is possibly coming to an end.  But now there is an ugly situation that is brewing in Happy Valley.  I don't even know how to approach speaking on this.  It looks like the people who made the wrong decisions are getting the boot.  That includes Joe Paterno.  The administration at Penn State did so many things wrong that there is enough blame to go around.  The president, athletic director, head football coach and the assistant coach who witnessed one occurrence should all be gone.  The coaches don't bear as much blame as the AD and president, but they still have to take some blame here.  Joe Paterno is the face of Penn State.  He could have made sure something was done.  Jerry Sandusky should have been in jail years ago and not working out on campus just a week ago.  All these years the public was made to believe that that program was such a clean program, but in the end its crime was far worse than anything USC did.  The coach that witnessed the assault should have stopped it immediately.  Why would he leave?  The whole thing looks like a cover up to protect Penn State football and there is something terribly wrong with that.  Football doesn't even matter in this situation.  Those kids will be scarred for the rest of their lives.  It didn't have to come to that.  We shouldn't be hearing about this nine years after it happened. And all those students that rallied at Paterno's home should be ashamed of themselves.  That's why this was swept under the rug.  Football is paramount there.  There are times when football doesn't matter.  This is one of those times.  Who cares if the image of the school is tarnished?  Somebody should have come forward with information and when it was ignored, made it a priority to make sure something was done.  Now you have even more families ruined because of this.  There is no way I would let a child of mine go to a school where something like this happened.  Never.

Locked In

It's already November and there hasn't been one NBA game yet.  Honestly I haven't even missed it.  The product had become mediocre in the past few years anyway.  I have been following the same team for at least fifteen years probably.  Wow I'm showing my age, but I was just a child when I first started following them.  I have many memories of playing basketball when I was younger.  My family probably remembers some of them because they were funny at my expense.  There was that time when I hurt my finger and had to soak it in Epsom salt.  Yes I was made fun of then.  I remember getting a whooping for something so stupid and then being afraid to play basketball with the same person who gave it to me.  Finally my mom convinced me to go outside and it felt like nothing had happened before.  We played against a guy who played professionally overseas.  Hell I was doing And 1 moves before that all got big.  When we moved in 7th grade the people there were amazed that I could do a finger roll.  It's crazy all the memories that I have of basketball and now there is no basketball.  I don't even know if there is a way to choose sides.  Most of the NBA players suck anyway.  A jump shot doesn't really exist anymore.  I think that this lockout will hurt the lead since it was just starting to recover from the previous lockout.  The other day I saw something that said that soccer had higher average attendance than the NBA.  I didn't see that one coming.  As much as I love basketball, I'd much rather watch college.  There is not much better than March Madness.  The names change but the action stays the same.  So I can truthfully say thanks NBA we don't miss you.

The Politics

So Herman Cain decided he would run for president.  Good for him.  He had to know what was coming next.  It seems like he was unprepared for his background to be checked out.  Anything about his past was going to come out if it could affect his presidency.  I really don't care about him or any other candidate.  They're all the same to me.  What I have a problem with is this idea that this whole thing is a "cyber lynching.  Look at that picture.  That's a real lynching.  There is no comparison between the two.  Right wing conservatives want the attention so they throw that out there.  It's ridiculous.  Ann Coulter will say anything to sell a book.  In the scheme of things my opinions don't matter, and I understand that.  This is my platform though and I'm going speak my mind.  It's offensive.  This is another reason why I don't watch the news.  Most of the people with the platform to speak are idiots.  It's hard for a racist to know that they're a racist.  In their mind, they're right.  It's how they were raised and it will never change.  It's obvious that racism is alive and well.  The faces in that picture tell the story.  To them it's a game, a hate filled game.  The media can be just as hateful.  As a Black Man "cyber lynching" is offensive to me.  This is not a lynching.  This is just a reminder to Herman Cain that he is still Black no matter how many White faces he has behind him, just like in the picture.  

High Class

So I'm at work today and something really bothered me today.  This older Black lady was just surprisingly rude to me.  First she interrupted me while I was talking to another customer.  The customer that I was helping laughed as I shook my head.  I thought the situation was over with, but she continued to act ignorant.  She was standing around the corner out of my sight and the whole time she kept saying, "That's not it.  Come here boy."  She was by no means quiet and I was getting very irritated even though I was still helping the same customer.  Of course her presumed husband was there and he didn't say much and waited patiently for me to finish with the first customer.  When I did, I tried my best to get that lady the hell out that store because I really wanted to slap the...never mind.  A Black person calling a Black man a boy should be a criminal offense.  How disrespectful is that?  All those years when we were only seen as boys are gone.  The President is Black!  That happened hours ago and I'm still upset about it.  For some reason people look down on people who work in retail.  I fell out with someone I've know about ten years over this same subject.  We get trained to think that the customer is always right.  We all know that the customers can very easily be wrong.  But we have to bend over backwards to please them no matter how wrong they are.  I don't know how many a customer has acted that way towards me like I'm the scum of the earth for working retail.  I takes a bit of patience to do what we do.  I went to school.  I pay my taxes.  I make my own money.  I chose to work retail.  That was completely my choice.  I can get out whenever I want to.  That friend that I fell out with had the nerve to say that I was a disappointment to my father because I worked retail.  I should have cussed her ass out.  Now that anger is being transferred to my blog because I think that might be the first time that I've cursed on here.  But I don't want to take it out because that's the way I really feel.  It's sad that we have people that think that way.  It's even harder to say that I don't care because I do.  I wish that lady would've been high class, but she obviously wasn't.

Coming Home

So I've been catching quite a bit of flack recently for not updating this blog more frequently. That doesn't mean I haven't been watching and paying attention to what's been going on in the world. So what should I talk about? The World Series is going on, but I don't care about that. Occupy Wall Street is not going to do the damage that they think it will. The Droid Bionic is a pretty impressive phone. I can go on like this for hours, but that would be pretty pointless. I want to spend a minute on Muammar Gaddafi and these wars in general. Gaddafi probably deserved what he got. He took many lives during his reign and ripped many families apart. What I find funny is how we try to group all these leaders together and say that this war is justified. Sure three villains have been wiped out, but at what cost? People back home can't find jobs yet we spend trillions on a war against an untrained military of rebels. Is that really justified. Ten years in Iraq and its finally announced that there will be a full withdrawal. Ten years! The whole thing just seems like a political ploy for the president. He can say that all these military victories took place during his time in office. It's almost 2012 and it's all hands on deck. The most important thing out of all of this is that the troops are coming home. It is beyond time for that. There is so much work to be done here that I don't understand focusing that much attention on these other countries. And where is all this money coming from to spend on the wars? I want to be able to retire and not die on the job. That's another topic for another day. I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead. So this is my first post in a few months. Are you happy now???

Stunted Growth

When I was younger I wanted to be a marine biologist.  That was before I even knew what a marine biologist was.  I just thought that I wanted to look at animals underwater.  How dumb is that?  I wanted to be many other things also, including a lawyer, a basketball player, a clothing designer, a photographer, a rapper and an entrepreneur.  It's funny that I started doing a couple of those when I was real young.  It's funny looking back at it all now.  My rap name was Aaron the Baron.  I was going to play basketball at Southern University.  My first design was a green rugby style sweater with two yellow bands around the left forearm.  My clothing store was going to be called "E.C. Style."  My adult dream is to be a writer.  It would be nice to be able to quit working or just to work if I want to.  Writing has always come easy to me but I never gave a thought to being a writer.  My english professor in college pushed me that way when she told me that I could be a good writer.  Since then I've tried getting more focused on my writing.  I've had a couple people tell me things about my writing that honestly make me a little bit uncomfortable.  I'm confident in my abilities but sometimes the words used to describe my talents seem to be a little too much for me.  It's truly humbling to hear that I'm a brilliant writer.  Now I feel like I have to put something out soon or all that talk and hype will be for nothing.  So I'm constantly thinking of different ways to improve my skills.  I'm almost there.  Give me just a little more time. 

Happy Anniversary

This year should be my ten year reunion.  I'm not going.  That's all I wanted to say.

Faith

Faith: allegiance to duty or a person, loyalty, belief and trust in God.  All three definitions of my faith are being tested lately.  I will never question whether God exists or even his actions.  My battle with faith has more to do with whether or not me getting on my knees every night would solve some of my problems.  I haven't done that since I was in college.  The odd part is that college is when I stopped going to church.  Since then, I'm not the same as I was.  Adulthood hasn't been what I thought it would.   We all go through that phase.  And that's exactly what that is to me; a phase.  I'll come out of that.  I've only had small roadblocks during my life.  I can only imagine what people that have been through dramatic events feel.  Religion wasn't forced down my throat when I was younger, even though I always went to church.  From that I have my own beliefs and my faith is still strong.  I'm loyal to a fault to my people, but maybe the time has come to fall back from that.  My people are loyal right back to me, but is that detrimental to both sides?  My allegiance to one person in particular has crumbled in the past week.  So I'm going to speak directly this person because I know those eyes will read this.  We go back almost thirteen years.  We always fall out over some dumb... well you know where this is heading.  My allegiance is still to you and it always will be.  You definitely test my faith in friendship among other things.  A trip to Chicago is always just a click away, but it seems like a trip back to Little Rock is always just a figment of my imagination.  Something is not right about that.  I don't know what you're going through but step away from it for a minute.  Nobody has your back more than me.  But I won't be treated like I'm always the one doing something wrong.  I'll walk away from it all.  I don't deserve that and I won't accept it.  You have to restore my faith in you.  Show me that we're better than that.  If we're not then leave it alone, and I'll leave you alone.  Friday is out of the question even if you show me something.  You know I'm talking to you.  I'm off on a tangent.  Let me get back on topic.  Keep the faith.  I'm out.  

Bamboozled

 So I just recently went back and watched Bamboozled again.  Spike Lee seems like the only director that continues to push the envelope.  This movie came out in 2000 but it still rings true today.  People always ask me something about a Tyler Perry movie like I've seen his movies before.  It's the assumption that I like stupidity and not creativity.   Should I critique something that I have never seen all the way through?  Well there is a reason why I never seen it all the way through.  It seems like I'm always talking about him, but go back and watch Bamboozled.  The situation is so prevalent today.  You have the short, fat, bald guy wearing loud, tight fitting clothes and mispronouncing words and acting stupid.  That's the same thing we were doing eighty years ago.  The most powerful man in the world is Black so something doesn't add up here.  Every show or movie doesn't have to be The Cosby show.  I understand that drama sells but his work is so stereotypical it's ridiculous.  It feels like I'm on a one man crusade to see better images of us in the media.  Lupe Fiasco went on The O'Reilly Factor and couldn't get a word in.  Denzel Washington can't buy an Oscar.  My cousin should be replacing Katie Couric.  Every little bit helps right?  Until then, I'll keep voicing my opinion and people will keep disagreeing with me.  I don't care.  My thoughts, my blog.  Simple.

Disappointment

Disappoint: to fail to fulfill the expectations or hope of.  I'm human so I've been disappointed before in my life.  Just like anybody else, I deal with it.  Many of the decisions I've made have left me feeling disappointed.  It's life.  So to ANYBODY that feels they have disappointed me, you're wrong.  No person can disappoint me.  Actions disappoint me, not people.  Things happen and I will always get over it.  Simple.

Prince James Version

I haven't been paying any attention to the NBA finals.  Well I guess I have because I know that the series is tied 2-2.  But I haven't watched a game so far and I don't have any interest in doing so.  The biggest villain right now in the NBA is Lebron James.  The Decision was only right financially for him.  His decision to do The Decision made him the most despised player in the league.  Most people outside of Cleveland have gotten over the show itself, but I still have a problem with his performance.  He has all the talent in the world, but he still needs to take over games.  The media gave him the nickname King James and hyped him up even when he was in high school.  He's in a lose lose situation.  Unless he wins 3 or 4 rings, he'll always be criticized, fairly or unfairly.  Last night he pulled another disappearing act.  Sometimes I feel bad for him because he's under so much pressure over something that is just a game.  That's the nature of the beast though.  Hopefully The Mavericks will win this series.  If not The NBA may have a bigger problem on their hands.  Then Lebron James will be blamed for the deterioration of the league.  The future looks like there will possibly be maybe six to eight power teams and a boatload of horrible teams.  Who wants to see that?  I'm a Hornets fan and I don't want to see Chris Paul leave but I don't see him staying.  I see him doing just like Lebron did and forming another big three somewhere else.   Some people point to the big three in Boston as the start of this trend, but Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were traded to Boston.  It's a totally different situation.  I'm hoping that there remains a level playing field in The NBA because that's the only way I'll keep watching it.  Thanks Lebron.  Maybe Michael Jordan will launch another comeback.

Last Breath

I know that I'm getting ahead of myself.  I've already started on my second book and I have the basic idea for my third one.  I guess I'm not procrastinating as far as how many books I want to write.  Now all I have to do is wrap up the first one and see where it all goes from there.  If this is what I want to do, then this is what I should do.  I have a job, but I'd like a career.  I'm still young enough to switch fields.  The time is probably about as ripe as it's going to be for me.  Things can change in the blink of an eye.  I don't want to get caught with my eyes closed when opportunity passes my way.  Yes, Last Breath is the current title of the third book.  What is it about?  You'll just have to wait. 

Black

Black: of the color black, of or relating to various groups of dark skinned people, wicked, evil, gloomy, dismal.  It's hard not to recall the scenes from the movie Malcolm X when "Red" was in prison.  I'm proud to be who I am, but it makes me wonder what the origins are for us being called Black.  My skin is not black and I'm not alone in that fact.  How did black become synonymous with evil or wicked?  It goes back to an earlier post that I made talking about skin tones.  That self hatred is in the very definition of the word.  Black is beautiful.  Plain and simple.  We sometimes that crab in a bucket mentality.  But when you put us against anybody else, we can easily unite for the cause.  President Obama is a good example of that, along with Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, and even O.J. Simpson.  We came out in record numbers to vote for the president in '08 and were the first to forgive the other three for their transgressions.  We have brought so much culturally and historically to this country yet we are relegated to second class citizens at times.  I tend to be critical of my own people because we think we have to hold ourselves to higher standards.  The deck is already stacked against us because of who we are.  That will change hopefully and I know it's ten times better than it was years ago.  But we still have a ways to go.  Anybody with a trace of Black in their blood is Black to me.  

Common Sense

President Obama can never rest comfortably.  It seems like when he does something that can possibly bring the country back together, the people that hate to see that find anything to attack him.  Recently The First Lady decided to celebrate poetry at the white house and invited Lonnie Lynn (MC Common) to perform.  Of course this decision was blasted by some that know nothing about Common or his music.  The funny part is that the people who were the most vocal about it were the ones who love the attention the most.  Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly always have something to say, even if it means making a big deal out of nothing.  They twisted everything around to say that Common advocated killing cops.  It's obvious they don't listen to his music and Palin is such a clown that she tried to say that she listens to rap as a way to make it OK for her to speak on him.  Nobody believes for a minute that she does because if she did then she would have been silent on the matter.  Common shined light on Assata Shakur.  He felt she was wrongly accused.  He has the freedom of speech to say that.  It sickens me when people act like their opinion is the only one that exists.  Luckily people came to Common's defense even though he didn't really need it.  

Sunshine

Sunshine: the direct light of the sun.  All this rain is driving me crazy.  I was hoping that maybe a picture of the sun would help.  Yes there are some clouds in the picture but the sun peaking out is more than I've seen in a good while.  These storms have been horrible.  Lives have been lost and normalcy is nonexistent.  Hopefully a little sun will have speed along the process.

Death

Death: the end of life.  Just like everything else, there is a beginning and an end.  Death is the ultimate ending.  Life is the adventure.  I don't give much thought into what happens when we die.  Part of me doesn't want to know what happens.  It could happen any day so I try not to think about it.  Some people say they live everyday like it's their last and I wish I had the mentality to do that.  I take everything one day at a time.  I'm the classic procrastinator.  If I died tomorrow there would be so many things left on the table.  I don't think I've burned any bridges but there will be bridges that have not been traveled on lately.  That would bother me as much as almost anything else.  I've lost contact with so many people and most are of my own doing.  It's not too late to fix that though.  I don't want people to cry at my funeral, but I don't want it to be a celebration either.  I want to be missed, but I want people to be able to move on.  Funerals are sometimes judged by how many people show up.  That's not very important to me either.  It would be nice to fill up a church, but at that point would it really matter?  I'm not even thirty years old yet so why am I thinking about death so much?  Young people are dying rapidly and we just never know when it's going to happen.  I'm not losing sleep over it, but I'm thinking about it more now.  I want all my ducks in a row, but I don't have much say in the matter.

Pain

Pain: suffering or distress of body or mind.  We feel pain as soon as we enter this world.  But at that point the only thing we can do is cry.  As we grow older we learn how to deal with pain.  We all deal with it in our own ways.  Emotional pain can be much more devastating than physical pain.  A few years ago I remember sitting in my grandmother's funeral.  I didn't really feel anything that day.  I clearly remember being there.  I was sitting in the front row because I was a pall bearer.  We were all prepared for that day, but some people still cried.  As hard as I tried I couldn't.  What's strange about that is that I wondered for a couple years after that why I didn't cry.  I thought something was wrong with me because I didn't feel pain.  Maybe I'm just blowing this whole thing out of proportion, but it really bothered me.  Sometimes it seems like I don't care about quite a few things.  Nonchalant could be my nickname.  Truth is that I do care and I'm very passionate about quite a few things.  My anger sometimes disguises my pain.  I bury that pain for another day.  I will probably continue to do that.  It's what I'm trained to do.  The only time it comes out is in my writing.  It's one reason why I write.  I can't think of any better way than to put it in a form that I can go back and look at forever.  I can't think of anything.  

Love

Love: strong affection: warm attachment.  Sounds simple enough.  The two basic definitions for probably the most powerful word in the English language, at least in my opinion.  I try not to use the word very often.  I love my family and closest friends, but that's about it.  Musiq said it best when he said the word is used in vain.  So what is love to me?  I don't think there is a true way to define love.  Love can only be shown by actions.  People always say they love chocolate, or a song, or a city etc.  But is that really love?  It's hard to imagine anybody giving up their life for any of those things.  So I guess that is my definition of love; anything you would give your life for.  Of course that's the most extreme definition.  I'm not knocking those who just throw the word love around like it's nothing.  More power to those who do that.  I'm not one of those people who do that.  I'm much more careful when I use the word love.  And I can't say that I've never said that I loved a song or something.  I have.  But I've only been in love twice.  I'm twenty eight.  That is a pretty good ratio to me.  Hopefully there won't be anybody offended or trying to figure out if they're one of the two.  If they have to question whether they are one of the two then I did something wrong.  But that doesn't mean that the chase is over.  I think I know what I want more now than I ever have.  Maybe here real soon, I'll have to change my definition.  Make sure to watch the video.  It shows love in different forms.  Get 'em Eric!!!

Wordplay

I've been playing with a new concept for a while now.  I'm just going to start it and see where it goes.  Words can be so powerful, but they can also be deceptive.  What one word means to me could mean something completely different to someone else.  So I'm going to have some fun with this.  My definitions so don't get upset or offended.  It's just the way that I see things.

The Point of It All

I know that's not me in the picture and I can probably get sued for even using it. But Anthony Hamilton is that dude and that picture goes well with what I'm about to say. Plus I couldn't take a picture of myself like that. Hard to hold the camera without it showing in the picture. What is the point of it all, all being this life that we live. Everyday I go through this same routine, basically spinning my wheels. I want so much more than I have now. My homeboy and I were talking about this same thing the other day. We're the same age and we were both doing less than we should be. He's moving on and I'm left trying to figure out my next move. It's so easy to say what I'm going to do. The execution is so much harder. Now back the the original question. Is the point of all this to make the best out of life before we're called home? I never had any interest in figuring out the meaning of life. It's something that I'll never figure out so why try? My motivation is different nowadays. I want to make my family proud, and not just proud because I'm out on my own. Anybody can do that. I want to accomplish something that came from me solely. I have it in my sights, but I just need that extra push.  I'm still trying to figure out this adulthood thing.  Something happens everyday that I can learn from. I want so much to be like my father, but I have a long way to go.  I'll keep working at it though.  I have so much to gain by streamlining my thought process on life.  I still have time to figure it all out.  

Misspoke

When I first started doing this, I was just doing something. A friend of mine started a blog I thought it would be fun to do the same. What really made me get more involved was another friend telling me that I couldn't have an opinion about something. That's not true for two reasons. One, I'm entitled to an opinion on anything. And secondly, I do have an opinion on just about everything. I've been pretty quiet the past couple months. But that doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention. Quite a bit has been going on lately. Tsunamis, earthquakes, Libya, Gadhafi, lockouts, blah blah blah. One thing was said recently that did catch my attention. Professional football player Adrian Peterson compared the NFL labor situation to slavery. Well...maybe if...I guess he meant...I don't know what the hell he meant. It's ridiculous to even make that statement. It's sad that "We" still feel the need to play the slavery card. Nobody is forcing him or anybody else to play football. There's no boat, no chains, no whips, no scars. All I see is green. Right now there fighting over one billions dollars, while normal everyday people try to figure out how much to spend on groceries every week. No sense of slavery in that. It gets worse when another player tweets his agreement with Peterson. First off, why tweet period? I don't really care that you just brushed your teeth etc. Anyway, everyone is entitled to their opinion. In this case my opinion is that Adrian Peterson should just play football. I wasn't alive when slavery existed in this country, but I'm pretty sure the star slaves weren't getting seven figure endorsement deals and making Campbell soup commercials. And I'm pretty sure no slave was seen as a star to their master. It's just funny when you think about what he said. I'm sure that there are more people who agree with him. I don't. I just wish Adrian Peterson had to meet my approval to speak again. Without it, he might actually speak again. Hide the cell phones and laptops!!!

Dreaming

Monday will be the 25Th anniversary of the observation of MLK holiday. So how much progress have we made? Yes we have a Black president now, but some of the comments that I hear about him let's me know that nothing has changed. The Blacks that we see with power are entertainers and athletes. Corporate America has many Black CEO's, even one that campaigning for a the presidency in 2012, albeit on the Republican side. I wish I had emoticons on here. Anyway, more positive images would help here. Everything is not all good in our community, but it's not all bad either. The economy is bad, but it's bad for everybody no matter the race. So we have to be better than anybody else. We're already behind strictly because of our skin color. Anybody who thinks there is a level playing field is naive. We have to take some of the blame there too. To me it all starts with education. The importance of an education was beat into my head. When I graduated high school, not going to college was not an option. Well, it was an option. But if I didn't want to go to school, I had to get out the house. Plain and simple. I'm proud of the people that I know that are doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, students, and so many others things. We have much more control over our own destinies. We have taken advantage of that too. But everything is not wonderful. For now the dream is yet to be realized, but we are slowly waking up to our brighter futures.

That's It?

Today is January 11. Way back in August the talk began about college football and the games started. Five months later the champion is decided. The regular season was one of the most exciting in recent memory, but the climax was horrible. Last night was one of the worst championship games that I've seen in my young life. When it was first determined that Oregon and Auburn would be playing, I knew it would be a boring game. But I expected more than that. We waited all that time and that's the game we get? I don't care about the television ratings. The game was boring, complete with few big plays and poor play calling. Both teams run the same high speed high school offense, which meant that the same plays were being ran all night long. The Heisman Trophy winner didn't do anything all game except miss big plays and almost cost his team the win. The third place finisher did very little as well. Neither team looked good. Maybe it was the rust. Maybe it was nerves. Whatever the reason, I can't wait until something happens that forces playoffs. It's ridiculous. Earlier in the season I said Alabama was the best team. I still think they are. Auburn was lucky all season and Oregon didn't play anybody. TCU probably would've beaten either team. The arguments about what would happen are worthless though. Auburn won. That's the end of it. A new season starts in August. I can't wait.

Woo Chop Sooie!!!

So the Sugar Bowl was played last night. I'm from Arkansas so I knew what it would be like, win or lose. The hog fans are fanatical which is fine. My problem with the hog fans is that they're not very realistic. They were happy to see the razorbacks in their first BCS game. But before the season started, there was so much talk about this being "our year". For some reason, they think that our team should be competing on a championship level every year. It can happen, but we're not USC, or Notre Dame, or Florida. They're still living off something that happened 50 years ago. We're not a powerhouse program and yesterday proved it. Ohio St. has been in this spot before and it showed. Arkansas should have won that game, just like they should have won against Alabama, and possibly Auburn. Once again Ryan Mallett flamed out. That interception he threw to end the game was horrible. But it was not totally on him. The receivers were dropping passes all over the place. Bobby Petrino showed why the Falcons fired him with his poor play calling. Julian Horton should have just picked up the blocked punt and run it in for a touchdown. Good teams find ways to win while bad teams find ways to lose. Arkansas is not a bad team, but they found a way to lose every game they lost this season. Hopefully Ryan Mallett will enter the draft. I think the team will be better without without him.

New Year's Evolution

Another year. Me and my homeboy were talking the other day about our people. We were both talking about how we needed a change. Sometimes things can get stagnant. What happens at that point? It's so much easier just letting things stay the way they are. But it's always a risk making a change. But at some point, it has to be done. We talked about our people. Not long ago, I talked about being a part of America's nightmare. Maybe now is the time that that nightmare becomes reality. I've gotten more focused on sharpening my writing abilities. There has to be something better than this. I want my people to get focused. We have to go after what we want. I saw somewhere that Barack Obama was the most admired man in the world. Of course the results are don't seem very realistic right now. Now is as good a time as any. It's time for us to evolve into what we should be.