Ben Breedlove died on Christmas from a heart condition at the age of 18, but before he did, he posted these two videos about the 3 times he "cheated death" and what he experienced in those dying moments. Very moving. Check them out.
Concord Mania
Meet the Air Jordan Concord XI Retro 2011's... They are fresh... BUT....
ARE
YOU
SERIOUS?!
First, look at this video below:
All that hoopla for this:
Now, I did have someone pick up these Space Jams when they first came out several years ago, but the mania was nowhere near what was depicted above. I must say, if I had to deal with those lines (and the fights) for some shoes, I would go without...
ARE
YOU
SERIOUS?!
First, look at this video below:
All that hoopla for this:
Now, I did have someone pick up these Space Jams when they first came out several years ago, but the mania was nowhere near what was depicted above. I must say, if I had to deal with those lines (and the fights) for some shoes, I would go without...
Free Waffle House Waffle
Everybody who knows me, knows I love Waffle House. (It aint just food; its an experience!) On the original background of this page you could see the waffle house sign in the top left corner. The photo was actually taken right up the street from a local Waffle House we were headed to the night of one of our first videos (I'll post it again below). At any rate, Waffle House is giving away a free waffle. All you have to do is print this coupon, show up, and dine in.
That's it.
Do it.
Enjoy.
That's it.
Do it.
Enjoy.
The NBA is back!!!
After being completely washed of any current players' likeness for several months... www.nba.com is finally back to its glorious form of normality. Full of rumors of trades, free agent possibilities, and hype inducing articles of the greatness that is to come when the season begins on Christmas day. Yes. The NBA is back. Everyone who was contemplating suicide or becoming an alcoholic can relax now; the nuclear winter seems to have been avoided.Sidenote: There was a part of me that REALLY enjoyed basketball this year though... Basketball went underground and the players who played, played for the love... and it was FUN and exciting every single time you caught wind of an NBA player spotted hooping in a street league or rec center. Seeing shaky youtube videos of Kevin Durant aka "Durantula" DESTROYING people at the legendary Rucker Park was awesome to me. His off season hustle, seemingly humble demeanor, and intense passion for the game, paycheck or not, made him instantly my favorite current player in the league - he just wanted to play. He played hard, he played well and he played often. Hats off to you, sir.
Income tax coming back
They say the income tax is supposed to go back to "normal" come January 1st unless this government, that seems to only have the goal of embarrassing President Obama in national history, does somethin to extend the system in place. That 2% break we have gotten comfortable with is about to vaporize. They say the average family will lose around $80 per month. That may not be a WHOLE lot for some but its enough for majority to feel. That changes your weekly movie theater visits to redbox nights. It makes you think twice about dating that materialistic person who lives two counties away because that gas tank has to make it all week instead of just Monday through Thursday with a second fill up for the weekend. The sad part about this "increase in taxes" is that we kinda need it, as it funds social security. The same social security that they say will run out in 25 - 30 years if we don't do anything about it.
It's a catch 22. If we get this increase in taxes, consumers won't be able to consume as much. As a result, businesses will suffer, which will possibly lead to job loss and a resulting further downward spiral. On the flip side, we can't throw our elderly to the wolves and tell them to fend for themselves. So what do you do? Try your best not to do anything that will run the risk of further slowing the economy or do you say "forget about that 'old folks welfare system'" and possibly let my generation suffer when we reach retirement age? I'm torn. There definitely needs to be a system in place to help the elderly but... if the economy sinks a lot further, the elderly won't have much to work with anyway.
In the words of satan...
This is somethin for Sunday. Never heard a song written like this... but its a well written song and actually makes you think...
Heavy D has passed away at the age of 44
So it sounds like one of our rap legends has went on home today. Dwight Arrington Myers, better known as Heavy D from Heavy D and the Boyz, passed away around 1 pm pacific time. Nobody knows quite how or why at this point; all we know is that he was rushed to the hospital earlier... and now he's gone. I have posted two videos below from how I remember him.
Stephenson High School vs MLK
I guess this game is a pretty big deal on the eastside of Atlanta... MLK vs Stephenson, both 9-0, are going at it this Friday at Hallford Stadium around 7:30pm. Somebody has to win... Somebody has to go home with a "1" in the loss column. This fella done sat back and made a song about the rivalry.
(Sidenote: The fella mighta said something true in his rap... Stephenson is known for their "Superband"... ain't nobody talking about MLK's band. When he said it, I had to pause myself and ask "Wait... DOES MLK have a band?!")
Crazy how this lil music video trend has started for highschool pep rallies and stuff. According to an article on AJC, Grayson kinda got things started with a song called "Brookwood, where you at?" (Sidenote: Where IS Brookwood? And while we're asking, where is Grayson?!). Anyway, "KUDOS" to you Grayson fellas for starting this up (Nobody says kudos but Im giving praise to Grayson, so its cool). I posted their video below if you wanna take a look at it. Its a cool lil rap song.
I didn't watch the whole video from either school but, from what I saw, you can tell who had money to get professional camera (with professional camera lenses, I might add) and took time to do some heavy editing... not to mention the wherewithal, according to their youtube, to put their original song on itunes as well... That being said, you gotta love the team spirit from each school. I like what's happening.
(Sidenote: The fella mighta said something true in his rap... Stephenson is known for their "Superband"... ain't nobody talking about MLK's band. When he said it, I had to pause myself and ask "Wait... DOES MLK have a band?!")
Crazy how this lil music video trend has started for highschool pep rallies and stuff. According to an article on AJC, Grayson kinda got things started with a song called "Brookwood, where you at?" (Sidenote: Where IS Brookwood? And while we're asking, where is Grayson?!). Anyway, "KUDOS" to you Grayson fellas for starting this up (Nobody says kudos but Im giving praise to Grayson, so its cool). I posted their video below if you wanna take a look at it. Its a cool lil rap song.
I didn't watch the whole video from either school but, from what I saw, you can tell who had money to get professional camera (with professional camera lenses, I might add) and took time to do some heavy editing... not to mention the wherewithal, according to their youtube, to put their original song on itunes as well... That being said, you gotta love the team spirit from each school. I like what's happening.
Bryant Gumbel calls the NBA's David Stern a "Plantation Overseer"?!
Fact: David Stern needs to end this dispute and let the NBA come back. I hate the lockout and I know Stern holds the keys to ending it but, I cant go as far as this fella, Bryant Gumbel, went. Stern does seem to want to run a tight ship... But what's wrong with order? What's wrong with wanting your employees to look professional on camera? Believe it or not, white people are still the majority. And since they are the majority and he wants the majority to love basketball, he needs his organization to appeal to the majority. That means no du-rags, no backwards caps, no sagging jeans with the matching boxers, etc. And there is nothing wrong with that. Is that racist to ask that players to use a little discretion when at team events? Last I check, I couldn't come to work with flip flops, an A-shirt (aka wife beater), some long shorts and a du-rag on my head either. Did I whine? No. I got to work. Attire may not affect your work or work ethic, but it does affect your image and how much (white) people like you... and that can affect the league's bottom line.
People also question his "players must be 19 to play" rule; Calling it racist. Again, I beg to differ. Dont ALL races have to be 19 for them to play in the NBA? Is there some special loop hole for white people that allows them to come out early anyways? Making the kid go to college ONE YEAR aint hurting these fellas at all. A lil maturing and practice with some better competition under a coach with a different style of coaching than their highschool had will do them more good than it does harm... but this is called a "racist" move. Why? Is it because white kids have the opportunity to go on to play college ball and black kids don't? That cant be it; not when the same talent that can get you in the NBA can get you a full ride scholarship to most big name colleges with exposure. Are they afraid that they could be hurt in that ONE extra year and that injury may ruin their career chances? Possibly. But, honestly? Come on son.
I love black people. I love basketball. I love when young talent comes to the NBA. But I think this race card was more about making Bryant Gumbel a household name again for a day than it was about what's really going on inside David Stern's mind. And since that was the goal... Mission accomplished.
It's not ok to beat your significant other
Looks like its ok to beat your wife in Kansas. According to this article, Topeka Kansas has started sending domestic battery suspects home with no charges because they just can't afford to keep up with the cases. Too many felonies; not enough money in the budget.
There are problems with the budget and they have decided that the families will suffer because of it. I question this decision. Of all things to give up enforcing, I wouldn't think "wife beating" will be one of them. This year, I promise, I've seen more cases come across these news websites concerning spouses and gf/bf abusing/killing each other (and the kids in some cases) than any other time in my life. It's been absolutely crazy. People are snapping under the pressure of this economic and the additional stresses caused by it. The last place they need upheavals is in their own home... and when the upheavals do happen, rather than dealing with it properly, as they probably would have had the rest of their life been ok, the upheavals is proving to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.... Then backs start to get broken, and not in that good way that people previously used to try to make up after an argument.
Now, because this law isnt being enforced in that city, people must live in fear. No more running and calling the police; nothing is gonna happen... unless someone dies - then its murder and not just domestic violence. But no one wants to wait for that to happen.
I hope this gets reversed and no other city decides to follow suit. My advice to all women (and abused men) who live in Topeka: Move.
When being a "whore" gets old
Recently a film titled "What's your number" came into theaters. The movie seems to be about a woman who is getting older, maturing, and as a result getting quite uncomfortable with the fact that she has had sex with around 20 different guys over the course of her short life. To my knowledge, it didn't do so well at its opening. But I ain't here to talk about that...
On the article that I found out about the movie on, the author, who mentioned that, according to studies, people still count the number of people they sleep with, is basically saying that people should no longer count their sex partners or be concerned with how high their number is; "sex is a part of dating and numbers don't matter" was basically the mentality at the root of his/her argument. There were many who agreed with the author and just a few (read: one) that disagreed. (Keep in mind that I read this early on yesterday and the comments may have doubled or tripled by now...)
This one person who disagreed took the position of "We should be dating for love and the only way to be sure he/she loves you is marriage." Sadly, she was ridiculed by some of the other posters. Only one person almost sided with her and his approach was along the lines that he was old, had all the fun he wanted to have, and now he was lookin for something a little more meaningful... This is what I want to talk about.
Every "whore-monger" I know, and I know more than a couple who engage in random/casual sex, eventually gets tired of "whoring". Our generation has cheapened sex down to a feeling much like getting high (which it actually kinda is since dopamine is released during sexual acts/orgasms and dopamine is the natural chemical that the street drug known in some circles as "dope" tries to imitate. I digress). So we now live in a society of sex "addicts" who, rather than waiting to at least have some sort of meaningful connection with the person they are sharing their sex organs with, are in constant search of a "fix". If I had to guess, by the gentleman referring to himself as older, I'd say he's probably somewhere in his 40s, as most under that age don't call themselves old. Let's say, for the sake of argument that he possibly lost his virginity as a teenager - 17 is a pretty common age. If somewhere in that general range is true, it would've taken him over 20 years of countless encounters with people he didn't have the emotional connection with that he was looking for before it finally clicked that his behavior was pointless. It's true he's a man and society has given men a double standard in this area, but let's keep in mind that he never mentions marriage - just emotional connection; we're talking about casual vs committed. At a minimum, waiting for a committed relationship and placing some level of standards on who you date would eliminate a lot of the numbers that you would get had you not been casually "kickin it".
I wanna take it a step further tho... If I'm looking at a woman and her numbers are very high, the first question I'm thinking is "Why can't you stay with one person?" I'm asking this in search of personality or character flaws. If you're under 30 and you have 20+ sex partners, you've been doing the most in the last 10-15 years. What's REALLY going on? Immediately after that, the next thought is "If its somebody elses fault, what are you searching for that continues to land you in situations with people who are worthless?" I say "her" cause I'm a guy, but this question applies to BOTH sexes. Think about it, with all that sexual experience, they ought to be pretty good in bed. If sex aint the issue, it would seem like by the time you got to person number ten (in our freaky generation), you would've learned just about all you can learn about sex AND learned who NOT to date to the point where SOMEBODY would want to be with you seriously... unless you're just unstable and crazy...
People know EARLY in most situations if the relationship is gonna work or not. If, after just talking on the phone for a few weeks, you have that "what now" feeling, it may not be a good look for you. You gotta be able to communicate and connect on a friendship level first. The root word of relationship is relate and if you can't do that, why are you screwing that person?
Why are you screwing somebody you don't even like?!?!
That being said, try to keep your numbers low - for your physical health, your mental health, and your emotional health. Nobody wants to be with anybody who has been with everybody... and don't use "gaining/having sexual experience so you can be great in bed with your future husband/wife" as justification for putting yourself out there like that in the present. You can gain a lot of sexual experience without having to use all of your fingers, toes, and some of your eyelashes to count the people you have slept with. Have sex with one person a lot - not a lot of people once. I could see maybe the number 5 kinda sneaking up on you, but honestly... 20 just seems like a bit much. But maybe I'm the only one who feels this way...
On the article that I found out about the movie on, the author, who mentioned that, according to studies, people still count the number of people they sleep with, is basically saying that people should no longer count their sex partners or be concerned with how high their number is; "sex is a part of dating and numbers don't matter" was basically the mentality at the root of his/her argument. There were many who agreed with the author and just a few (read: one) that disagreed. (Keep in mind that I read this early on yesterday and the comments may have doubled or tripled by now...)
This one person who disagreed took the position of "We should be dating for love and the only way to be sure he/she loves you is marriage." Sadly, she was ridiculed by some of the other posters. Only one person almost sided with her and his approach was along the lines that he was old, had all the fun he wanted to have, and now he was lookin for something a little more meaningful... This is what I want to talk about.
Every "whore-monger" I know, and I know more than a couple who engage in random/casual sex, eventually gets tired of "whoring". Our generation has cheapened sex down to a feeling much like getting high (which it actually kinda is since dopamine is released during sexual acts/orgasms and dopamine is the natural chemical that the street drug known in some circles as "dope" tries to imitate. I digress). So we now live in a society of sex "addicts" who, rather than waiting to at least have some sort of meaningful connection with the person they are sharing their sex organs with, are in constant search of a "fix". If I had to guess, by the gentleman referring to himself as older, I'd say he's probably somewhere in his 40s, as most under that age don't call themselves old. Let's say, for the sake of argument that he possibly lost his virginity as a teenager - 17 is a pretty common age. If somewhere in that general range is true, it would've taken him over 20 years of countless encounters with people he didn't have the emotional connection with that he was looking for before it finally clicked that his behavior was pointless. It's true he's a man and society has given men a double standard in this area, but let's keep in mind that he never mentions marriage - just emotional connection; we're talking about casual vs committed. At a minimum, waiting for a committed relationship and placing some level of standards on who you date would eliminate a lot of the numbers that you would get had you not been casually "kickin it".
I wanna take it a step further tho... If I'm looking at a woman and her numbers are very high, the first question I'm thinking is "Why can't you stay with one person?" I'm asking this in search of personality or character flaws. If you're under 30 and you have 20+ sex partners, you've been doing the most in the last 10-15 years. What's REALLY going on? Immediately after that, the next thought is "If its somebody elses fault, what are you searching for that continues to land you in situations with people who are worthless?" I say "her" cause I'm a guy, but this question applies to BOTH sexes. Think about it, with all that sexual experience, they ought to be pretty good in bed. If sex aint the issue, it would seem like by the time you got to person number ten (in our freaky generation), you would've learned just about all you can learn about sex AND learned who NOT to date to the point where SOMEBODY would want to be with you seriously... unless you're just unstable and crazy...
People know EARLY in most situations if the relationship is gonna work or not. If, after just talking on the phone for a few weeks, you have that "what now" feeling, it may not be a good look for you. You gotta be able to communicate and connect on a friendship level first. The root word of relationship is relate and if you can't do that, why are you screwing that person?
Why are you screwing somebody you don't even like?!?!
That being said, try to keep your numbers low - for your physical health, your mental health, and your emotional health. Nobody wants to be with anybody who has been with everybody... and don't use "gaining/having sexual experience so you can be great in bed with your future husband/wife" as justification for putting yourself out there like that in the present. You can gain a lot of sexual experience without having to use all of your fingers, toes, and some of your eyelashes to count the people you have slept with. Have sex with one person a lot - not a lot of people once. I could see maybe the number 5 kinda sneaking up on you, but honestly... 20 just seems like a bit much. But maybe I'm the only one who feels this way...
One won't do and two is not enough...
So I'm eavesdropping at work today and overhear some ladies talking about this tv show that comes on TLC called The Sister Wives... Long story short, I end up with this link in my email so I could check the show out. The clip below is what I saw.... Check the video out and then read on beneath it.
This has got to be some of the strangest sounding stuff I have heard in quite a while. Polygamy. Sounds like it might be the life for the dude, as he gets a license to be with 4 different women whenever he pleases - as they all "rotate" and share their nights with him. At first I questioned the self esteem of the women. Then I questioned the sanity of the man. Then I started thinking of ways where I could actually see this situation working out for both parties...
Benefit one: Multiple streams of income. This is self explanatory. Ain't nothin like a lil teamwork to help a family make it through today's tough economy. The more working adults you have, the higher the household income.
Benefit two: Safer sex. Everybody already has an understanding in this situation. When a person is screwing around outside the marriage, there is no telling WHAT kinda disease the outsiders may be bringing into your household. With this, you know the full health record of all of your partner's partners.
Benefit three: Shared cooking, cleaning, and child rearing responsibilities. How many moms out there would like to take a day off and let somebody else play mom while they take a break for the day? I'm guessing there are more than a couple who wouldn't mind having a mini "mommy vacation". Even if its just one day a week.
NOW, with all of that being said... This is still quite odd to see in this capacity inside the borders of the United States. I ain't really feeling it. I wouldn't want this situation at all. Not only cause it seems weird, but because dealing with the personalities of 4 different women who are from where I'm from and trying to keep them all happy at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster. I wanna life a long healthy life... not get stabbed trying to break up a fight between two women who are upset because they think I'm playing favorites.
Yeah...
I think I'll be just fine with one.
This has got to be some of the strangest sounding stuff I have heard in quite a while. Polygamy. Sounds like it might be the life for the dude, as he gets a license to be with 4 different women whenever he pleases - as they all "rotate" and share their nights with him. At first I questioned the self esteem of the women. Then I questioned the sanity of the man. Then I started thinking of ways where I could actually see this situation working out for both parties...
Benefit one: Multiple streams of income. This is self explanatory. Ain't nothin like a lil teamwork to help a family make it through today's tough economy. The more working adults you have, the higher the household income.
Benefit two: Safer sex. Everybody already has an understanding in this situation. When a person is screwing around outside the marriage, there is no telling WHAT kinda disease the outsiders may be bringing into your household. With this, you know the full health record of all of your partner's partners.
Benefit three: Shared cooking, cleaning, and child rearing responsibilities. How many moms out there would like to take a day off and let somebody else play mom while they take a break for the day? I'm guessing there are more than a couple who wouldn't mind having a mini "mommy vacation". Even if its just one day a week.
NOW, with all of that being said... This is still quite odd to see in this capacity inside the borders of the United States. I ain't really feeling it. I wouldn't want this situation at all. Not only cause it seems weird, but because dealing with the personalities of 4 different women who are from where I'm from and trying to keep them all happy at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster. I wanna life a long healthy life... not get stabbed trying to break up a fight between two women who are upset because they think I'm playing favorites.
Yeah...
I think I'll be just fine with one.
I have a question...
On facebook, a classmate of mine said "Dont you hate when somebody takes FOREVER to text you back and you KNOW that they live by their phone?" It's true. I do. Wasn't enough to make me write about it though... But on the same day, I was on Twitter and came across this tweet where this girl says "I hate when n*ggas act like females!!!" Other girls cosigned her comment.
And I said to myself: "Self?"
Myself said: "Huh?"
I said: "This is exactly why women get away with MURDER in relationships/friendships."
What do I mean and what does this have to do with the first statement, you ask? Knowing this chick and her tweets, this was probably over a phone call that she ain't return for whatever reason... And it probably played out like this:
New guy meets girl and has a decent conversation.
They exchange numbers.
The talk a few times.
A few weeks in, guy calls and girl doesn't answer.
Girl never calls back.
A few days later, guy sends girl text asking whassup with her not returning his call.
Girl tells Twitter that guy is acting like a female for questioning her phone etiquette, then goes on to explain that she pays her bill and she can do what she likes.
End.
And so the guy ends up in a lose lose lose situation. If he let's it go and let's her win, she'll keep ignoring him and he'll stay right in the position he's in - forever chasing. If he complains, he runs the risk of getting called a female - at which point some guys will let it go and let her win. If he wants to save face, the only choice he has is to quit calling and act like she doesn't exist. But if youre really trying to date, this ain't really an option... So most times, if the guy actually cares, the guy concedes, one way or another, for the sake of tryin to salvage the situation.
As a guy, I think many will agree that we hate to argue over stupid stuff and we hate to be lied to. Not me, you, nor Jesus is believing those "I've been busy/sleep/sick/working late/at the gym the last 3 days and that's why you haven't been a thought process" stories... At this point we really wanna say "Shawty, forget all of that. You taking too long." But we keep quiet to keep peace... because if we speak out against it, we're acting "like a female". But I can't help but wonder... Why is this behavior socially acceptable? I remember I got screamed on for not taking my cell phone with me while walking around the house after "taking too long in the shower" (Crazy, I know, but it happen), but we can't yell at yall for NOTHING! What would REALLY happen if we all just started screaming on them like they scream on us for "leaving our phone on vibrate all day"? (Lol!) What if we told THEM to woMAN UP and take responsibility for their actions instead of making excuses? I guess then we'd be acting like females and it would look a lil somethin like this...
Men get caught cheating because women ask questions until the man's lies stop making sense. Women don't get caught cheating because, according to society's standards, we can't ask questions without being called a female or insecure. I guess this is one double standard that they have in their favor...
And I said to myself: "Self?"
Myself said: "Huh?"
I said: "This is exactly why women get away with MURDER in relationships/friendships."
What do I mean and what does this have to do with the first statement, you ask? Knowing this chick and her tweets, this was probably over a phone call that she ain't return for whatever reason... And it probably played out like this:
New guy meets girl and has a decent conversation.
They exchange numbers.
The talk a few times.
A few weeks in, guy calls and girl doesn't answer.
Girl never calls back.
A few days later, guy sends girl text asking whassup with her not returning his call.
Girl tells Twitter that guy is acting like a female for questioning her phone etiquette, then goes on to explain that she pays her bill and she can do what she likes.
End.
And so the guy ends up in a lose lose lose situation. If he let's it go and let's her win, she'll keep ignoring him and he'll stay right in the position he's in - forever chasing. If he complains, he runs the risk of getting called a female - at which point some guys will let it go and let her win. If he wants to save face, the only choice he has is to quit calling and act like she doesn't exist. But if youre really trying to date, this ain't really an option... So most times, if the guy actually cares, the guy concedes, one way or another, for the sake of tryin to salvage the situation.
As a guy, I think many will agree that we hate to argue over stupid stuff and we hate to be lied to. Not me, you, nor Jesus is believing those "I've been busy/sleep/sick/working late/at the gym the last 3 days and that's why you haven't been a thought process" stories... At this point we really wanna say "Shawty, forget all of that. You taking too long." But we keep quiet to keep peace... because if we speak out against it, we're acting "like a female". But I can't help but wonder... Why is this behavior socially acceptable? I remember I got screamed on for not taking my cell phone with me while walking around the house after "taking too long in the shower" (Crazy, I know, but it happen), but we can't yell at yall for NOTHING! What would REALLY happen if we all just started screaming on them like they scream on us for "leaving our phone on vibrate all day"? (Lol!) What if we told THEM to woMAN UP and take responsibility for their actions instead of making excuses? I guess then we'd be acting like females and it would look a lil somethin like this...
Dubstep... Meet the Xbox Kinect
Technology is amazing. This fella has hacked his Xbox Kinect, connected it to his laptop and is using it to control his synthesizer. Most people won't be in awe of this because the music is fairly simple, but looking at it musically and artistically, this is crazy. Talk about interpretive/liturgical dance... Imagine hearing the music someone's body is making - creating sounds as the dance...
Odd talent...
This girl juggles 5 basketballs, upside down, using both her hands AND her feet. I can't juggle THREE for longer than a few seconds without messing up! I think its fair to label her as talented...
A Caste System for dating
Disclaimer: This was just a crazy thought that popped in my head so don't take any of this seriously.
You know what I've been thinking about recently? What if there were official social classes for dating? Over the years I have heard many conversations where women (and some men) make comments asking why "person A" is with "person B" or how did "person A" get someone who looks THAT good. I couldn't help but wonder, what if there was an actual caste system set up which told you, based on looks and financial status, who you could and could not date/marry?
There are those "opposite's attract" type situations where the rich person marries the "commoner" who they say makes them feel "normal." The nice person sometimes wins the heart of the person who has unlimited options. The persistant "ugly" person sometimes makes the "pretty" person cave by simply being in the right place at the right time all the time. These make for great movies and sometimes lead to long loving relationships.
But opposite that.... we've all seen that "their out of your league" situation unfold... where the brother with no job, car, or motivation tries to holler at the young lady whose caliber is of "ball player status" (if you catch my drift) with the professional career to match. He tries his best and she gives him the "why are you talking to me" treatment. Shut down. Or, on the flipside, where the female with no job, car, or motivation tries her best to get the ball player/established career man, with the idea that she can win his love and be the perfect "trophy girl." She tries and he gives her the "since you're throwing it, I'll catch it but don't catch feelings because you'll never be my wife" treatment. Heartbreak. You also see people who may be in the same league financially but not in the same league of physical attractiveness. Person B is shut down purely on superficiality based on Person A's personal perception of what beauty is. Both situations happen all the time and both situations occur because the person who is perceived to have absolutely nothing to bring to the table is trying to go after what is perceived as a "Grade A" thoroughbred stallion; Meanwhile, they are operating with "mule swag."
The question then becomes: Do you think it would make things easier or harder if somebody actually blew the whistle on those types of situations before they got started? All hoodrats/trailer park attendees must stay with their kind, ugly people must keep to themselves, rich people must stay with the rich (unless they give up everything), and pretty people must be with pretty people - Even going down to the level of saying rich ugly people can't be with rich pretty people and so on.
Again, I'm just clowning around. But on a serious note... Do you believe there is a certain caliber of person that you should just not go after (IE a fan trying to go after [insert famous movie star/singer] by going to every event, sending them tweets, youtube videos,etc. or is the sky the limit?
The Nike "McFly's" are here... for real
So after all this time, they're finally putting them out. The real deal too. Not those Kobe Hyperdunk Back to the Future wannabees. We're talking about the ones Marty McFly wore himself in Back to the Future II. The ones that laced up by themselves. I've had my eye on these for a WHILE and now that they're here... I will watch other people enjoy them. With the release being limited to like 1500 pairs, getting your hands on these babies for a reasonable cost is gonna be quite a task. They're being auctioned off on ebay for Michael J. Fox's foundation (He suffers from Parkinson disease). Here's hoping that God lays it on somebody's heart to hold me a pair to the side so that I can look fresh.
Operationmcfly.blogspot.com no longer exist but the owner of the sight was vigilant in his campaign as you can see in a story about him (which connects to an interview with him) here.
The laces won't actually work like in the movie, the strap seems a touch bit too high, and the shoe looks a little more colorful than it did in the movie but nevertheless, its still VERY crazy to see them come to reality. Now we just need that Hover Board he was skating on...
Playing games for a living
So evidently, playing videogames all day ain't such a bad idea after all... Lord knows being a "Professional Gamer" sounds like the life. These two teams of four are playing for $400,000. Loser team gets $200,000. That STILL ain't bad for a lil under a hours worth of work. In today's economy, you can still buy a pretty decent forclosure...On another note Call of Duty's Modern Warfare 3 looks awesome, fun, and will probably cause a few relationships to end due to neglect this fall/winter. It drops on November 8th and will quite possibly dominate millions of consoles for several months thereafter. At any rate, peep the video below to see it in action.
3D with no glasses
So I found this website and was both amazed and disturbed by the videos that were posted there. On one side, it was cool to learn how 3d TVs worked with those super expensive glasses AND that someone was working on a way to view 3D movies WITHOUT having to wear those huge pieces of plastic... but on the other side, I don't know if I feel too comfortable with having my eyelids controlled by a device. I mean, what would happen if you got out of range from the machine that controls them? If the machine that controls them is in sync with the movie that you are watching, what would happen if the DVD freezes? I don't know... This new technology is both amazing and scary all at the same time. Check out the videos below to see what I'm talking about.
Cured of Tourettes Syndrome
This was amazing. Don't ask me why I got the sudden urge to look into tourettes syndrome. I don't have it and I don't know anybody with it, but I found this success story truly remarkable. What really caught my attention was when he began talking about how hopeless he felt about life while he was dealing with his muscle tics and was even pessimistic about the treatment that he was about to get. He followed that statement with the fact that he now has great aspirations, high hopes, and lofty goals. He said he feels something like an infant with so many things to explore and not enough time in the day. It touched me a lil bit after thinking about the time we waste doing frivolous things and the moments where we start to feel bad about ourselves or become depressed when really we have so much to be thankful for and so much that we can achieve if we just take a moment to rid ourselves of doubt and choose instead to focus. At any rate, peep the video.
Grinding...
Now the REAL question is... how do the BLACK girls and guys feel about this? No African American teenagers were allowed to speak in this video... I have questions... Lol
Warren Buffet speaks against lower taxes for billionaires
Finally, a rich person with some common sense and some heart. Warren Buffet speaks out about how the people in this country need to wake up and see that cutting taxes on the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans isn't going to create jobs or spur investment; a rich investor will invest no matter what the tax rate. He also said that there is no reason he should be paying "a lower tax rate than my secretary". He suggest that there should be 2 additional tax brackets: one for those who make over a million and those who make over 10 million. Sounds like a good idea to me...
I say if you can afford to pay more, then you should. If they can't come up with a fair system then just make everybody pay the same rate across the board. Greedy people will always find a way around the system to create a higher bottom line for themselves. And while on one side, they work hard for their money and deserve most of it, there is no reason for them to get a higher percentage of their income to play with when the people on the bottom of the totem pole have to dance on a pole to get gas money and a loaf of bread.
The guy in the video below speaks on how cutting taxes for the wealthy in our nation has led to calamity more than it has lead to prosperity. Seems like our "scholars" in Washington would recognize that, if the foundation crumbles, the entire house will collapse with it. But instead, people are more concerned about pushing their political agendas than saving the entire nation... all for the sake of getting their hands greased and keeping a few extra dimes in their pockets. Hopefully, somebody somewhere will listen to Warren and make some changes to their personal philosophies so that 90% of our population can move from "struggling" to being "relatively comfortable." We will see...
I say if you can afford to pay more, then you should. If they can't come up with a fair system then just make everybody pay the same rate across the board. Greedy people will always find a way around the system to create a higher bottom line for themselves. And while on one side, they work hard for their money and deserve most of it, there is no reason for them to get a higher percentage of their income to play with when the people on the bottom of the totem pole have to dance on a pole to get gas money and a loaf of bread.
The guy in the video below speaks on how cutting taxes for the wealthy in our nation has led to calamity more than it has lead to prosperity. Seems like our "scholars" in Washington would recognize that, if the foundation crumbles, the entire house will collapse with it. But instead, people are more concerned about pushing their political agendas than saving the entire nation... all for the sake of getting their hands greased and keeping a few extra dimes in their pockets. Hopefully, somebody somewhere will listen to Warren and make some changes to their personal philosophies so that 90% of our population can move from "struggling" to being "relatively comfortable." We will see...
Killer YoYo-ing
Maybe its just me but, I thought this guy was AMAZING! It ain't gone thrill everybody, but ANYBODY whose ever tried to yoyo before knows that the stuff this fella does is no easy task... Check him out.
Sand Castles
I sat down and watched this lil video on yahoo and, at the very end, one of the fellas said something that caught my attention. He said "Its a dream job!" Then he kinda chuckled - seemingly coming from the simple joy he gets from sculpting sand for a living... First question: How can this be a job? You're in a public place, on a beach, doing a form of art that cant be sold in many places - art that only last as long as the weather holds up and free running kids dont accidently tackle your masterpiece. Moving on to our second question: How can I apply? I promise this would be an awesome job! You have a PAID excuse to be at a hotel on a beach all the time making art with sand. Setting your own hours + sand castles + enough money to live comfortably = win.
On another note, it sounds like these guys were pretty successful financially before they started this venture. I imagine that "old" money is being used to help them make new money and allowing them to live out their dreams now. I applaud them and their good works.
On another note, it sounds like these guys were pretty successful financially before they started this venture. I imagine that "old" money is being used to help them make new money and allowing them to live out their dreams now. I applaud them and their good works.
Put on a happy face
A while ago I posted a video that detailed habits of millionaires that made them successful. One of the habits that really stuck in my mind was their ability to rebound from defeat. It's somethin that I really use to struggle with. In the past, if somethin that I was solely responsible for didn't go according to plan and I suffered an embarrassing defeat, it took me MUCH longer than it should have to rebound - often re-living and analyzing every detail in my head and thinking of things that I could have and SHOULD have done better instead of re-focusing that same energy towards getting up and trying again.
Looking back at the year 2010, which I consider to be one of the most difficult years of my short life, and examining how my thought process is now, I can see that I have completely transformed my way of thinking from the way that I use to think when I was younger. I did so by realizing the following few things:
1. There will be a better opportunity in the future - hindsight is 20/20. After you've lived for a while, you'll start to see where history will try to repeat itself. The key here is to use that 20/20 to learn from your errors; don't let them handicap you.
2. Its really not that serious - Nothing matters unless we make it matter. It was only a brief moment in time and, for most situations, as soon as it happened, it was over. Its our own mind that takes that one moment in time, that may have lasted all of 5 minutes, and makes it seem like it lasted an ETERNITY! The sooner you accept the fact that the past has passed, the faster you can begin dealing with the present and building a better future.
3. Praise God for EVERY single victory you get and downplay your temporary defeats - it is IMPERATIVE that a positive disposition be maintained. If you believe you are a loser, you will probably put forth a losers effort and, as a result, obtain loser results. (Thanks to the cousin for that talking point!)
4. It's alright to fail; its not alright to be a failure - to fall and get up is one thing; to fall and stay down is a completely different thing.
5. Laugh at EVERYTHING - anything you find remotely funny needs to be laughed at. Take a moment each day to be silly. Laughter is a cure all for both depression and stress. You see, while you're laughing, your mind is focused solely on whatever it is that is making you laugh. The complex thought processes that are stressing and depressing you can not co-exist with laughter. Thus, the more you laugh, the less time you spend beating yourself up over past failures and the quicker you get back on the path of conquering the world.
I don't have all the answers for every situation; I'm just telling you what helped me. Hopefully it'll help you. In the end, always remember to never let any level of defeat stop you! It's only over when you die... And I've heard stories of people coming back from that so... I guess its never over. Keep smiling!
Old for New
Alright, I'm gonna connect two things that don't have any connection whatsoever so... read the entire post!
You ever heard of the term "old for new"? Its something you might here an older person say when describing how the latest punishment of a person may seem too severe for their most recent wrongdoing; The person is getting heavily punished for all the old stuff they did even though the new "crime" wasn't really that bad. Example: You're 15 years old and you break your 10 o'clock curfew. Your mother comes downstairs and LOOSES CONTROL ON YOU! What you didn't know is that 2 weeks ago, your school had called her cell phone and told her that you have been late to school every day this year... and SHE drops you off... Yeah... She's been holding that in for a while now - Old for new. Example 2: Michael Vick did the "Ron Mexico" stuff, allegedly had weed in his water bottle at the airport, and murdered people on the football field (sorry, I couldn't resist). When he got caught up with the dogfighting ring, rather than getting some rehab and a slap on the wrist like MOST celebs of his caliber would have gotten, he gets prison time. They made sure to make up for the other stuff he should have went down for - Old for new.
Why did I start thinking about this, you ask? I was reading this article about an accused cop killer and, a lil more than half way down the article, they started going into his legal records... He started out by bringing a knife to school at 10 and has been having legal troubles ever since. I said to myself at that point "even if this guy DIDN'T kill the cop, which he more than likely did, he is going DOWN!" But that thought doesn't make sense... If he didn't do the crime, should he be punished for being perceived as a "bad" person? Isn't it possible that he may have changed his life for the better since the last time time he appeared in court?
And then I got to thinking... We do this to people in relationships ALL THE TIME!
Honestly ask yourself this question, if you've been in multiple relationships where lying was the norm, wouldn't that alter how you deal with the new person? Wouldn't you at least watch them with a more careful eye even though they hadn't done anything? Let's get extreme but real at the same time: Is it fair to become suspicious of the new person who chooses to keep their phone locked just because the last person had messages from other people they were "getting to know" when they were currently in a relationship with you? Does the new person get screamed at about taking too long to get home because the last person used "working late on a project" time to cheat? Is the new person automatically accused of lying about wanting to wait a while to get to know you before they allowed you in their home because the last person who didn't invite you over immediately for "late night rendezvous" had another family? Its kinda sad, but we often harshly punish the new person for a new "crime" that they may not even be guilty of because of repeat offenders who have gotten away with old "crimes" that have occurred in our past.
So how do we fix this? How long do we give somebody the benefit of the doubt for all this questionable activity? I say use the number 2 for new people. 2 months is about the time that it takes to differentiate what's a part of a person's every day lifestyle/character and what is just an act of kindness/foolishness done by that person at a particular moment in time. Please understand that learning from your past is ABSOLUTELY necessary; just remember not to allow your past to consume your thought process and, as a result, destroy your future.
You ever heard of the term "old for new"? Its something you might here an older person say when describing how the latest punishment of a person may seem too severe for their most recent wrongdoing; The person is getting heavily punished for all the old stuff they did even though the new "crime" wasn't really that bad. Example: You're 15 years old and you break your 10 o'clock curfew. Your mother comes downstairs and LOOSES CONTROL ON YOU! What you didn't know is that 2 weeks ago, your school had called her cell phone and told her that you have been late to school every day this year... and SHE drops you off... Yeah... She's been holding that in for a while now - Old for new. Example 2: Michael Vick did the "Ron Mexico" stuff, allegedly had weed in his water bottle at the airport, and murdered people on the football field (sorry, I couldn't resist). When he got caught up with the dogfighting ring, rather than getting some rehab and a slap on the wrist like MOST celebs of his caliber would have gotten, he gets prison time. They made sure to make up for the other stuff he should have went down for - Old for new.
Why did I start thinking about this, you ask? I was reading this article about an accused cop killer and, a lil more than half way down the article, they started going into his legal records... He started out by bringing a knife to school at 10 and has been having legal troubles ever since. I said to myself at that point "even if this guy DIDN'T kill the cop, which he more than likely did, he is going DOWN!" But that thought doesn't make sense... If he didn't do the crime, should he be punished for being perceived as a "bad" person? Isn't it possible that he may have changed his life for the better since the last time time he appeared in court?
And then I got to thinking... We do this to people in relationships ALL THE TIME!
Honestly ask yourself this question, if you've been in multiple relationships where lying was the norm, wouldn't that alter how you deal with the new person? Wouldn't you at least watch them with a more careful eye even though they hadn't done anything? Let's get extreme but real at the same time: Is it fair to become suspicious of the new person who chooses to keep their phone locked just because the last person had messages from other people they were "getting to know" when they were currently in a relationship with you? Does the new person get screamed at about taking too long to get home because the last person used "working late on a project" time to cheat? Is the new person automatically accused of lying about wanting to wait a while to get to know you before they allowed you in their home because the last person who didn't invite you over immediately for "late night rendezvous" had another family? Its kinda sad, but we often harshly punish the new person for a new "crime" that they may not even be guilty of because of repeat offenders who have gotten away with old "crimes" that have occurred in our past.
So how do we fix this? How long do we give somebody the benefit of the doubt for all this questionable activity? I say use the number 2 for new people. 2 months is about the time that it takes to differentiate what's a part of a person's every day lifestyle/character and what is just an act of kindness/foolishness done by that person at a particular moment in time. Please understand that learning from your past is ABSOLUTELY necessary; just remember not to allow your past to consume your thought process and, as a result, destroy your future.
Random "racial wealth gap" thoughts
So news about racial wealth disparity has begun to float around the internet... I read it... Shook my head... And then proceeded to carry on with my day.
Yes, it did bother me. Why then, you ask, did I take is so nonchalantly then? Because its the same old story that's been plaguing the minorities since we marched on Washington the FIRST time and asked for JOBS instead of asking businesses. And yes, while we're talking about it, we have come a long way. We have a "Black" President (who will systematically go down in history as the most ineffective President that this nation has EVER had thanks to the GOP who will refuse to go along with anything that he says, even if its their own idea. The "nation" will pin this economic failure, that is bound to happen, solely on him and then say to the one black president we've ever had "never again"... But that's another story.) But nothing has changed when it comes to the financial structure of our nation - the "Haves" get more and the "Have Nots" have even less.
To get money these days, you need to have money. You need to be smart about buying bonds and stocks, have the money to purchase enough of them to the point where it matters, possibly have your own business, AND your house needs to be paid for. I personally don't know many of ANY minority in that position.
So we are now in a position where we either extend our families, which most of us can't/won't do, or commence a full fledged assault on the service sector to fill the void created by the recently departed illegal immigrants who began running away as these new immigration laws loom. Let's see: service jobs, a set amount of food money food stamps after being unemployed (aka rations), living with the entire family under one roof... Sounds a lil bit like somethin else to me... But maybe I'm reaching. Lol.
There is always hope though... I'm optimistic that, by some strange random act of kindness from God, things will get better soon for those of us in the middle that are fighting hard not to sink beneath that poverty line... And that hope alone is enough reason to keep pushing for better.
The Work Out Kid
This 10 year old lil fella embarrasses most of us with his work ethic. No weights - just the will and drive to exercise to a degree that most of us adults probably couldn't keep up with. Every day this guy is going at it with an almost religious dedication to the performance push-ups, crunches, lunges, burpees, etc. Its garnered some attention... enough attention to get him his own personal workout video for kids. Watch the video and then ask yourself this question: How's that couch feel?
Full original story
Meet Billie Board
So... I hang around some very talented people (some might even say I'm talented myself...) Now its time I introduced you to yet another one of these talented people...
MEET BILLIE BOARD
I got the opportunity earlier this year to work with the homeboy BillieBoard and let me tell ya... Saying "the fella is good at what he does" is an understatement. Check out the video.
As promised... a few of the shots from the shoot appear after the jump... along with contact info for the photographer.
The Dark Knight Rises Trailer
The title speaks for itself. I don't know many people who don't wanna see the end of this series. Its one of the few times a comic book movie has been done very well. At any rate, check out the trailer below.
Sidenote: The trailer honestly wasn't too interesting, but I guess it gets the job done of developing some sort of interest... Maybe they'll do better the next time.
Sidenote: The trailer honestly wasn't too interesting, but I guess it gets the job done of developing some sort of interest... Maybe they'll do better the next time.
Swimming from Cuba to the Florida Keys
I don't care what type of mid life crisis I'm going through... I couldn't do this. 103 MILES?! That is a LOT for ANYONE! Let alone someone at 61 years old... But Diana Nyad's done stuff like this before... and she's an excellent, award winning, long distance swimmer. On that note, I wanna see it done; I wanna see her do it. I hope she conquers this great feat. It would be a truly inspiring achievement. At any rate, check out video below.
Are They Interested?
The past few days I've been having conversations with numerous different friends about relationships and one reoccurring theme kept popping up: No one knows exactly how to get into a relationship.
(Sidenote: This story is part two to The Backburner Person)
Gone are the days of passing notes that say "Will you go with me?" We now live in a world clouded with ambiguity and mixed signals; where you can be best friends with the opposite sex, have sex with them on a fairly consistent basis, provide all the emotional support (and sometimes financial) that a girlfriend/boyfriend is supposed to provide and STILL be considered as "the homie." Its absolutely crazy.
I hit the homeboy up the other day to talk some business and, after that was taken care of, we started talking about women we knew... and then the question came out: "I mean, how do get a girl to really like you?" He asked it as kind of a rhetorical question and continued talking... But the crazy thing is, as I listened, I couldn't help but stop and think "Wait... How DO you get a girl to REALLY like you?" We've all been taught to play the game; Wait a few days before you call. Don't seem too anxious. Never sweat the small stuff aka "they ain't call me back as quick as I want them to," etc. We've been taught how to be sexy in an effort to make someone lust after what society deems as "fine." But, while those things may trick someone into gravitating toward you with feelings of infatuation from the need to have the best and most attractive, seemingly uninterested individual on the planet, eventually you have to stop that foolishness, come back to reality, start being yourself (as no one can keep up that "uninterested" act for over 3 months if they really ARE interested), and that person has to deal with the real you - at which point you better either be ready to break up or have some substance and "spectacularness" to your personality and character. The sad part is... Most of us don't. We know how to interact over text and social networks but, in person, we're socially awkward. We might know the words to say to get us to the bedroom for a "monkey smang," but that's it. To be quite frank, most can't hold a deep conversation about anything that doesn't involve the music industry, sports or the latest episode of Single Ladies. In order to have something real, you have to start off real; say what you mean and mean what you say. Honestly, I do think, with confidence, well rounded-ness and the basic ability to express yourself, its easy to get somebody to really like you. The problem is recognizing who they are as they tend to look just like all the people who are playing like they like you...
Which leads us to our next question: How can you tell if someone is cautiously pursuing you, or if you're really on the back burner. Peep the video.
I must say, we were being foolish and that may not have been the best advice but, a person that wants to make a relationship work will reciprocate the effort that you put into the relationship and make a conscious effort to make you comfortable with gradually revealing more and more of your feelings while revealing feelings of their own. Once you have discerned to the best of your ability that the person may have genuine feelings, I think the best thing to do is put all the cards on the table. Tell the person what you want and hope to God they feel the same way. Its the only way to permanently get rid of all the guessing games - and the possibility of ending up as "the homie" aka a "best friend cut buddy" with no official title. Assuming one way or the other could prove to be detrimental.
(Sidenote: This story is part two to The Backburner Person)
Gone are the days of passing notes that say "Will you go with me?" We now live in a world clouded with ambiguity and mixed signals; where you can be best friends with the opposite sex, have sex with them on a fairly consistent basis, provide all the emotional support (and sometimes financial) that a girlfriend/boyfriend is supposed to provide and STILL be considered as "the homie." Its absolutely crazy.
I hit the homeboy up the other day to talk some business and, after that was taken care of, we started talking about women we knew... and then the question came out: "I mean, how do get a girl to really like you?" He asked it as kind of a rhetorical question and continued talking... But the crazy thing is, as I listened, I couldn't help but stop and think "Wait... How DO you get a girl to REALLY like you?" We've all been taught to play the game; Wait a few days before you call. Don't seem too anxious. Never sweat the small stuff aka "they ain't call me back as quick as I want them to," etc. We've been taught how to be sexy in an effort to make someone lust after what society deems as "fine." But, while those things may trick someone into gravitating toward you with feelings of infatuation from the need to have the best and most attractive, seemingly uninterested individual on the planet, eventually you have to stop that foolishness, come back to reality, start being yourself (as no one can keep up that "uninterested" act for over 3 months if they really ARE interested), and that person has to deal with the real you - at which point you better either be ready to break up or have some substance and "spectacularness" to your personality and character. The sad part is... Most of us don't. We know how to interact over text and social networks but, in person, we're socially awkward. We might know the words to say to get us to the bedroom for a "monkey smang," but that's it. To be quite frank, most can't hold a deep conversation about anything that doesn't involve the music industry, sports or the latest episode of Single Ladies. In order to have something real, you have to start off real; say what you mean and mean what you say. Honestly, I do think, with confidence, well rounded-ness and the basic ability to express yourself, its easy to get somebody to really like you. The problem is recognizing who they are as they tend to look just like all the people who are playing like they like you...
Which leads us to our next question: How can you tell if someone is cautiously pursuing you, or if you're really on the back burner. Peep the video.
I must say, we were being foolish and that may not have been the best advice but, a person that wants to make a relationship work will reciprocate the effort that you put into the relationship and make a conscious effort to make you comfortable with gradually revealing more and more of your feelings while revealing feelings of their own. Once you have discerned to the best of your ability that the person may have genuine feelings, I think the best thing to do is put all the cards on the table. Tell the person what you want and hope to God they feel the same way. Its the only way to permanently get rid of all the guessing games - and the possibility of ending up as "the homie" aka a "best friend cut buddy" with no official title. Assuming one way or the other could prove to be detrimental.
The "Backburner" Person
So I'm finally posting this video that we recorded in the first part of the year (hence the jackets that we're wearing). Me and one of my female friends had previously held a conversation about how today's society makes it quite difficult to date one person at a time. This is mainly because our generation has SO many options - from people we meet during daily interactions to the 50 million different social networks and dating sites that are offered. As a result, if you choose NOT to serial date, you run the risk of falling hard for someone you think is "The One" while you are only a possible option out of many options for them. We've all been victim of this behavior. You like them; they kinda like you... I personally don't like serial dating because somebody always gets hurt... and the LAST thing this society needs is more hurt people hurting people. Peep the video.
My advice: Don't lead someone on by putting them on the back burner until you make up your mind - put them in the "friend zone" and, for your sake, maybe they'll still be there if you choose them 6 months later. In fact, just don't go out with people you don't really like; its a waste of time, energy and money. The next part of the video will probably be posted shortly.
My advice: Don't lead someone on by putting them on the back burner until you make up your mind - put them in the "friend zone" and, for your sake, maybe they'll still be there if you choose them 6 months later. In fact, just don't go out with people you don't really like; its a waste of time, energy and money. The next part of the video will probably be posted shortly.
The Cell Phone Movie
And this is for the hopeless romantics out there... I guess there are some people who will go the distance for what could be love...
But honestly, the real reason I posted this was that the ENTIRE film was made using a cell phone video camera - the Nokia N8. Is that crazy or what? Apparently Nokia held a contest in which they were searching for who could make the best short film using only a cellphone camera; director JW Griffiths created this work of art for it. Goes to show, with time and a little "know how", amazing things can be done. The making of the film can be seen here if you're curious.
Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.
But honestly, the real reason I posted this was that the ENTIRE film was made using a cell phone video camera - the Nokia N8. Is that crazy or what? Apparently Nokia held a contest in which they were searching for who could make the best short film using only a cellphone camera; director JW Griffiths created this work of art for it. Goes to show, with time and a little "know how", amazing things can be done. The making of the film can be seen here if you're curious.
SuperGilles - The Performance
We met this guy a lil while ago... here he is live at his own concert/promotion party. Watch the video and enjoy.
Once again, you can download his promotional cd by clicking the DOPE photo below, you can get his app by scanning or clicking the bar code, you can follow him on Twitter by clicking HERE or go to his official webpage at www.supergilles.com
Once again, you can download his promotional cd by clicking the DOPE photo below, you can get his app by scanning or clicking the bar code, you can follow him on Twitter by clicking HERE or go to his official webpage at www.supergilles.com
Captain America
Raise your hand if you're tired of Superhero movies? I know I am. 2 reasons: 1) A lot of girls don't enjoy them - I like dates. 2) They tend to lack good writing and have boring/predictable plots (but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the explosions). That's why I've skipped the last few of them and I wasn't really looking forward to this one... Until I saw the second trailer. The first preview looked like more of the same "random guy who needs counseling jumping around in a ridiculous costume"... but this one actually makes the movie look like it may be worth watching.
Chasing after the heart of a woman
So Im reading online and come across this blog post. On it, the writer is questioning whether or not men are still interested in chasing women. After the questions, she just lets her readers flesh out the rest of the post with their comments and dialog between one another. One bit of conversation caught my attention because the homeboy had JUST complained of this behavior last night; that women want to be sweated for the sake of their ego/self esteem more than they want an actual relationship.
One male reader responded with this:
Are guys still interested in chasing women though? I think the problem with the chase is some women confuse being chased and pursued with being SWEATED. Some women like the attention that comes from giving your number out and never taking the guys calls, always flaking out on dates, playing games, etc. This makes some women feel like they are in DEMAND and gives them an ego boost. I think if you are interested in a guy, you should be receptive beyond just showing up for the date. I think the woman should reciprocate a conscious effort because if she doesn’t the guy will eventually wise up (no pun intended) and realize he is doing all the work and then probably move on.
A female reader responded to him and said this:
It is something to say for maturity. I’m not talking necessarily age, but mindset....Start off relatively small and work your way up. If she’s into you...she’ll have no problem reciprocating.
Personally, I feel like relationships should be like breathing - completely natural and fluid. The moment you start to feel like "if I don't call/text this person, we won't talk" is the same moment you might wanna re-evaluate the position that you might currently be in when it comes to that person's life. The last thing I would recommend to ANY individual is to be a consolation prize, "back-up plan" or "ego stroke" for someone who has no intentions of allowing you out of that much maligned area known as the friend zone - and that goes for both males and females.
On the flip side, you must consider how emotionally banged up most people are these days (again, both male and female). Oftentimes, people can be quite hesitant to let people into their inner circle just off the strength of your word; especially after being deceived by some of the worst people on this side of Hell. Things may not be as simple as they use to be when all you had to do is write "I like you, do you like me? Circle one: yes or no". This is something that HAS to be account for. With that being said, I think the REAL question that has to be raised here is not "are men tired of chasing", but instead, what are the motivations of the woman who is making the man chase and how long is long enough before she breaks the news to him - good or bad? We don't hate the chase; we hate the FRUITLESS chase. The whole purpose of the chase is the need to fulfill our hopes of eventually capturing the prize that we are after.
In the end, my advice to everyone who finds themselves in a situation like this is to.... wait... I don't really have any advice because it really just depends on the heart of the person you're chasing. I don't imagine a good person would intentionally string you along once they get an inclination of your intentions. I guess the best thing to do is to try to only attempt to date people who have high self esteem so you won't be needed as a "boost" and pray to God they don't have stupid friends in their ear giving them bad ideas about how to deal with the opposite sex.
Sometimes you just have to try...
Today, the thought popped into my head: "What REALLY happens to dreams deferred?!" I googled it to see what people had written about it... a blog appeared amongst the search results. After reading it, I peeped at a small quote listed above the author's self-portrait on her page. It said this:
“It’s impossible.” said pride. “It’s risky.” said experience. “It’s pointless.” said reason. “Give it a try.” whispered the heart.
This is a quote in the "about me" section of Judy Kinney on her blog titled"Live in the Heart of life". It moved me to say this: Even when its a road that's never been traveled on, a journey deep into the unknown, and you have no idea if you will be successful or not... sometimes you just gotta try - especially if its to get somethin that you've never had.
“It’s impossible.” said pride. “It’s risky.” said experience. “It’s pointless.” said reason. “Give it a try.” whispered the heart.
This is a quote in the "about me" section of Judy Kinney on her blog titled"Live in the Heart of life". It moved me to say this: Even when its a road that's never been traveled on, a journey deep into the unknown, and you have no idea if you will be successful or not... sometimes you just gotta try - especially if its to get somethin that you've never had.
Satisfying the Insatiable
As I walked in my office today, I was greeted by someone who I use to frequently talk to. He hit me with the "Man... we gotta do SOMETHIN!" I kind of knew where the conversation was going... I made light of it and keep it moving. As I ran up the stairs, it dawned on me: until you're happy within yourself, no amount of growth/blessing/success will ever satisfy you. As soon as you reach the level that you think will make you happy, you'll just want more. A negative outlook on life will serve as a locus that will eat away at time that you SHOULD be enjoying.
This man tried for YEARS to get this particular position within the company. He went to school, finished and began doing excellent in the job that he had before his promotion. The company then gave him a shot at this new position that he had desired for so long. A year hasn't passed yet and we're right back where we were: complaining with a hint of frustration from being unsatisfied with his current state.
Please note that I am by no means saying wallow at the bottom of the barrel and never attempt to strive for more. This post isn't about stifling your dreams and settling for mediocrity; it's about learning to have a positive and appreciative attitude and disposition WHEREVER you are so that your level of joy is not determined by the quality of your circumstances. There may be quite a few things that don't go according to your plan, but you must make a decision to NEVER let those disappointments lower the quality of your day to day life.
Happiness is a gift. It is a gift that many choose to forfeit by paying so much attention to the small things that aren't quite going perfectly. If you find life difficult and/or unfullfilling, take a few seconds every night to strictly reflect on everything that DID go right that day. Make room for happiness in your life by reducing the time spent focusing on disappointments. Or like the old William DeVaughn song says: "Just be thankful for what you've got".
This man tried for YEARS to get this particular position within the company. He went to school, finished and began doing excellent in the job that he had before his promotion. The company then gave him a shot at this new position that he had desired for so long. A year hasn't passed yet and we're right back where we were: complaining with a hint of frustration from being unsatisfied with his current state.
Please note that I am by no means saying wallow at the bottom of the barrel and never attempt to strive for more. This post isn't about stifling your dreams and settling for mediocrity; it's about learning to have a positive and appreciative attitude and disposition WHEREVER you are so that your level of joy is not determined by the quality of your circumstances. There may be quite a few things that don't go according to your plan, but you must make a decision to NEVER let those disappointments lower the quality of your day to day life.
Happiness is a gift. It is a gift that many choose to forfeit by paying so much attention to the small things that aren't quite going perfectly. If you find life difficult and/or unfullfilling, take a few seconds every night to strictly reflect on everything that DID go right that day. Make room for happiness in your life by reducing the time spent focusing on disappointments. Or like the old William DeVaughn song says: "Just be thankful for what you've got".
The Child Support Question...
This is a video from quite a while ago. The question raised is: Do you keep paying COURT ORDERED child support for a kid that you KNOW ain't yours? The subject of the initial story continued to do so. The children need role models and strong father figures, so spending time with the children is not what is in question. Remaining in the kid's life is a must, but do you keep letting the system take funds out of your paycheck? Now that's another question...
Your appearance matters
Below is a conversation that we had in the car on the way home one night a while ago. The conversation focuses on females who put their bodies on display to attract men. While appealing to the eyes, no man will take a girl who consistently dresses like a harlot to meet his mother and father. Different types of dress will get different types of attention from different types (read: varying qualities) of men. Women know how to be classy, fully clothed, and tastefully sexy - girls do not. Me personally? I prefer a woman with class and the mental capacity to understand that sex appeal is temporary - a good heart can last forever. If the person's heart isn't right, sex appeal becomes null and void the moment a you realize that the rest of what makes up the person is unbearable. At any rate, peep the video, understand the point we are trying to make, and excuse the brash language; we didn't use much tact while delivering this message.
BEWARE of Single Friends
Hadn't really sat down and wrote for a while... Partially because life has been so crazy. Nevertheless... I noticed something the other day. I noticed that a lot of great people are single because of the foolish mentalities of their very close single friend. I recognized I had a FEW of these in my life and, once I started making sure I didn't let their words carry too much weight (or stopped talking to them completely), my perspective on things changed TREMENDOUSLY. As a result, I was able to look at my actions and I began a thought process that rings true 99.9 percent of the time. It became evident that if you look at anyone long enough, you're bound to find at LEAST one thing wrong. At some point you have to stop.
An extremely critical eye can be quite detrimental to the cause while on the hunt for the "perfect" person. She's too tall, he's too short. She too fat, he's too skinny. Her feet are ugly, his feet are too small. She broke, he broke-er. She too serious, he play too much. The list could go on and on, but the truth of the matter is you're gonna have to accept SOMETHING. The trick is to determine who you are, what you need and what the absolute "deal breakers" are. This can be easily and quickly done... if you didn't have the "close single friend".
To help you recognize this person on your life, I'm gonna describe this person as I have seen and experienced them in the past.
Trait number 1: They are perpetually single.
Trait number 2: They complain about EVERYONE they meet AND everyone YOU meet (whether or not you're happy doesn't matter).
Trait number 3: They constantly remind you of what they "wouldn't deal with".
Trait number 4: Physical attraction is the end all and be all... And they make a note to point out everyone's flaws. (Note: ugly is never whassup, but "cute" and cool always beats gorgeous and evil.)
Trait number 5: They hook-up with people based on that superficiality and use that one wrong person's character flaws to justify their mentality once the relationship fails.
Trait number 6: They rarely stop to look in the mirror, do some introspection, and realize that they themselves aren't perfect.
Trait number 7: They tend to live by a "one strike and you're done" policy, which is one of the main catalyst behind trait number one.
I could be missing some things but, receiving counsel from a CLOSE single friend with the above traits will keep BOTH of you single...
There will be those who read this from top to bottom and disagree with me on everything. I want to express that I am not an advocate of settling; just an advocate of opening people's eyes to the fact that a person's CHARACTER is what is most important. Don't hook up with anything or anybody just to say you have somebody. Just make sure to take notice of a person's efforts. If the person is LEGITIMATELY trying, give them the benefit of the doubt.
An extremely critical eye can be quite detrimental to the cause while on the hunt for the "perfect" person. She's too tall, he's too short. She too fat, he's too skinny. Her feet are ugly, his feet are too small. She broke, he broke-er. She too serious, he play too much. The list could go on and on, but the truth of the matter is you're gonna have to accept SOMETHING. The trick is to determine who you are, what you need and what the absolute "deal breakers" are. This can be easily and quickly done... if you didn't have the "close single friend".
To help you recognize this person on your life, I'm gonna describe this person as I have seen and experienced them in the past.
Trait number 1: They are perpetually single.
Trait number 2: They complain about EVERYONE they meet AND everyone YOU meet (whether or not you're happy doesn't matter).
Trait number 3: They constantly remind you of what they "wouldn't deal with".
Trait number 4: Physical attraction is the end all and be all... And they make a note to point out everyone's flaws. (Note: ugly is never whassup, but "cute" and cool always beats gorgeous and evil.)
Trait number 5: They hook-up with people based on that superficiality and use that one wrong person's character flaws to justify their mentality once the relationship fails.
Trait number 6: They rarely stop to look in the mirror, do some introspection, and realize that they themselves aren't perfect.
Trait number 7: They tend to live by a "one strike and you're done" policy, which is one of the main catalyst behind trait number one.
I could be missing some things but, receiving counsel from a CLOSE single friend with the above traits will keep BOTH of you single...
There will be those who read this from top to bottom and disagree with me on everything. I want to express that I am not an advocate of settling; just an advocate of opening people's eyes to the fact that a person's CHARACTER is what is most important. Don't hook up with anything or anybody just to say you have somebody. Just make sure to take notice of a person's efforts. If the person is LEGITIMATELY trying, give them the benefit of the doubt.
Why do men cheat?
This fella answers the age old question: Why do men cheat? He hit on some good points. Its funny but what he's sayin is kinda real... Check it out and enjoy.
Where are your papers?
Watch this lady speak on the not so subtle racism behind the "We wanna see Barack Obama's birth certificate" aka the "Birthist" movement recently hyped up again by Donald Trump. Peep her perspective. Enjoy.
UrbanLax Radio Volume 3 Mixtape
So the homeboy just walked in and told me that I was on this mixtape. Im shocked. I have no words... Thank God for the exposure. Shout out to GQ over at 17th Realm for making this connection. The track I did is called "I'm Gonna". Hope you like it.
The mixtape is on DatPiff OR you can just click the picture above to download it.
1.Go Crazy-J Road ft Yung Tone
2.Day Dreaming-Jimmy Flint
3.You Ain’t seen-Raymonee
4.Cranberry Vodka-Illa
5.I’m on my Job- J.O. Hardworker
6.Terrorize-Young Scolla
7.Mean Swag Money-Willy J Peso ft. Travis Porter
8.Super High-B. Keyes ft JC
9.Motivated (Whip-Mix)-Whiplash ft. T-Pain
10.D. Rose-Nova and Dre Chi
11.Radar-I.D.
12.Hands on you-P8tience ft. Drey Skonie
13.The City-Ro Spit
14.Super Loops-RA
15.I’m Gonna-THE GM
16.C.E.O. of UrbanLax Speaks
Thank you UrbanLax Entertainment!
The mixtape is on DatPiff OR you can just click the picture above to download it.
1.Go Crazy-J Road ft Yung Tone
2.Day Dreaming-Jimmy Flint
3.You Ain’t seen-Raymonee
4.Cranberry Vodka-Illa
5.I’m on my Job- J.O. Hardworker
6.Terrorize-Young Scolla
7.Mean Swag Money-Willy J Peso ft. Travis Porter
8.Super High-B. Keyes ft JC
9.Motivated (Whip-Mix)-Whiplash ft. T-Pain
10.D. Rose-Nova and Dre Chi
11.Radar-I.D.
12.Hands on you-P8tience ft. Drey Skonie
13.The City-Ro Spit
14.Super Loops-RA
15.I’m Gonna-THE GM
16.C.E.O. of UrbanLax Speaks
Thank you UrbanLax Entertainment!
Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Episode 1
Raise your hand if you enjoy watching Michael Jae White crush people's faces on the big screen! Well, Kevin Tancharoen is doing some good work to try to make that happen again for us. After doing an excellent job with his short film called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, capturing the attention of Ed Boon (the creator of the MK series), and obtaining a budget, he is now at the point of releasing the first episode of a web-series titled "Mortal Kombat: Legacy". The videos will be released weekly on Tuesday. Check out the video. If you enjoy it, click like on their youtube video and hopefully they'll get the support they need to make it a full length film.
P.S. They have a video game coming to Xbox and PS3 on April 19th that's supposed to be taking to franchise back to its roots...
P.S. They have a video game coming to Xbox and PS3 on April 19th that's supposed to be taking to franchise back to its roots...
The Lebrons - Episode 1: Lions
This fella Lebron is tryin somethin new... Seems ok for now. Let's see what he's tryin to teach the kids....
HotDamnIRock Vents
This fella mighta said some real stuff here. Hear him out and support. Buy his comedy dvds and stuff. Watch it.
Like My Father
This is the homeboy, an up and coming actor/comedian, doing a monologue that he wrote...
Check out his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/ImJustBlack
and/or follow him on twitter at @KeithAllenHayes
At any rate, peep the video...
Check out his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/ImJustBlack
and/or follow him on twitter at @KeithAllenHayes
At any rate, peep the video...
Remembering Brian Eric Smith
Im re-posting this because a year ago today the homeboy Eric passed away. He's the guy in the back right on this video. RIP Brian Eric Smith.
Civilized talks... Number 2
Please excuse Savage's savage language (AGAIN)... Otherwise, enjoy! (or at least try to...)
HTC EVO 3D - The new "New" phone
Dont you hate how fast technology develops?!
Just when you thought you had the latest of the latest.... They drop the EVO 3D on you. Coming this summer with a SERIOUSLY powerful processor, the dual camera (1.3 megapixel in front and 5 megapixel on the back), a gigs worth of ram, 1080p video out, etc. It's said to be coming with 3D versions of Blockbuster and YouTube... but it's also said to be without its much beloved built-in kickstand. Anyways, that's all I know for now. I'm pretty sure some of you are mad since you just bought the old new phone.
Skinny Jeans Problem...
I have a dilemma... The problem is this: I love Levi's but they make the absolute FRESHEST designs for the skinny jeans; differently colored stitching, extra pockets, zippers, colors, grains/washes/materials, etc... This, my friend, is NOT whassup. I like my clothes to fit; not too big and definitely not too small. Fashion these days is making it almost impossible to do so. I'm a slim dude so the new European cut clothing and "skinny" jeans dont look bad on but I just cant bring myself to embrace it wholeheartedly. The jump is just a bit much for me.
How did we go from this:
To this:
It's unexplainable. I've tried to stay some where in the middle, but shopping ends up being something like a bad lab experiment with lots of field work. The thought process went from "how can I look cool without looking sloppy or having to use one hand to hold my pants up all day" to "how can I look cool without looking 'sexually questionable' or becoming completely androgynous". Its horrible.
The "regular fit" jeans have become completely bland; you have a choice of blue or... blue, with very slight variations. "Baggy" just looks retarded because all of the shirts becoming "fitted" and that's like wearing bell bottom jeans from the seventies with a Fubu football jersey, only in reverse.
Sidenote: These "fitted" shirts... Sigh... I don't know how I feel about the back of my shirt stretching whenever I reach down to tie my shoes... Large is the new medium and medium is the new small.
And so I am reduced to 3 choices:
1. Deal with the "Slim straight 514's" aka "skinny jeans without the taper at the ankle" and loose out on some of the better designs.
2. Buy skinny jeans 2 sizes bigger than normal so that they fit like regular jeans with a taper at the lower portion of the leg and look awesome with a pair of chucks.
3. Drive 45 minutes to the nearest mall that offers the new 520's aka "regular fit with the tapered leg" that I saw for the first time while doing this write up.
I will take option 3. No more stepping on the back of my pants when I'm wearing the Chuck Taylors. Not sloppy or effeminate - we have the middle ground: The Levi's 520 Jeans for men.
Sidenote: Levi's PAY ME FOR THIS ENDORSEMENT!!!
Here's hoping to God that they have more than the same plain/boring blue, dark blue, grey, and black they offer in the 514s and 569s. And if so... Problem solved.
How did we go from this:
To this:
It's unexplainable. I've tried to stay some where in the middle, but shopping ends up being something like a bad lab experiment with lots of field work. The thought process went from "how can I look cool without looking sloppy or having to use one hand to hold my pants up all day" to "how can I look cool without looking 'sexually questionable' or becoming completely androgynous". Its horrible.
The "regular fit" jeans have become completely bland; you have a choice of blue or... blue, with very slight variations. "Baggy" just looks retarded because all of the shirts becoming "fitted" and that's like wearing bell bottom jeans from the seventies with a Fubu football jersey, only in reverse.
WONT WORK
+
Sidenote: These "fitted" shirts... Sigh... I don't know how I feel about the back of my shirt stretching whenever I reach down to tie my shoes... Large is the new medium and medium is the new small.
501's are cool but I hate the button fly.
And so I am reduced to 3 choices:
1. Deal with the "Slim straight 514's" aka "skinny jeans without the taper at the ankle" and loose out on some of the better designs.
2. Buy skinny jeans 2 sizes bigger than normal so that they fit like regular jeans with a taper at the lower portion of the leg and look awesome with a pair of chucks.
3. Drive 45 minutes to the nearest mall that offers the new 520's aka "regular fit with the tapered leg" that I saw for the first time while doing this write up.
I will take option 3. No more stepping on the back of my pants when I'm wearing the Chuck Taylors. Not sloppy or effeminate - we have the middle ground: The Levi's 520 Jeans for men.
Sidenote: Levi's PAY ME FOR THIS ENDORSEMENT!!!
YES, WE HAVE A WINNER!
Here's hoping to God that they have more than the same plain/boring blue, dark blue, grey, and black they offer in the 514s and 569s. And if so... Problem solved.
You have unlimited ability
Check this video out. This fella is talking with some good sense and it motivated me further to change my mentality. Watch the video and remember this quote "If you perform failure actions... you will get failure results." That was funny and a lil too real for me at the same time... But he's right. If you don't believe you can do it, you won't be able to. I will post another video tomorrow from when I had gone to see the movie Limitless earlier in the week. In it I was speaking on something that goes well with this topic: motivation. A lot of times, life beats us down so much so that we begin to settle for the current circumstances that we are in and accept that as our permanently reality; It is not. It can be changed... And, if you shift your mentality and believe, it WILL be changed.
Know when to quit...
This is terrible, shocking, slightly frightening, and some have found it amusing all at the same time. They're calling it the "Battle for Australia: Naruto VS Zangief". And the moral of the story is... know when to quit. Warning: Dont let your reaction to this video be too loud if you are at work.
The "Zero Waste" Lifestyle
I found this video on yahoo.com to be intriguing, amazing and strange at the same time. Could I do this? I look at my surrounding stores in my neighborhood and I start to think "How far would I have to drive to find a store that will allow me to walk in with an empty bottle and have them fill it up with milk?!" I really want to know where they live ad. Honestly. The farmers market is about a half hour away from where I am currently (gas is TOO high for all that extra gas) and, while they may allow me to use cloth bags, I doubt the milk jug thing would happen. Plus, what would I do without my FRUIT ROLL UPS AND KOOL-AID!!! LOL! On a serious note, this lifestyle is probably great for the environment... Maybe you should give it a shot... At any rate, peep the video below and feel free to comment (for a change).
Civilized talks with Savage... Number 1
Please excuse Savage's savage language... Otherwise, enjoy! (or at least try to...)
What IS typical?!
Saw this online and found it kind of interesting... not because of my interest in who the most typical person is, but because of the other stuff that they said in the video. For example, the statement "The typical person has choices, but not all of us have the same ones..." really made think of how blessed I truly am; as I spent 30 minutes last night debating which shirt I was gonna wear with which pair of shoes and whether I was gonna wear the matching hat or not (Normally I dont take that long but I was planning on going out tonight after work). At any rate, you get the point. Check the video out and enjoy.
The Gas is TOO High!
This article speaks of something that could single-handedly save the American economy by producing fuels that could power jets, cars, trucks, etc. This discovery, if all of the claims prove to be true, would reduce our dependence on outside sources for barrels of oil and possibly lower these ridiculous prices that gasoline seems to be on its way to. Joule Unlimited is the company that is involved in the this process which CO2, sun, water and a "genetically-engineered" fuel secreting organism to create this fuel. One can only imagine the possibilities if this dream becomes reality. I won't say much more... but for the sake of our nation's financial well being, I do hope and pray that this becomes real really fast.
Chinese Magician Trains Goldfish
Don't worry about the fact that you wont be able to understand anything that the people are saying... THE TRICK IS AWESOME!!! I don't know how this fella is doing it. The word on the internet is that there is some animal cruelty going on that deals with magnets or electromagnetic currents or something. If is does involve any type of animal cruelty then this is absolutely AWFUL... but this guy really as learn how to train these fish I have but one word to say: Wow.
Dre and Brown
Chillin with Dre Phantom and Barracuda Brown. Click here to view the old interview video (from 2009 I think...):
I just DONT like you... Period.
This is an old video from the same night as the previous post and the just of it is...
Sometimes... There is no deep explanation.
I wonder if the lady I like, likes me....
or do I just need to be understanding.... LOL! Whatever..........
or do I just need to be understanding.... LOL! Whatever..........
Enjoy the video!
Dating outside your tax bracket
This video below is terrible... I admit it... But it is also terribly funny... Its an old video from a few years ago. There was a website floating around back then which was showing all of the black male stars that were dating/married inter-racially that brought up this conversation. A few women in the office had a small problem with it. When I got home, I got out the camera and me and the homeboy had a conversation about it. And while I may have made a few good points, my mentality has slightly changed over the past couple years. You marry who you love because you love them; no other reason. It doesn't matter their color, shape, size or financial well being if the love is real (and that's a BIG if...).
What I can say is this: below the Mason Dixon line where slavery was a lil more prevalent, the culture is a lil different than that of most other areas. I'd imagine it's partially due to the lingering effects of past prejudices against african american people by the majority race. Most of us, both black and white, who were raised down south, were taught to "stick with your own kind". Cant say it was the best of advice because we can learn a lot from each other, but considering black men were getting beat half to death for looking a white woman too long under two generations ago, it seemed like a good idea not to date them. Im pretty sure the famous boxer Jack Johnson would cosign the notion that dating outside of the race back in the day wasn't necessarily the best thing to do if you wanted to continue your career (he was arrested for taking a white woman across state lines to do what grown-ups do. I think he later married the woman if Im not mistaken). If you just so happen to marry someone of a different ethnicity because you cant get any love from your own people, or you're in different circle due to your career, or that's just what you're attracted to, DO YOU!!! And don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise. Love has no face.
In certain parts of the hood you will still hear black mothers telling their sons "don't you bring no white woman home!!!" And Im pretty sure, in homes in the back woods of the south, you still have some white fathers telling their daughters not to date a "n*gger". (Please believe there are parts of Mississippi and South Carolina that you better not stroll through alone at night.) Depending on how old you are, your grandparents may have their (VERY SERIOUS) gripes about your relationships but they will be just fine.
The question is... can you blame a black woman for being upset if the story goes: date hoodrat black woman; date classy black woman and have baby; hit millionaire status; marry hoodrat white woman and make her sign a prenupt... ?!? I don't know... But if it's real, and the black women in the life of the black male "star" are just messing up, and he cant find a good woman in his tax bracket, you cant hate on love. Whatever works, just let it be.
At any rate, watch the video. Im done rambling.
What I can say is this: below the Mason Dixon line where slavery was a lil more prevalent, the culture is a lil different than that of most other areas. I'd imagine it's partially due to the lingering effects of past prejudices against african american people by the majority race. Most of us, both black and white, who were raised down south, were taught to "stick with your own kind". Cant say it was the best of advice because we can learn a lot from each other, but considering black men were getting beat half to death for looking a white woman too long under two generations ago, it seemed like a good idea not to date them. Im pretty sure the famous boxer Jack Johnson would cosign the notion that dating outside of the race back in the day wasn't necessarily the best thing to do if you wanted to continue your career (he was arrested for taking a white woman across state lines to do what grown-ups do. I think he later married the woman if Im not mistaken). If you just so happen to marry someone of a different ethnicity because you cant get any love from your own people, or you're in different circle due to your career, or that's just what you're attracted to, DO YOU!!! And don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise. Love has no face.
In certain parts of the hood you will still hear black mothers telling their sons "don't you bring no white woman home!!!" And Im pretty sure, in homes in the back woods of the south, you still have some white fathers telling their daughters not to date a "n*gger". (Please believe there are parts of Mississippi and South Carolina that you better not stroll through alone at night.) Depending on how old you are, your grandparents may have their (VERY SERIOUS) gripes about your relationships but they will be just fine.
The question is... can you blame a black woman for being upset if the story goes: date hoodrat black woman; date classy black woman and have baby; hit millionaire status; marry hoodrat white woman and make her sign a prenupt... ?!? I don't know... But if it's real, and the black women in the life of the black male "star" are just messing up, and he cant find a good woman in his tax bracket, you cant hate on love. Whatever works, just let it be.
At any rate, watch the video. Im done rambling.
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