QOTD
“Being black in America today, is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one’s chances of finding a job.”
June 15, 2009
May 31, 2009
Friends like these
A scintillating series by the NBA’s MVP was washed away by his not-so-supporting cast, as the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated Saturday night with a 103-90 loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The basic skills in basketball is to put the ball in the hoop and rebound the ball when it doesn’t go in for you. People are paid millions of dollars and put in hours of practice over years to obtain and refine these fundamental skills. In any other industry, if you can’t perform the basic skills of your job, you would be fired. As my brothers and I discussed over the Memorial Day weekend, Lebron’s teammates basically abandoned him by not executing the basic skills of basketball and as far as I can see I don’t think his teammates have the personality to take their elimination as a wake-up call to improve in the offseason so that when needed, they will perform as expected. This then makes for a big question mark for Lebron in Cleveland because without one consistent alternative scorer/defender/rebonunder … it is extremely unlikely that they will ever win a championship.
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James skips out on reporters after Game 6 loss
Teaching Copyright
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about legal rights and responsibilities in the digital era. This is especially disconcerting when it comes to information being shared with youth. Kids and teens are bombarded with messages from a myriad of sources that using new technology is high-risk behavior. Downloading music is compared to stealing a bicycle — even though many downloads are lawful. Making videos using short clips from other sources is treated as probably illegal even though many such videos are also lawful.
Valuable information we should all know and understand.
May 19, 2009
Temptee with your Bagel
Alcohol is usually blamed for causing stomachaches, not relieving them. But the infused liquors known as digestifs are stomach-settling miracles after a heavy meal because of the soothing properties of their herbal mixtures. They are a touch sweet, intensely flavored, and often served chilled and sipped slowly.
Engage
[A]n abridged timeline of events established in the group of television shows and feature films set in the fictional Star Trek universe. Many dates are estimates as the various shows and films are not consistent in their use of dates.
A neat way to organize how all the captains and their starships on the Star Trek Continuum relate to each other.
Spoil the Rod
That means cars and trucks on American roads will have to become smaller, lighter and more efficient
Right On! While I am not a driver and I enjoy a big ride to take into account my 6 foot plus frame I think that Mr. Obama has made the right decision here. The World has changes dramatically in the last decade and we Americans have got to change our attitudes with it. We cannot sustain our past in the present. One of the hardest adaptations we will have to make will be in our “car culture”. But it it is a change we will have to make. It is also one that we won’t be able to make on our own which again, is why I applaud Mr. Obama for prodding us into it. I’m sure several years down the road we won’t know why we ever complained and what was so hard about the change.
May 10, 2009
Photon Torpedoes Armed and Ready
I’m an old, old Star Trek fan. Not a Trekkie but a real Star Trek fan. I have memories of watching the original series as far back a nine years old. I’ve watched every episode of the original series, as well as the Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise. I skipped Deep Space Nine though … a story about a stationary outpost went against the whole “trek” paradigm for me). I’ve also watched every movie and have the DVDs to prove it. (Most were good, a couple were … OK, none sucked.)
With all this history, I stepped into the theatre with high hopes. I kept my exposure to reviews and previews to a minimum because I wanted to go in with as virgin a mind as possible. Still, movie adaptations tend to disappoint me more then excite, so I also went in with my mind prepared for it to be a flop. Well, after two plus hours, I exited the theatre deciding that it ranks as one of the top films of the Star Trek movie franchise. Hats off to JJ Abrams for his integration of all that Trek history into a story that deepens the original series’ icons in a way that is compelling yet leaves enough to the imagination how the crew gets from the movie’s time line to that of the original series. He also drops in enough references from the TV series’ and movies to keep a true Trek fan happy. My only quips are and without revealing too much about the story are that the villain was not very interesting and the romance angle was a bit flat. Still it made for a great Sunday matinee. It is sure to be one of this summer’s blockbusters. Already can’t wait to add the DVD to my collection.
Star Trek | Official Movie Site | In Theaters May 7 2009 | Star Trek Movie
Kumbaya?
“Now you get the head nod, or a smile that you just didn’t get a year or two ago,” he added. “For me, it was like, ‘I’m not even going to acknowledge this black person.’ They’d just keep on their merry way. But now, I get acknowledged.
Maybe it’s just me (and in full disclosure I just finished watching Invasion) but the folks they interviewed for this article seem to have be from another planet. I’ve lived in some of the palest cities in the US and have always people at least give the “friendly” nod on the street. To me that is the problem. With all the talk about a post-racial America, not much to me has seemed to change beyond that nod or small talk at the game. My issues is that there doesn’t seem to be a honest effort to go deeper than that. It seems like people feel that just saying “hi” on the bus or “talking sports” at the water cooler means that all’s good. We are in the words of one Rodney King, “getting along.” Again, maybe it’s just me, maybe I have a darker view of the world but it seems that racism is alive and well in America, it’s just that it’s more tacit, more quiet more inscrutable and that to me makes it more scary.
April 27, 2009
Ever wonder why the Black guy is the first to die?
Blacks and Hispanics lag behind whites for higher-paying jobs at the largest rates in about a decade as employment opportunities have dwindled during the nation’s economic woes and housing slump.
As most people of color already know … when times get tough racism is always the first tool of choice for our paler brothers and sisters.
April 25, 2009
Info Overload
Blogging today, is not the same as it was 5 years ago. In the early days of blogging, it served as much as mini social networks as a publishing tool. Many used blogs as a way to communicate with family and friends. I don’t see that as the case any longer. Social Networks have become the primary means of keeping in touch with those close to you.
Cuban’s post has put me in a reflective mood as to my own blogging. But he is definitely right that blogging is not the same as it use to be. I still try to blog consistently but I also have a Friendfeed account as well a Facebook page and Twitter feed (which I rarely use). I like them all (except Twitter) for different reasons and I think they satisfy different urges. I need to sit down and think deeply at how I want to proceed with them.