Baby making Music is back!! [From the Blackberry Chronicles]

Folks, I did something unheard of. Something that I admit I haven't done in an age................... I purchased an album!!!!...........on compact disc!!!!......the week it dropped!!!........and paid for it with my own money!!....and didn't even use a coupon, voucher or credit. That may sound normal to you guys, but for me, that's as bewildering and bazaar as it gets. Don't get too alarmed, I actually purchased it online.

Sidenote: in a matter of un-shocking irony, I actually went to Virgin Megastore Union square to buy it only to find it closed, out of business for good. Not exactly Mr. cnn.com now am I?

The last albums I actually paid for were:
Miscellaneous capoera cd's
Lauren Hill's MTV unplugged
rnb's "Green Note"
Several artists I know personally
Tweet's first album
..........Lover's Rock?
MJ's number ones and Invincible (the week they dropped, not the last fanatic past few weeks).

Ironically around the time I got my first ipod, cd burning became easier than making pie and I discovered downloading and ripping music.

So why am I going to buy not one, but FOUR albums this year? Four of my favorite singers are coming back!

Phase one: Maxwell - Blacksummers' Night
On a scale of one to ten......I like it a lot. Idunno if anyone feels the same but when I first heard this album I was disappointed. About two weeks later, I absolutely loved it. Same reaction I had the first time I heard his first single Pretty Wings (which ironically I think is one of the most Maxwellian song on the album) I was upset at first that he doesn't have any songs sung entirely in "The Maxwell note" but he does hit it periodically, sprinkled throughout the album you just have to find it. Coincidentally, "Playing Possum" is currently my favorite song.

Sidenote: Seasoned Maxwell fans know exactly what I mean by "The Maxwell note". That harmonized high F. MJ has his "heeee hee!!!" Prince has that.....broken flute/dear/exotic rain forest bird call-like sound, Al green has his signature note. However let's assume some of you don't have all 4 of his albums, and the MTV unplugged live album. Maxwell's trademark falsetto debuts the note in the opening of "Ascension" and in most songs, but to hear a song sung entirely in the note, check out "Reunion," "eachhoureachsecondeachminuteeachday.." (great song, one of his worse videos, but floating around in space is probably what sums Embrya up best), "This Woman's Work" the original live version, not the album version.

Sidernote: I was annoyed at Love and Basketball for making "Womans work" mainstream. How you take a song about pain and make a love scene out of it (very tastefully done love scene, nonetheless)?? It was my hidden gem that only a few fans knew about. The album version is inferior to Maxwell's live version and the video did not do the song nor Kate Bush justice. Leave it to Maxwell....always floating all over the fucking place........sorry, its one of my favorite songs of all time. I get a little passionate.

Montage from "She's Having a baby":


Kate Bush' Video:


Phase two: Genuine is Back!!! "A Man's Thoughts" Gotta muster up the mojo to purchase that album. Two in a row? SHEESH!

Phase Three: Joe!! "Signature" - This is tough work here. What ever happened to baby steps?

Phase Four: (most exiting of all) The band Sade is working on their new ablum (many ppl don't realize that the artist name is actually the name of the entire band, let alone that she even has a band).

Sidenote: She is one of my favorite singers and lyricists of all time. I'd love to see a hip hop style freestyle battle btwn Sade and Badu with song lyrics. I think it would be hot.

Not that I don't mind Jerimiah and the Dream's "bust-a-nut"/stumped toe music (aaaaah!!! Aah ah aaaah!!) but I welcome the return of real soulful artists.

WARNING!!!!! Exercise extreme caution! Playing these artists around the opposite sex may result in intense physical contact, love making and or pregnancy.

Sent via Raphael  "I am Raphael Charles and I approve this message"

Meep Meep!! [From the Blackberry Chronicles]

Sidenote: Does anyone know why the hell is the Coyote chasing the RoadRunner? Is he hungry? Is there some hidden episode that I've never seen that explains the genesis of this rivalry?


Why is it human to pursue that which eludes us? Wealth, cars, the opposite sex, opportunity? Why?

Sidenote: I'm not exactly the type of guy that ladies fling themselves at but I find it funny that in the 2.5 yrs I was in my last relationship, I had more offers thrown at me than any other time in my life.

...........That's it! I'm asking you all, literally. This is not a rhetorical question. I'm broke on this subject right now. Feel free to share your $0.02.

Sent via Raphael  "I am Raphael Charles and I approve this message"

More signs of the hood

Previously on "My $0.02"......... "How do I Identify if I'm in the Hood or Not?" [from The Blackberry Chronicles]

In subsequent conversations, I realized there are a handful of hood iconography that slipped passed my initial diagnosis. Feel free to expound and share any that may come to your mind that you feel I may have overlooked. Some additional supplementary "hood" marquees....................

• You have family, friends and associates who visit you or give you money to get them hair products that they themselves cannot find readily accessible in their own neighborhood.

Sidenote: Most commercial/chain supermarkets and pharmacies aaaaall have what I like to call the "HEY IM BLACK!!" section in the hair aisle, where you suddenly see all the black faces on the boxes, "Dark n Lovely," that one line of shampoo that pantene makes for black ppl in the brown bottle (very subtle pantene) "Sulfer 8," "Dr. Miracle" (shout out to Iman, my former student/classmate who's actually "Jr. Miracle") and du rags. However, if you want some motions, pomade, Jam, creme of satan....I mean nature or any type of locking products.....you know where you have to go. Shout out to Carrol's Daughter....I'm not big on endorsements, but I rocks with CD.

• You can listen to, hear and distinguish gunshots from fire crackers and car crashes. Bonus points if you can identify the caliber just by the sound, e.g. "Was that a 22? Naw, that was a 3.8. Didn't you hear the echo?"
• If you've ever come home to find a group of ppl you don't know chilling in front of your home, sitting on your steps or your car, and look at YOU like "what are you doing here?"
  
• This is a big one and I don't know how I missed this before. It's so big that comedian Dave Chappelle even mentioned it in his stand up act. If it is late late late at night, and no one else is in the street, and you see a little child or a group of children just chilling. Don't be worried about the child, he is probably the most dangerous person out there. Only in the hood do you see little kids in the streets at the most un-Godly hours of the night like nothing is wrong. If you're not from the hood, I would be more worried for you than for them.

That's all I remember for now. Feel free to add more that I may have missed.

Apology blog :(

It's a cliche, every blogger does it at one point or another, and I always say to myself "oh shut up you're not that important".........but then I feel a moral, literary obligation to my.....whopping 7 followers, 2.5 ghost followers.......and Karen Phillips :) So here goes...........[sigh] "SORRY FOR MY HIATUS GUYS" :/

Seriously, I thought for a second, "I'm not that important" (but lets be real, of course I didn't REALLY believe that, I'm just taking a stab at modesty) but the response and feedback I've been getting over the last month has really been overwhelming. More like complaints, like "dude wheres my new blog?" One of my favorites, "so I checked out your blog and I noticed you ha vent put up anything new in a while...I'm just saying.....I'm not saying anything, its just an observation" Dr. KH!! [wishing this blog had emoticons right about now]

But the straw that broke the writers block was "Camille A. Ward Can I PUH - LEASE get a new blog post? geeshe, over a month my friend... Thanks ; )"

A month?!!?! I didn't even realize its been that long. Writing has always been an escape/vent/release for me so I still been at it (its as much a necessity in my life as doing laundry or grocery shopping is to everyone) but I haven't been on the comp much. This week I'll be emailing them to myself and posting so look out for the "Blackberry Chronicles."

FYI/TMI, one week I get the news that one of my best friend's mother passed away. Week later is the wake (same day MJ passed so that hasn't even phased me yet). Next day my Godfather passed away. A week later was his funeral (wake the night before). And after mourning the ppl I actually know, MJ's service memorial was this week. So I been dealing with death for 4 consecutive weeks!...........and subsequently writing about it.

I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback, comments and complaints. Everything that happens, my brother say "you should write about it in your blog," and in addition, I get quoted and comments from ppl who I never knew were readers. So thanks for checking in on My $0.02 and all the responses and comments (seasoned readers know exactly where I'm going with this)............................................................................ SO IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR YALL POST THOSE COMMENTS ON THE #*&#!@$(#^^#&*)$!*!%'ING BLOG??!?!?! SHEESH!! LMAO!!!!

2 for 1!!
In addition to the absent letter/disclaimer, see directly below, the first installment of "The Blackberry Chronicles"....... even though I've done that before but.....enjoy :-D

"How do I Identify if I'm in the Hood or Not?" [from The Blackberry Chronicles]

Prologue: I loathe the term......or rather misuse of the term "GHETTO." The common or rather collective, normative (same shit, but I like all those words and couldn't decide which one to use) usage today is thrown around to mean "cheap, inexpensive, half-assed, make shift" and even worse but basically "negative." I won't get into the whole eptimology, but prior to the 20th century, "ghetto" meant (short-end) a low end community comprised of a specific ethnic group, and more commonly associated with Jews in Europe (look it up yourself). So post civil rights movement (which I think did as much damage to black ppl as it did good, but thats another conversation), industrialization compiled with the proliferation of the highway matrix/suburbanization/"white flight," the term "ghetto" has been stripped down is now associated primarily with blacks, poverty, and violence. Not everyone in the ghetto is black, poor or violent, so I hate the umbrella grouping associated with the word. So when I refer to a poor violent neighborhood, I typically use the term "hood" (a hybrid derivative of "hoodlum" and "neighborhood").....[dismounts from soapbox A, gets on soapbox B]

With this mass gentrification/ reverse exodus going on nationwide (naaaah homie its not just your hood) many "hoods" are turning around and becoming trickier and trickier to identify these days. This is a good thing however this can be very dangerous. Many "hoods" these days are not as easily identifiable as the blatant hooditry of the 80's and 90's (i.e. Crack vials, abandoned buildings, crackheads and homeless ppl rampant, thugs posted up on the corner, ppl drinking 40's and other liquor right in the street, etc). Rather than large masses and clusters of hood, we're seeing more and more common, patches with a chance of scattered hood in the forecast. You could live in a really nice house in a decent neighborhood........and have that one suspect house on the corner. You can live on a really nice block......just don't cross one avenue east. Great community.....but walk three blocks down and you'd swear insurgents crossed the sea.

Folks, we're in a new era. Don't be fooled by the old signs of good neighborhoods.

Sidnote: White people walking through the ghetto alone at all hours of the night was the first sign that the ghetto was being turned around. Especially if they're walking a dog cus then you know they live nearby. But don't let that fool you. Just bc the Euro's are moving in... it's still pretty much Bedstuy, Harlem or [insert local hood thats being gentrified here]

Sidernote: I'm half joking, half serious from here on out.

So, what I've decided to do is put together a comprehensive list of iconic yet subtle signs so that when apartment hunting or visiting your friends, you too can identify whether you can listen to your mp3 player, or pull out the headphones and dial 911 and keep your thumb on "send." These hood landmarks have not changed in 30+ yrs regardless of who's in office or what economic cycle we're in. This has taken years of research and travel and investigatory investigation to compile. The thesis first hit me in the mid 90's when I returned to Brooklyn after spending a week in long island by my cousins. I noticed certain staples in the hood were unheard of in the suburbs and vice versa. Also, traveling city to city its harder to spot hoods; example, in NYC, project typology is tall brick buildings grouped together. In New Orleans and Connecticut, projects are a bunch of low rise buildings. In Cali and Tennessee, they have projects that look like NYC suburb houses....that is when no one is around.

Now don't get all alarmed and worried about your property value plummeting bc you recognize one or two things. Rule of thumb: you have to have at least 5 or more of these within a 2 block radius or strip to classify as a hood. 2 minute drive for more rural driver based communities.

The 10 Quintessential Iconic Marquees of a "Hood"
1. Check cashing places. Outside of a busy metropolitan area, you'd be hard pressed to find these unless in the hood. Typically bc of high immigration/lack of papers, ex-incarceration (the penal system in this country is SO cruel how non-violent convicts are treated upon release, but thats another conversation), bad credit, high rates and fees, tax evasion (stuffing the mattress) and a plethora of other factors (sometimes plain ol, "don't trust the system"), many ppl in the hood don't keep checking and savings account. The check cashing place is swamped Thursday through Monday with ppl dying to cash paychecks, pay bills, play lotto or wire money to family "back home".......a Caribbean epithet of endearment for back to our native country.
2. Hair SalonS/ BarbershopS. "Now wait a minute! Barbershops are everywhere!" That is true, but ask yourself can you stand on a particular corner and identify 5-10 barbershops and/or hair salons in visible range?
3. Korean shops. I decided to lump the "Korean vegetable store" and the "Korean variety store together." Add to the list Hair supply stores.......and nail salons.

Sidenote: It is a crying shame that so few black ppl are capitalizing on the collosal market that is black hair. I previously said "there are fewer procedures on earth, shy of surgery, more complicated than the black mans facial grooming ritual." Here you go. This is one of the most complex subjects.........sciences in the world. I know grown women who are older than me and know less than I've learned on my 11 yr journey of hair. Everything matters from what you eat, how you wash it, EVEN WHAT YOU SLEEP ON.

Sidernote: Give it up to the Korean pioneers that strong armed the black community and cornered all the markets of highest consumption in areas with low property value. They only missed out on one industry which leads to # 4

4. Bullet-proof chicken spots. Sidenote: This probably should have been number one, and as much as I hate to perpetuate stereotypes.......black ppl eat a lot of fricken chicken. I remember in college I use to go eat my home cooking by myself bc every time my classmates saw me I was eating chicken. But that's another conversation.
Every neighborhood has Chinese restaurants and wing spots, aka "wings n thangs," but when you see a 1/2 inch Plexiglas btwn you and the merchant, with some double windows or revolving drop box, congratulations your in the hood. I remember the first time I walked into a Chinese restaurant and there wasn't a foggy layer of plastic btwn us, I was shocked! Wings n thangs, aka "the A-rab spot," box chicken, or wing spots may come under the name of Kansas fried chicken, Kennedy fried, crown fried, royal fried, kantaky and even of late Obama fried (to much protest), basically any fried chicken that aint Kentucky, where you can get anything from fried chicken, bbq chicken, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, apple pie, ice cream, gyros, cheese fries, milkshakes, ice cream, cake and fish.......and salads. I'm just talking for NYC. Names vary from city to city. But what surprised me is that other cities serve in similar red and white boxes.

Sidenote: the A-rabs have the stronghold on oil in the middle east and oil in the black community. Crying shame that there's not one black person capitalizing off the distribution of chicken.

Sidernote: To help understand why black ppl rock with the bird so much, understand this. Chicken is a cooks blank canvas and its cheap. Idunno where the saying "tastes like chicken" comes from. Chicken doesn't taste like anything until you give it flavor. You can eat chicken 3 days in a row and have 3 entirely different meals. Wanna know how: baked chicken, stew chicken, jerk chicken, curry chicken, fried chicken, stir fry, bbq chicken, hot wings, chicken fingers, teriyaki, orange, pineapple, mango, grilled, etc. But I digress.

5. Storefront Churches. When you see what looks like it should be a store, a house, garage or apartment, and you see a "chuch" name as long as a bible passage itself, that is one of many chuches in the hood. Hood ppl love them some "chuch" and aren't limited to steeples and traditional church structures. Don't be surprised if you see someone posted in front of a van with a megaphone singing and sharing the gospel.

6. Bootleg movies. Like Jadakiss said "we in hood like bootleg movies." The bootleg is the answer to the age old question, "why pay $25 for the two of us to see a movie (yeah, NYC is ridic) when I can get it on dvd for $2-$5 (sacrificing some a/v quality) and watch it wherever, whenever we want?"

7. Liquor store. Typically a with a big yellow sign with black letters with creative names like "Liquor" or "Wines and Spirits." Very subtle.

8. (In some states) Gun stores....in close proximity to homes, churches and schools.

9. Pawn shops. There MAY be pawn shops in some good neighborhoods but A: I've never seen it
B: check again. They may be on the "border"

Sidenote: I'll never forget, I was in DC and I saw a Check Cashing/Pawnshop/Liquor Store all in one shop. Congrats. That was a kami hami uber hood!

10. "Tags" or "Tagging" (not to be confused with Graffiti) aka some cornball who knows nothing about the art who feels the need to scribble his/her name all over your neighborhood (back in the day, these ppl were known to the graffiti world as "toys"). Ppl who actually own property have a greater respect for public property and are less inclined to badly tag up schools, garages, churches and houses with markers and cheap spray paint.

Close tie for # 10 and honorable mentions: quarter waters, 50 cent sodas (aka "kill-baby" sodas, as we used to call em back in the day), 50-99 cent beers, and malt liquors. Try me on that. Someone please find me a nice neighborhood that sells Tropical Fantasy or St. Ives! All over this country I have yet to see one [interesting article on crimes n malt liquor].

"Drinking one 40 oz. bottle of St. Ives is equivalent to drinking a little more than five shots of whiskey."

Now if you happen to have ALL of these, congrats, you live in the UBER hood, but by now, I'm sure you already knew that.

Sent via Raphael  "I am Raphael Charles and I approve this message"

How to cellebrate Caribbean American Month. [from The Blackberry Chronicles]

Sometimes I have what I call an "I'm loving me some Barack" moment. This was one of them mid month this past June:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. I urge all Americans to commemorate this month by learning more about the history and culture of Caribbean Americans.

This is one of those stories that got very little to no media attention and I wonder how many ppl even know. I encourage everyone to read to official presidential proclamation in its entirety. This is indeed a joyous and monumental day for all of us of Caribbean/ West Indian descent.

Sidenote: Some people like to kick n scream n cuss about names and say nonsense like "I'm not west indian! There were no indians in the west!" Well newsflash! A: Caribbean implies that of the Caribbean sea. Guyana is not an island and its not in the sea but is included. Puerto Rico, Cuba and DR are in the Caribbean sea but are not of West Indian culture. B: Caribbean comes from the word "Carib" whose etymology derives from Cannibal so pick your poison. "A rose of any other name...."

So halfway through the month you might be thinking: "good googa mooga! Holy current roll batman! I have been slacking and not doing my part to honor and celebrate the great West Indian nation. Hark! How for can I ever celebrate and partake in thus glorious recognition?"

Good question little timmy! I'm glad you asked. So in order to help educate the masses, I have braved painstaking liberties to compile the official complete guide to celebrating West Indian American heritage month. One mustn't feel compelled to do everything bc everything is not applicable to everyone. Some of these are old fashioned, some of these are more advance but not for the novice W.I. Tis merely a pallet for allyuh to choose from.

How to celebrate West Indian-American Heritage month:
1. When driving, disregard 40% of your local DMV manual. Standard laws of "right of way" and common etiquette need not apply.
2. Never signal when turning or switching lanes.
3. Drive everywhere as if you have a lady in the back seat, who's water just broke, on april 15th, and you haven't dropped off your taxes yet. Curse at ppl who don't.
4. Hang dice, boxing gloves, shades, baby shoes, tassels, lanyard, flags or any token with your country's colors on your rear view mirror.....and a rosary. Not from the West Indies? Not a requisite. No problem. Just pick an island from your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, cousin, co-worker, best friend, neighbor or the last west-indian you ran into.
5. Pick an island and refer to it as "back home." Any time there's a problem with this country in the news, complain, rant and boast about how "tings" are SOOO much better "back home." Typical opener: "Ya know back in [insert country]..." Use this as an opportunity to threaten ppl about you goin back home.......despite the fact that you:
A: been living here for 20+ yrs
B: was born in the US or last went 15 yrs ago or
C: never even seen "back home" outside of cable TV or other ppls vacay pictures.
6. Exercise tactical west indian utilization of the word "ting" (substituting "thing) as a noun, adjective, verb, adverb, pronoun, subject and predicate in the same sentence. Ex. "Allyuh jus a too damn ting! Ayee minute ayu only tingin di ting till ayu duz ting an ting wi di ting. Yuh tingin on too ting!" You've mastered it when everyone around you completely understands.
7. Point with your nose, chin and use exaggerated hand gestures. This will help with #6.
8. Spend one entire week where you eat rice or chicken, or both EVERYDAY. A true west indian can cook rice or chicken 7 days a week and each day will be a different meal.
9. Men. Brush up on the news and spend at least one day debating politics with a group of friends for at least 4 hours straight. If the subject matter involves a state, or country that doesn't even concern you, even better. Bonus!
10. Women and children. Stay clear of men when debating politics. Particularly older men. They may appear like they are about to fight and knock each other out, but trust. Everyting is ok.
11. Married couples. You are not to show any type of love and affection to each other. Not in public. Not in private. Not ever. Sleeping in separate beds, rooms, states or countries is acceptable. You will know you're successful if your children start asking you for your anniversary date, wedding photos or question if you are in fact, actually married.
12. Spend one day watching an Oliver Samuels Marathon.
13. Contrary to one island (Jamaica) the official music of the west indies is Calypso and SOCA! You must fill the air with as much calypso (pronounced "ky-ee-so") soca and pan music as possible. Must be '09 or up to 5 yrs back. Ol school soca is acceptable at family gatherings, Saturday/Sunday mornings to afternoon or whenever doing household choirs. (And even Jamaica has a soca/cayiso carnival). Its not mandatory but when playing old school calypso, macaroni pie and or potato salad should be within reach.
14. Enjoy the heat......not outside, INDOORS. Disregard the fact that its June and wear sweaters/ fleece and sweat pants indoors and sleep with the heaviest comforter you own. If you're feeling really festive, use a space heater around the house, complain to the landlord once a week about "not enough heat" or turn your thermostat up 5 degrees....regardless of where it was.
15. You must attend at least one "fete" this month. There's a huge difference from parties and "fetes." But that's a whole nother conversation.
16. Fellas. The days of "ma, can I holla" are dead. You need to step your game up to ol' G west indian cat-calling. You need to wow the ladies with the romantic prowess of such beautiful pet names like (but not limited to) BAY-bee, sweet-EE, dAAH-ling, doo-doo, doodoo dAH-ling (thats a combo/advanced concepts), mommy nice child, macaroni pie, dump-ling, suga dumpling, chunkalunk, coconut wata, or consult the nearest elder west indian male, preferably one with gray hair, gold and or missing teeth. Laugh, mock, criticize and poke fun all you want. Most of these dudes have like 10-15 kids with 10-15 women.

Sidenote: Rule of thumb, the most important thing should either go first or last to really emphasize significance.

Most important of all: you must learn as much as possible about all the other islands. Master the accents. This has nothing to do with unity, but quite the opposite. The Caribbean is the most divisive, dysfunctional household on earth. You must use this knowledge to insult and degrade each island....out of love of course. Forget cricket or football, the international past time is hating, dissing, ranking, snapping on other islands.

Hands down the biggest offenders, Jamaicans and Trinidadians. Should they pre-empt an unwarranted attack, call the Jamaican a beef patty and ask why the women talk like Jabba the Hut and the men pants are tighter than them women? Call the Trinidadian a pulouri and make fun of the sing-songy accent. If they persist, jingle your keys or bang anything that will make a "ping-di-ding" noise. The noise will ensue an uncontrollable urge to begin whining. It will distract them long enough to get away. Tell a Baijian they talk like they have hot metal balls in their mouth. If u actually can find one of the 12 ppl from Grenada, Antigua, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Kitts or one of those other small sandfly islands, hold up a magnifying glass and offer an award to anyone who can find these islands on a map. If you see a person with more gold than Mr. T, they're probably Guyanese.

Sidenote: I'm made in America but manufactured with Grenadian parts, but I'm an equal opportunity hater. Our dollar is worth more than the rest of them so kick rocks!!!

Now as a courtesy, leave the Haitians alone. Haiti was the first independent black nations in the west and one of the few armies to defeat Napoleon and for the subsequent 200+ yrs have been unjustly persecuted, discriminated and hated on more than any other island. Respect that rich culture.........but if one of those Haitian booty scratchers should start with you simply remind them that Haiti is not an island or country, but merely a town in the Dominican republic.

WARNING!!! Make sure you only do this amongst close, close, CLOSE friends bc letting a stranger hear you talk like this might lead to lost of teeth (and replacement with gold ones if you're Guyanese). West Indians like to cut ppl. There is a machete in every household even if they don't have a front or back yard.

Sent via Raphael  "I am Raphael Charles and I approve this message"

"The Obama-Boomers"

A friend of mine wrote about an interesting convo about progress in this country. The question was,

"How long will it be until people are truly colorblind?"

One person said "never" while my pal Justin replied "25-50 yrs." I agree with Justin's hypothesis. For a more obvious and dumb reason, first of all, in 25-50 yrs, most ppl who were over the age of 7 during the 60's (the the height of racial tension in this country)will be long gone and dead. So will all the other adults who were set in their ways at the time. These are the extreme racists.

Sidenote: They call "7" the age of reason or the age of awareness. Usually by that age a child has their foundation of morality and has some perception of right or wrong. Adolf Hitler once said, "give me a child until the age of 7 and I will have them for the rest of their life."

Side Sidenote: I don't normally make it a point to go around quoting Hitler if it's not germane to this point, so put away your pick axes, torches and cancel whatever calls and emails you were about to send. Find me a relevant quote pertinent to that particular topic and I'll retire Adolf.

Second, this election wasn't won off of race it was won on age. A new more tolerable acceptable generation is rising to political consciousness. Unfortunately most of the power holders today are in the first category. In 25-50 years, that will shift.

Third, over the last 15 yrs, interracial marriage, dating, breeding has become so commonplace and will only continue to proliferate exponentially. In 25-50 years, there may not be any minorities, not to mentions you'll be hard pressed to find anyone 100% let alone 50% any one ethnicity. We will have become a nation of hybrid muts.

Lastly, we have an 8 yr window of the Obama generation. Basically every baby born in the last 4 years and the next 4 will associate the thought "black man" synonymous with the thought of "American President." Do you realize how profound that is??? Not to mention any child born this day on, can no longer really see black men as inferior or unequal if we've had a black president (sans the exploitation).

Think about when you were 5, 6, 7, 8 yrs old. Other than Santa, Easter Bunny and Mickey Mouse (Huh HA!) there was no icon higher than a former American president. Remember all the stories we heard about George Washington, Lincoln, Ford, and Jefferson. I remember I was 8 in '88, when 1st Bush was elected president I was so lost. All I knew for 8 yrs up until that point was Ronald Reagan when anyone mentioned "president." Why is he leaving?! Why were we changing?

The baby boomers shifted and control the world today. Imagine what the Obama-Boomers are going to do?

The EX-Files

Question(s):

After a relationship is over, do you keep in contact with your ex? Or do you cut off all ties with them (especially right after it ended)? Do you delete them from your contact list, facebook, messenger, etc.?

What measures do you take to heal and move on?

Feel free to answer all or parts of the question posed.

This question was posted by *nycyahdie* on one of the blogs I frequent:
*Misconceptions of Me* and my response kinda grew into this.........
PROLOGUE:

Sidenote: I would like to thank Stan Lee, Chris Claremount, and the good ppl at Marvel Comic books for making me the only kid in my entire elementary school who knew what the word "Prologue" meant. In addition to good cartoons comic books did wonders for the vocabulary. You give your kids some "Thor" comics and I promise you Shakespeare will be a walk in the park.

When the weather gets warm, a handful of my buds and I get together early Sunday mornings for a couple hours of basketball. We always say "lets take it easy and have a calm relaxed game............." Yeah! OK! As aggressive and competitive as these dudes are? In three years it hasn't happened yet. In our first game dudes usually have to stop for water when the score is only 4-6.

So in my overzealous defensive fervor, one time in an attempt to save a ball from going out of bounds on a turn over, my feet slid out from under me and one of my knees banged and skidded the ground. It cut pretty bad and deep and blead. It's okay... I saved the ball. No one had bandages so on some Rambo shit, I proceeded to:
-walk it off
-rinsed it with my drinking water
-lick the wound and declare how great my blood tasted (say what you want, the other team got shook)
-band up the wound with a paper towel, a du-rag (the official head wrap of the black community) and spare wifebeater
-help my team win 3 games in a row.

....probably more residual affects of watching 300 2-4 times a week at the time.

Now granted I clearly would not last too long on E.R., Greys Anatomy, M.A.S.H. and couldn't even practice medicine in mehico, but to make things worse I proceeded to pick at and peel off the scabs whenever they healed for the next few days. Lord knows between sand flies, mosquitos in the caribbean and growing up a boy with two older brothers I have my share of scars on my leg, but most of them have healed realatively smoothly. Had I left it alone, it may have healed a little smoother, but now I have what looks like half a raisinette raised on my right knee.

Sidenote: I am notorious for that and picking bumps. Yet another thing I blame my brother on, who used to break pimples on my face during my glorious acne adolescence.

Sidernote: To all Mehicans and Mehico enthusiasts, its a joke. Don't weigh too much into it.

EPILOGUE:.........if a teacher accuses you of plagiarism, take is as a compliment.
Of my two major relationships, in one we stopped communicating for a few months and today we're cool. Ironically, I tried to maintain communication with the second and now we don't even talk, nor do I want to right now. I still have her number somewhere... just not in my phone book...rather a note on my phone. We're not facebook friends...but I have her email, should I need to reach her and we check on each other from time to time. I feel like we tried to force the "still be friends" phase right after, before I even got passed all the issues that lead to the break. I may have been extreme but the more accessible they are, the more tempted you will be to reach out to them, and that doesn't help you to progress or move forward. I'm good friends with a lot of girls I dated or "had relations" with but it didn't happen in a week, month or even a year in some instances. A break up is a wound and it won't heal properly if you keep picking at the scabs right after it stops bleeding.

In another sad irony (which unfortunately is the constant theme of my life) both of them are out of the country, which for my sake makes it easier for me. However, with local ex's that may be trickier. Most of us either experienced running into an ex who looked like crap on one of our good days (YESSSSSSS!!!! VICTORY IS MINE.............OH EFF yall. Don't act like its just me or I'm the only one who thinks like that), or ran into an ex when they're having a "you can get it" day. If you hang out with your ex for a second, sparks may fly, especially if it was hard for you to pull away or you were the one who was dumped. You DID after all see something and have something with them, not to mention if the sex was good (this is moreso true for ladies, bc its harder for a lady to find a good sex partner than it is for guys) the prospect of ex-sex is always lurking. You may be tempted after cruising down memory lane to pull over on the nearest off ramp for a pit stop and grab a bite....reload the tank.....quench your thirst....relieve your pelvis...or just simply get some,is what I'm trying to get at for the slower audience. BUT, here's the inevitable revelation you will come to.....THERE IS A CLEAR SPECIFIC REASON WHY YOU AND THAT PERSON ARE NO LONGER TOGETHER, and the longer you spend with them, the more apparent this will become and all the reasons why you parted will come rushing back to you faster than the blood in the vessels of a horny pelvis.

Sidenote: Luckily, Maxwell is finally back with a new single that slaps me in the face bc each verse in his new song is about said two major relationships. If Badu was my wife back in the day, Maxwell was my best man and wedding singer.

Sidernote: For those of you who do not speak Maxwellian, he sings in such a manner that tends to gel words together, so until you can decifer on your own, heres a clip with the lyrics in it. Seriously, at one point I thought some of his songs were in another language.

Sidestnote: Damn near 99% of the females I know who are hung up on (pun not intended but welcomed) a certain dude, its because some aspect of the sex or the tongue was amazing.......but will never admit that it is a factor. You women are just as superficial as guys if not worse sometimes. GEEZ!!!

Take time. Focus on you. Not to get over the person, but to heal yourself. When you give, you give yourself away (shout out to U2)and you need to makeup for and repair that missing part or else you'll be of no good to the rest of the world and scarred for life. In regards of moving on, keep busy. The chains of worry are heaviest in the idle hours. Nuh linga! NO LINGA!!!

Sidenote: I warned yall about bs dancers before, so just to help you steer clear of that, here's the best, most comprehensive break down of the dance I've seen if yall want to learn. KETCH DI DANCE!!

"I shall lose myself in action, less I wither away in despair" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hope my convoluted answer helps CM.

Well readers, what do you guys think on the subject?

The True Reason why "50% of all marriages end in divorce"

I have a ton of photos just like this one. You've prolly seen similar sights all over your neighborhood too on and around garbage day. Seemingly mint conditioned tv's just laying around the streets all willy nilly. Some may even have a sign saying "free! take me" like the pic below. I'm pretty sure if you took one and plugged it in, they'd probably work just fine. I too am not without outdated tv, so I cannot cast any stones. As we previously discussed, antiquated technologies (and as it came up again) are being discarded left and right. Last year I too subscribed to the LCD/HD/1080p exodus myself, but cannot bring myself to throwing out a perfectly operable 16 yr old tube TV, one of my first major purchases. I told you guys I'm an admitted pack rat, so bear with me! So what the hell does any of this have to do with marriage? Its about damn time you asked! It's about the ideological Zeitgeist of the times. I came across this article this morning:
Couple Celebrate 81st Anniversary
Now when asked what the tips, advice and pearls of wisdom they may bestow, they sited basic common sensical things:

"We're always here for each other. It is all about give and take on both sides," Frank Milford said last year. "You need a happy outlook and to just get on with it. I don't know where the years have gone to. It's marvelous really."

The couple also credited "a little argument every day" for their long union.

Nothing to write to the Nobel Society about. So why is it that supposedly "50% of marriages end in divorce"???????????????????????????????????? I believe.........BECAUSE SOMEONE STARTED PUBLISHING AND BROADCASTING THAT "50% OF MARRIAGES END IN DIVORCE!!!" Anyone who's successful at anything will tell you that 90% of success is dependent on your thoughts and how you think. You can't toe-dip something like marriage with "fingers crossed" thinking, you have to commit to making it work. So how can you expect your marriage to last when you're partner's hand is stead fast on the emergency eject switch? I once dated a girl who kept sighting this quote (which for the life of me I can't verify) which in hindsight, should have warned me to bail a whole lot sooner than I did. Most ppl give up on or quit on themselves before they even try. How many things or great ideas have you talked yourself out of bc you thought of a billion excuses why you can't do something or it wont work. OR even worse, allowed friends and family to do so?

Sidenote: Our biggest enemies our whole life (in school, relationships, business, work and fun) has been the eyes, ears, words and opinions of other ppl, sometimes even friends and families.

I knew a cable guy who came across a couple celebrating their 50 yr anniversary. Jaw dropped by what sadly today is an anomaly, he asked the secret. The gentleman merely said, "when we have a problem, we sit down and fix it. We work together and we don't go to bed until its worked out." Now what I find ironic is around the same time, some relatives of mine were about to sell and close down a once thriving electronic repair shop bc ppl just weren't coming back to pick up thier electronics. I'm talking huge tv's stereos, etc and rather than repair, ppl would rather buy a new (in some cases leaving the fixed item behind along with a huge deposit).

In most contracts or agreements, there is always an exit clause or window of cancellation, but most brokers, reps and sales ppl will never go over that part of the document with you in the closing. It's there in plain sight so its not illegal to not mention it. The reason being, if you give ppl an out, rather than fight, weather the difficulties and persevere, as Tony Robbins says best: "Human beings will take the path of least resistance over the path of pleasure and pain seven days out of the week." We might want to do some additional research as to where the term "irreconcilable differences" became so proliferate throughout the land.

Happiness is restored throughout the land!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it pleases me to announce..................AVG has continued their free anti-virus software!!!!!!!

Previously on "My $0.02"...............Signs that the sky is falling #3 (no more slacking on my journalistic duties!)

After consulting one of my tech ppl (or rather, more tech-ER than me), reading a press release and downloading the latest version, it appears that the company IS continuing the free service for the upgrade. There is a version to purchase but a free version of the latest software with all the virus, spyware, malware Tupperware and Delaware protection included.

So check it out at http://free.avg.com/

Great to see somethings staying the same. Whether it was public outcry (exposing exposays do work), or corporate integrity, the sky does not appear to be falling this day :)