PSA: "Facebook/myspace/twitter/Blackplanet ruined my relationship"

As stated before, I have an armada of blogs, that I've typed but haven't gotten around to posting. I prefer to stagger them, long as they are anyway. Here's another PSA from "The Blackberry Chronicles"

Sidenote: I know what some of you are thinking and yes, BP is still up and running.

NEWSFLASH!!! If u fight over these sites, you two have bigger problems yall need to hatch out n discuss. But since technology is so prevalent in our lives and some of us are dense, and coincidentally I like to write about random shyte.........at long lengths, let's exonerate some lessons.

STUPID Things that probably shouldn't but most likely will cause problems in your relationships

-If you have a "top" or "favorite" friend list and ur "other" (just bc someone is occupying your space and time doesn't guarantee significance) is not in the top 3 or 5 and "Joe Schmo" is, expect to hear it. (Now notice I didn't say #1 cus clearly you had a life and family and friends before the person so I hope I'm not being too drastic here). I'm not talking about every single friend you have who gets mad bc you moved them down the list, so in retaliation, they take you off, I mean you're partner. If u don't get that, then that's a bit beyond dense. Its quite simple, if its not that important or mean anything, why even have a list? But going back to my original statement, if everything is alright, this wouldn't be a problem now would it?

-Guys!! If you're in a relationship, your big pimpin days or over....well at least they should be. Stop putting up profile pics.....with all these girls.....kissing........and hugging on you......IF ITS NOT YOUR GIRL!!!! I think this is prolly more dense than the first..........yep, definitely. Some guys just don't get the fact that a girl who like, loves, lust, and or cares about you, doesn't like to see other chicks putting there lips where they do. Vice Vera, bc some ladies are wreckless in this department too. You can argue that "well if you were secure it wouldn't bother you." Perhaps.......and I can argue that getting hit by a car won't kill me, and that's probably true..........but why go through the experiment anyway if I don't have to, ay? Why take the obviously harder, less respectful route?

-Don't get mad bc you lied about going somewhere and your monkey ass got tagged up a storm in someones photo album, being somewhere other than what you said. Didn't we warn you about this before? (REF:“I don’t believe in lying…….but if I did, here’s how I would do it…”)

Sidenote: See, technology didn't create the problem, it just exposed it. You're really mad at yourself for A of all, lying, and B of all, getting caught.

-If you don't have the decency cut off your boytoys or big booty hoes, at least have the common sense to tell them to stop or not leave inappropriate messages on your wall.

Sidenote: the wall post is not an inbox or chat window. If one person is visible on your wall more than 3 times at any given point, that's a bit much. Even further, the wall post is not the place to declare how great the dinner, date, sex, movie or Yahtzee was last night. Some ppl got family and co-workers on these things.

Funny thing, I know tons of ppl who have "stealth" profiles set up, for the sole purpose of doing dirt on the low or stalking (they may say "checking up on" but I say call a spade a spade") their man/woman. They will never post pics or add you as a friend. But they know everyone in your top 300 (yeah, it kinda lost significance after 8).

So in conclusion, if you and your other are in the same state, or some reasonable striking distance, sign off from time to time and fricken talk. We get so caught up in computer mediated communications (Dr. Hales -in training- taught me that term) that we forget to fricken talk to one another. I dated a girl in college who could never have a serious convo with me unless over instant messenger. She literally would call me just to tell me to sign onto im. Granted, point counterpoint, one can argue that some ppl are passive introverts and CMC gives ppl an outlet to express sentiments that would otherwise be bottled up and repressed. We like to blame everyone but the person in the mirror. CMC just gives us another direction to point.

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

P.S.

-Its cool to keep your friends posted and publicly declare funny thoughts, but please don't use your status as a public forum to air your dirty laundry. I read some statii sometimes that really make my head shake due to extensive T.M.I.-atry. Please note, when you put your others' or ex' sex life on blast, you're also putting your business out there.......and making an A-nus of yourself more so than the other person! Its childish. Please stop, or detention for the both of ya!!

P.S.'er
-Can someone PLEASE tell me wtf is "complicated" under relationship status supposed to mean, other than a topic starter for ppl to nag and probe into your business?!! LOOK! you're either in a relationship, or not. We don't need to know your problems.

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

Reasons why I always have a camera...LMAO!!!!!!

I honestly could not think of anything else to title this. I caught this on the highway in the backseat of the car. Thank God I got the focus right just before the cut off.

List of ppl who must be thrown out in the street and shot:
The person who came up with it.
Their buddy who said "that's a great idea!"
The person who decided to put it on a highway
The person who designed the ad
The person who agreed to pay for it
The person who decided to use the 'O'

List of ppl who should be slapped, but you can't REALLY blame them:
The people who printed the sign (I want to know how they kept a straight face or were they laughing all the way?)
The people who gave the permit for the sign
the people who mounted the signInteresting Typography................and if the image isn't too clear on you're browser, that is in fact a buttock crack in the place of the 'O.' Click and enlarge the image.

My New Motivation!!!!

The sad thing about motivation (I find) is that it's like gas, bills and any other fossil fuel......or corporate America. It doesn't matter what you did last year, 5 years of 10 years, its all about what have you done in the last 30-60 days. Oh what a replinishing emotion it is. You can pay off a car, a house, or a property, but you can never pay off a phone, a gas tank or your motivation.........probably why many relationships or marriages don't last because ppl feel like they paid off and bought the car when they don't realized what they signed was a rent out lease. Leases do not constitude ownership. Titles and deeds do.....so is that why ppl are so caught up on "titles" in relationships?........but thats another conversation.

I SERIOUSLY digress!

I found my new motivation, which ironically motivated me to write about it rather than act on it (DWEEB ALERT!!). It should be no secret by now that "300" is one of my all time favorite films and one of the bestestess thing to ever appear on screen. Not only did it motivate me to build a forte and defend it, it jump-started an animal workout-blitz-lifestyle that transformed who I was as a person, physically and mentally.....and personality.......but thats another conversation. The sad downfall, is when I discovered that in addition to the massive workout, many of the cast who didn't "make the cut"...(get it? cuts??) were AIRBRUSHED into shape...not all of em, but enough (I've seen the movie enough times to point out who and where). Therefore, it's utility as a fitness motivator has all but exhausted itself. That probably explains my recent fat boy binge bc the light has come on. . . ...........................................................for those of you who don't drive, when you're gas tank is dangerously low a light on your dashboard turns on....that's like your final warning before you're about to shut down.

[Pulls off the exit ramp into a rest stop] HARK!!! What is my new motivation you ask?

"NEVER BACK DOWN!" [SPOILER ALERT!]
This movie is something we've been missing in cinema for a long time. Now I've been advocating for years that every movie I go to does not have to be "gone with the wind" or an Oscar caliber performance. I merely request to be entertained. And while "living la vida recession," when we spend our time and money, we better damn well get entertained. Now completely disregard the fact that I saw this on sate lite tv, bc that would null and void my previous point. God forbid, I contradict myself. A probo, since the satellite ppl don't knock on doors and say, "hey want some free-ass programing," living la vida recession is still applicable. Ere go, sometimes, I just want cheesy entertainment and boy does this movie deliver.

It's basically takes you back to Saturday Kung-fu @ 3 o'clock (for the 80's babies) slash Karate Kid, slash every Van Damme movie ever made (minus the splits and gratuitous ass showing), all tied into one..........with a dash of 2008 sprinkled on top of it. And we all know the premise: boy gets his monkey ass whooped (and his ass sure was monkey) by the antagonist jerk. Boy meets master/sensai/drunken fighter in the woods/flees to shoalin (or in this case, an African Mr. Miyagi. Teacher shows boy one special move. Boy trains. Motivational and inspirational "Rocky"-like montage of boy getting stronger, better, (shout outs to Kanye)faster over "hero" rock music, influencing simple minded ppl like yours truly. Boy seeks revenge. Boy wins rematch with antagonist jerk (in the hood we say, "he got eff'd the EFF up ::radio edit::). Just as boy is about to lose, boy gets flashbacks of teachers words of wisdom and training. Much to the surprise of everyone, boy just happens to end/win fight with teachers special move. Boy also wins girl in super happy ending. Boy teaches teacher a valuable life lesson. A good time is had by all.

However, between some of the training techniques, seeing ppl get better/improve, and with my admitted boarder-line homo-sexual fascination with anatomy and great physiques, I'm sold! I take my hat off to a good movie that can motivate me to do anything. It's because of my brothers and I that they make those disclaimers (don't try this at home) bc we have probably tried every training technique you've ever seen in a fight movie. Seriously, from eating raw eggs to tying ropes and pulling apart our legs training to split. Only difference is, I have enough knowledge and insight NOW to separate the literal from the Hollywood.

Whether you work out or not, look at every area of your life and ask yourself, "What's my motivation?" "Is my tank full, half, quarter or is the light on?" And more importantly, "Where do/can I go for a refill?" Off to the gym kiddies!!

Staying Motivated in the Gym..........Part 4b

So finally after all that babble (click here and be sure to read "4A" first), I finally get to the point. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I realized one of the .............

Sidenote:....................Halle Berry is on Jay Leno, and normally I don't goo-gah over her or any other celebs, but they showed an old clip when one of her bubbies (one of my favorite things on earth - PERIOD - not just hers) fell out....didn't need to share that, but I had to do something while I re-calibrate my thought and catch my train......ah there it goes....SHIT, she stood up.....ok here we go.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I realized one of the biggest X-factors in my fitness discipline is one or more like-minded individuals who are as equally motivated and at times MORE motivated then you. My two, My Pal Al and my Overzealous Bulgarian Gym partner. Although I've heard of personal development Al is one of the first ppl to lead me to becoming a student and actually applying it. I'd get in his car and instead of music he'd be listening to a cd on "how to stop procrastination." My Overzealous Bulgarian Gym partner is the only person at my gym (which is quite small) who's been going as consistently over the last two years as I and one of the few ppl there who can spot me on the bench, vice versa.

Sidenote: It's even better to workout with a person about 20-40% (guestamating) stronger than you in some way. That way you're strong enough to push them (and not just bandwagon or freeload) and they're strong enough to help you break plateaus. When one is out of it, the other keeps them in line. You help them in the areas where you are strong and they strengthen you where your'e weak.

Both of em know as much as me about health. We all do similar research at similar sources, buy and use similar supplements. Al knows many of the personal trainers I used to hang out with. The "OBG" is one of those guys who's been lifting since he was like 2 and in a rich thick accent starts almost every sentence with "back in Bulgaria." However, Al's in Delaware finishing Law school, and my "OBG" joined a gym closer to his apartment.....coincidentally around the time I stopped going. Who will spot me? Who I say?

Sidenote: I heart my Overzealous Bulgarian Gym Partner. Anytime I'm about to do a set, I can hear him screaming (don't know the spelling so I'm going off enunciation) "AH' REH-BAY!!!! GEE-VOT-NOOOOO!!!!" which translates to, "COME ON! ANIMAAAAAL!!!" Sounding like an Eastern European Leonidas....

So I realize, by recent email threads hearing ppl talk about their habits and goals, I'm falling behind. I once heard "it's easier to run with a hundred ppl than to drag one" so when I'm in communication with many ppl who are all motivated and going in a similar path, its easiER to stay as enthused. I hardly even talk to Jacky, who's a self made nutrition guru and can calculate calories in her head at the salad bar. So when I hear Al, and O talking about doing new workouts at 6 in the morning, recent results, I get motivated to get off my fatboy binge. The last time I worked out with the OBG, he was pushing three 45 plates with ease. Before my fatboy binge, I maxed three 45's (on each side if I'm speaking esoterically for anyone), 3 clean lifts, the last with help. NOW, this Hans n Franz ass mofo is pushing FOUR plates, no problem. Another healthy source of motivation. CHALLOOOOOOOOOOOONGE...or friendly competition.

Besides, all the sugar and fats... those oh so sweet sweet fats that led to a lard-assey good time, kinda deflated my arms n chest (sugar breaks down muscle), my legs are shriveling up, and I'm on the doorstep of new stretchmarks......NOT COOL!! TMI much? Gotta get it right. The weather is getting warm and you know those paparazzi will be lurking................

Staying Motivated in the Gym..........Part 4a

Previously on My $0.02----------------> [Recommended reads for newcomers]

Staying Motivated in the Gym..........Part 3

Staying Motivated in the Gym.......Part 2

And in our first installment-------------> Staying Motivated in the Gym....Part 1

Carnival Epilogue...

So I had this whole wake up call recently. It's time for me to stop being a lard-ass and get cracking again. I have to revisit this topic from time to time - key word "STAYING." Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. Fitness is a process, not an event. Fitness is a journey, not a destination. Fitness is a lifestyle, not a diet..........point taken?

Background: Post Carnival, I was a little worn out. I'm usually pretty consistent and steady paced, but I told you guys about my 90 day blitz leading up to my trip,(varying from 1-3 days in the gym a week with high weights, 6-8 rep super sets, ab workout every other day either first thing in the morning, last thing before bed) but while at carnival I partied everyday and slept probably 4 hours.....at a time....if that much (kinda hard to sleep when you get home from a party at 5, 6, 7 am and by 9, 10, 11 am ppl outside are blasting music). I also got into the habit of eating all types of fun, glorious, gluttonous-ass, self indulging...........BASICALLY what I call "lard ass" or "fat boy" foods. And you know what? After being so disciplined and regimented for nearly 2 years......................IT WAS FUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!!!

Sidenote: In the soca community, when speaking of Carnival, it is common practice to say the name of the city or country it is in. When someone simply says carnival, we are talking about TRINIDAD CARNIVAL!!! Note to self for all of you, put this on your life's check list: LIST OF THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE - TRINIDAD CARNIVAL.

Sider note: Speaking about last years carnival, I said it was, "arguably the BEST week of my life." This years carnival..................HANDS DOWN DI BESS DAMM WEEK OF MY LIFE!!! Talk about pure an unadulterated fun on top of fun with fun dressing, marinated for two days in a 12 year old aged fun, served in a creamy fun sauce with little grated fun sprinkled on it.........and a side of fun...................."and thangs"

Subsequently, I fell into the typical lard ass thinking that most of Americans have. Oh yes. You know of which I speak and are probably guilty of several counts yourself. That instant gratification lardass mentality that sounds a little like this: "I worked really hard.....I deserve a break........and a treat." So I decided, "Eh!! I think I'll take a week off of my usual routine and stray a lil from my norm." Now, normally this is okay, welcomed and a very good healthy practice. Especially if you're doing heavy free weight training.

Sidenote: Constant heavy free weight training is really bad for your tendons and joint unless you have a super perfect diet and supplement game.......which most ppl don't. It's always a good idea to scale back for 1 week every 4-8 weeks with just calesthetics, cardio, light free weights or cable machines that are easy on the joints. Almost everyone trainer I know has suffered some serious injury, who coincidentally don't take any time off and I'm praying I'm not next.

However, I decide, "let's go for broke," took it to an extreme, and went on what I called my "Fat boy binge." This was scheduled to last the Friday I got back until the following weeks Sunday (can't jus be a fatboy for 3 days now can we? Stop talking that "that's that healthy shit")..............Can I tell you, good food (rather "fun" food bc a lot of what I was eating was not good) is like CRACK!! It's SOOOOOOO GOOOD!! Once it hits your lips........... I literally had a Will Ferrell moment. Yes, that's exactly what happened to me.

So, almost 2 months later. I'm still breaking many of my rules and I've prolly been to the gym about........4 times.....not per week, cumulatively in the last 2 months. Now, to clarify and not offend the sensitiveez out there, when I say "lard ass" and "fat boy" I'm not making fun of overweight or obese ppl. That's just sophomoric and mean. I know full well there's a plethora of factors, namely genetic that determine a persons size and shape. So when I say lardass or fatboy, I mean things that are just egregiously excessive or not conducive towards a long healthy lifestyle. You don't have to be fat to be a lardass, thats moreso a personality/character thing. You don't have to be fat to be a fatboy or fatgirl, skinny and fat alike do fatboy shit from time to time. So to clarify, here are some of my activities. Any single one of em are ok and acceptable, few and far in between, once in a while.....but daily..........or worse, more than once a day can lead to calamity. And sad thing is many of us do these naively and dont realize why we aren't meeting our goals.

My fatboy/lardass tactics (completely out of context for me)

• eating food or drinking while laying down
• haven't been drinking my usual 64+ onces of water a day.....or any thing for that matter that doesn't have a ton of sugar and "red #5 " in it
• having ice cream immediately after meals
• ordering fastfood more than once a week....sometimes more than once a day
• ordering fries with my food
• eating "wings n thangs" from the local hood fried food spots (two thighs n cheese fries aka the "Raphael Extra value meal")
• eating chocolates with or immediately after meals
• three full meals in the span of 4 hours
• eating well after I'm already full
• eating big meals and going to bed or nap right after
• icecream with hot peanut butter and fudge poured on top [salivating like homer]
• Breakfast, ice cream, sushi, tai food and cereal one day (one of my favorite)
• Drinking JUICE, shakes and or soda with my meals
• and too many more to name because my inner lardass is kicking in and about to wrap this up
  

Sidenote: Anyone who knows me or has ever dined with me in the last 2 years knows that I NEVER EEEEEEEEEEEEVERRRRRRRRR drink any fluids with any of my meals, let alone juice or soda so this was a HUGE break of characer for me. Not even water. I've explained why before. Scroll down to "DRINK LOTS OF WATER" and start reading from there.

Sider note: 8 glasses of water is not as hard as ppl make it sound if you look at it as 64 ounces. The average paper cup is 8oz and the average cup/glass at home is 12-16oz. I have a 20oz measuring shaker cup so its easier to track. Try this, drink 2 cups of water (16oz) before you go to bed and I PROMISE you you'll get up in the morning.................[GIGGITY!!!]

Jim Rohn once said "The formula for failure is a few small simple errors in judgment, repeated over time. Why? Because failure doesn't show up on the first day. It would be great if it did."


Time to get back to work.

YES WE CAN.........EXPLOIT OUR PRESIDENT!!!!

I been saying since November 4th that Barack is going to stimulate this economy, one way or the other..................no sooner said, so it became.

By November 5th, I kid you not, the bootleggers were at it. I'm pretty sure anyone who takes a bus, train or lives and or works around any major metropolitan area felt the aftermath that continues to this day. While the rest of the world paraded merily through the streets, or some of us went to bed bc ppl were complaining about getting sleep......on the night our first black president was elected.....sigh.... Oh you know they were pulling an all nighter and going double time whipping those slave sweat shop laborers from the time it was announced. Oh yes, while the rest of us were popping that one bokkle of Moet you save for special occasion, zinfandels and Andre, the hustlers were hard at work. The overworked laminating machines, t-shirt screens, printing machines, and button presses have saturated every house, street and corner with Obama paraphernalia.

How does the ol' phrase go........"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone......................OUCH who hit me?"

In the subsequent 5 months and change, my father has avalanched this home with a barrage of Barack, and Obama family calendars. I have seen Sasha and Malia more than many of my own cousins. I have only fallen prey to one Barack Tshirt, but I it was hand painted acrylic, and artist to artist you gotta respect that. (I picked the one with the most visible orange, tee-hee). I ran into the artist again months later and bought 2 more....one spare and one to frame. Painters and Photoshopeez worked feverishly and laboriously to add Baracks mug into every iconic black painting made in the last 50 yrs. Accompanying the likes of Selasie, Marcus Garvey, Malcom X, Bob Marley, Martin Luther King, Mandela, GHANDI, Frederick Douglas, Lou Gossit Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman (bc those last two brothers are in everything), D.J. Cool Herc, Biggie AND TUPAC...... okay so clearly I exaggerate a tad but I shit you not on the Tupac!

Sidenote: Is it just me or is Sam Jackson or Morgan Freeman are in EVERYTHING!? Freeman is one of my favorite actors ever! Aside from being like 80 for like ......20+ years, I have yet to see him in a movie that was short of amazing. MAN can he pic a script........Jackson on the other hand........maybe something is wrong with me but for some come-found-it reason, why must the man always have some STCHUPID hairdo or wig in a movie?! Like seriously, he must ask for it in his contract. "A regular shape up??! HELL NAW MUTHAFUCKA!!! Give me grey wig, some cornrows, a jerry curl afro, or a nappy gray afro that's flaaaaaat on one side!!!!....(shout outs to BADU again. Couldnt find her version, but this is the closest I found) .........AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL!!!!" Eff yall, I been making fun of Jackson waaaay before Chappelle

Sidernote: In case new readers didn't catch the sarcasm, I actually think Biggie and Tupac are two of the most overrated and over glorified entertainers ever, let alone rappers. They were really good, but in my opinion, celebrated MTV and VH1 posterchilds. I'll go toe to toe with anyone on that and dismantled your pre-packaged arguments that we've all heard a billion times on tv and magazine documentaries.

WEST SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE note: Yes I know Ghandi wasn't black, but I seen him on an Obama poster and he was the shit........although I read he didn't think very highly of black ppl....

Side, Sider, Apple Cider (cus it sweet) note: DJ Cool Herc popularized the 'loop' of the "break" aka the breakdown of most rock, jazz and funk songs, a technique that lead to the creation of "Break" dancing (someone's in the back going "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!"), rapping, and this whole little thing called hip hop. Hence the term "B-boys"........and "B-girls"

Sidest note......... I have noooooooo clue where the hell I was going with this....gimme a sec to scroll up.....oh ok.

OK!! Got it. Baracksploitation. The hype around this man has spawned a new industry. Here are some of my favorites:

• The Obama Brownie, handed out at the Inauguration for Volunteers.
• The "I was hear" Inauguration T-shirts or pins that were all over the capital that weekend...... that you subsequently can buy in Flatbush Brooklyn or southside detroit........sorry. BITCH! Im broke! My photo album is my souvenir.
• Obama beer.... which has been banned by the feds........in multiple instances
• Sasha and Malia dolls, which Michelle gave the official first lady "AAAW HELL NAW!!" to.
• Obama fries, an Obama Burger or Obama coffee from a shop in the East Village
• Obama beauty supplies (I shit you not, next time I pass it, this is why camera phones were made).
  
• And worse of all......"OBAMA FRIED CHICKEN" has been popping up like herpes sores all over Brooklyn and in some parts of Manhattan and Bronx. Is this happening in your cities too?

For my extra-hoodarians, hoods are littered with Arab owned fried chicken spots (affectionately known as "chicken" or "A-rab" spots - pronounced AY - RAB), typically serving everything from fried chicken, pizza, gyros, burgers to ice cream, and everything in between... basically every piece of junkfood, heart attack enducing element shy of horse tranquilizer under the sun. The true hilarity of this is that they actually have calories listed on the menu. Granted, its law now to display the calories....but lets be real, if you're counting calories, you have no business in these spots anyways. I must admit, "Wings n thangs" (as I like to call em) is one of my guilty pleasures that I indulge like once or twice a month. I'm terribly partial to the Raphael extra value meal, aka two thighs and cheese fries. It has served me well on my fat boy binges. Many of these A-Rab spots are re-naming themselves to Obama Fried Chicken. One can argue that no one complained when they started naming schools after him, but I dare someone to be naive.....stupid enough to buy that argument.

Sidenote: Wings n thangs came from a Trick Daddy video when he is in a high end restaurant and calls a hood chicken spot called "Wings n Thangs." A man in a giant chicken costume procedes to ride a bike cross town, out of the hood and into the rich restaurant and deliver him a bag of fried chicken. At the time, one of the funniest videos ever........set black ppl back damn near 15 yrs, but ignorant hood shit is one of my other guilty pleasures.

Sider note: I know there are actual "Wings n Things" in Long Island and other states, but for some reason they dont have em in bk, so its my generic name for all wing shop typologies that are not KFC or Popeyes, AKA bulletproof chicken spots, owned by A-Rabs. Thats all they have....wings.....and ....thangs....oh and salads now :)

I feel sorry for the real casualties of Obamamania. Not you or I who are fortunately here and therefore saved from the incroaching tomfoolery. I speak of the armada of children being born in the next 5 yrs who are condemned to a lifetime of going to the bottom of college, job, credit and loan application piles. WHY? BC as my friend Jenn so eloquently pointed out "...basically saying that in about 5 years Kindergarten classes are going to be filled with Obamaniesha's, Barackanita's, Obamina's, Barackita's, Obamalina's, LaBarack's..."
And don't forget "Barack-quan." In addition, I feel sorry for the teachers and employers who will have to look across the room with a straight face attempting to pronounce these names. I can go on about how some black ppl name thier children, mixing shit from two languages that dont go together, something that means "beautiful" in one language but "donkey" in another, but thats another conversation.

World famous Poet and one of the founders of the art we now call "Spoken Word" (a term I loathe bc the very act of classifying that which is not meant to be classified, self sabotaged and ultimately spawned its own inevitable demise), once said, "Of course America is the richest nation, because it was built for free." Ppl always joke about manhattan being sold for $20 but no one realizes it was "sold" by a ppl who had no concept of ownership, private property, let alone a man owning land. This country was built on the manipulation and explotation of ppl in less opportune circumstances. Exploitation is our Gross domestic product! We've exploited every ethnicity, blackies were just the last (look up the anti-Irish riots in ur free time). We don't talk about the Chinese and Japanese imprisonment and holocast-like practices in our own country, yeeeeeears after the abolition of slavery. We frowned upon rap music while record execs made millions of dollars and only giving naive young black performers pennies for every album they sold and forcing them into bankruptcy, poverty or worse. If someone wants to sell a tshirt, a bottle of beer or a box of wings with cheese fries, and can find enough ppl out there who want to buy em, then God bless America, LET THEM!! Obama's name and face are putting ppl's kids through college, long before any of his initiatives get pushed through the senate.

Just one favor? White people.............all ppl...........PLEASE STOP PAIRING BLACK PPL WITH CHICKEN AND OR MONKEYS (like the Obama sock puppet) AND OR WATERMELONS!!! Just take my word for it bc that warrants an entirely new SERIES of blogs. You can venture this on your own. Go into any black neighborhood to furhter your studies, but I assure you, your field results will be less than desirable and the learning curve, short n painful. Theres a bleeding history behind it, stop questioning it and let it be.

Closing Sidenote: This isn't me trying to be witty with some pneumonic wrtiting device. I LITERALLY talk like this. ....much to the annoyance to many phone conversors. Sidenotes and all.....only in text I get to exercise my Gollem-like obsession with the color Orange..........and coincidentally I've been told the sidenotes.......or rather "thangs," are a favorite part note to many. Thanks!! That should be a message to kids world wide. "Just hang in there and pull through and once you graduate you're A.D.D. will be celebrated!!"

Okay, alright, enough is enough note: What if I changed the title from "My $0.02" to "Blogs n Thangs"...........hmmmmmmm wuddyathink?....cus get it? The sidenotes are my sides....aka my "thangs.".......Yes? No? Maybe so?