The Mystery That Is Kobe Bryant

I first became aware of Kobe Bean Bryant some years ago, when he was still a teenager and attending Lower Merion High School, which is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

I knew that he was the son of former Philadelphia 76er, Joe "Jellybean "Bryant and I knew that he was something special on the court...

A friend and I saw him play in the Sonny Hill League...a local basketball league here in the Philadelphia area where many legends have been spawn...It's akin to the Rucker League in New York City....He was incredible, out playing grown men....His basketball IQ was off the chain...

Nobody here was surprised when he led his High school,Lower Merion to it's only state championship and then passed on college and went to the Charlotte Hornets in the first round, only to be almost immediately traded to the Los Angelas Lakers, where he would go on to win 5 NBA Championships...

Kobe used to be loved and adored by the Philadelphia fans....That is until his Lakers played our Sixers in the NBA championship and he made some rather cruel and insensitive comments about the Sixers...The home team....Pretty bad, considering that he's a Philadelphia Native and his father did used to play for this team.

The fans never forgave him and booed him everytime he came to Philly to play against the Sixers...They booed him at the All Star game...

Fast Forward some years and some of the Kobe hatred had died down.....Some of it...He just has this habit of putting his foot in his mouth..Making statements that he doesn't have to make...

Check this out-

Kobe Bryant, in an upcoming issue of the New Yorker magazine, apparently reiterates his questions as to whether the actions of Miami Heat players, including Lebron James, who showed support for Trayvon Martin in 2012 following the 17 year old's death at the hands of George Zimmerman, was some form of racial solidarity or jumping to conclusions based solely upon Trayvon's race. 

He said "I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American,” he said. “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”

  Okay, fine...In my estimation, most blacks ,including myself did not support Trayvon's case solely because of race, but most did and do understand that race in many instances still matters in the criminal justice system.
A young black kid goes to buy some skittles and an ice tea during half time of the superbowl...He is visiting his father ,who lives in a gated community....He is stopped and questioned by a self appointed community town watch guy named George Zimmerman with an itchy trigger finger who is following him, who has already decided that because he has on a hoodie...He looks suspicious...Oh and he just happens to be African-American!  Something happens...a fight or struggle of some kind...Trayvon is shot and killed and this mofo walks around free, with his gun for close to a month before he is arrested and charged with murder.. Need anymore facts Kobe? 

 Oddly, I seem to remember many blacks,including myself supporting Kobe Bryant when he was accused of raping a white girl in Denver several years back.,  and I do not recall Kobe Bryant asking black folks to exercise such caution back then... I don't recall him asking us to just "sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation."back then!

I'm just saying!

Just Missed it!

I certainly wasn't watching any sports last night.....(I took advantage of all this rain and got some good sleep in) Just heard that the SIXERS WON A GAME! WHOOO HOOOO! They avoided the dubious distinction of having the longest consecutive losing streak in history! Whewwww! That was close!!


Desperate to see a victory again, Philadelphia fans wouldn't even wait for the end, standing to cheer as time was running out in the third quarter.
By then it was clear: The 76ers were going to win for the first time in two months, and they were going to do it with ease.

The 76ers snapped their NBA record-tying, 26-game losing streak, routing the Detroit Pistons 123-98 on Saturday night to avoid establishing the longest skid in U.S. major pro sports history.
''It's not something I want to be a part of,'' 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams said, ''so it's great that we got this win.''

Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young each scored 21 points for the 76ers, who won for the first time since beating Boston exactly two months ago and did it impressively, leading by as much as 32 points. They also ended an 18-game home losing streak, which was one shy of another NBA record.
Beaten badly a number of times during their skid, the 76ers got to experience life on the other side, ringing up a season-high 70 points in the first half.

Their 26 straight losses equaled the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and also the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who dropped 26 straight from Sept. 12, 1976-Dec. 4, 1977.
''We were just happy to get a win,'' Thaddeus Young said. ''I don't think it was for the streak or anything like that, we just wanted to go out there and win a basketball game and continue to just play.''

Henry Sims added 16 points for the Sixers, who hadn't won before their home crowd since beating Charlotte on Jan. 15. Fans in the crowd of 17,438 were into it from the start and grew louder throughout, standing and cheering in the final seconds of the third and then getting up again to deliver a standing ovation for the final 45 seconds of the game.

Greg Monroe had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the 11th time in 13 games. Blown out a night earlier by Miami, they made the 76ers look as good as the Heat with a sloppy effort that included 18 turnovers, many after starting point guard Brandon Jennings was ejected in the first quarter.

''They came out and competed tonight. They wanted it more than we did,'' Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey said.


The Sixers were expected to be among the NBA's worst teams, though they briefly fooled everyone when they opened the season by beating Miami and Chicago during a 3-0 start. But they look nothing like that team now, having traded three of their top players before February's trade deadline and replacing them with what coach Brett Brown said is the youngest team in league history, one that has been unprepared or perhaps just unqualified to win NBA games.

There is young talent on the roster, with Carter-Williams the possible Rookie of the Year and Nerlens Noel, still out recovering from a torn ACL, also a lottery pick in last year's draft. Brown doesn't question the Sixers' plans or his decision to leave San Antonio to come coach here, insisting the team was headed in the right direction and that all this losing ''will be a distant memory in September.'' Hope Springs Eternal!

''Our judgment day isn't today and it won't be tomorrow,'' Brown said before the game. ''We're on a three to five-year plan.''

The present was finally fun on Saturday.Yes Finally!

The 76ers opened a 10-point lead after one, capitalizing on some free throws when Jennings picked up two technical fouls arguing a call that wasn't even against him and was ejected with 1:18 left. A 9-0 run made it 55-38 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the half, and when Detroit crept within 10 with 1:32 remaining, Philadelphia closed with another 9-0 spurt to open a 70-51 cushion at the break.

The 76ers extended it to 32 late in the third, and Brown pulled his five starters together with 5:13 left and a 30-point bulge. There was no visible celebration, though there was surely some relief.

''There was some emotion,'' Michael Carter-Williams said. ''Of course we were happy to win again, it's a great thing to be on the winning side.''

 The Dallas Mavericks lost 19 straight home games during the 1993-94 season. ...  Philadelphia's previous high was 68 points in the first half of a 114-102 victory at Denver on New Year's Day.

I'm not going to lie....The losing hasn't upset one fan I know here in Philadelphia...They know we have a lot of money and a lot of draft picks in what looks like a deep draft and a chance at the number one pick...People actually want the Sixers to come in last...But no one wanted the dubious record of having the most consecutive losses in history....Funny isn't it!

Keith's Music Spotlight

That beautiful Black woman ,pictured above is Liv Warfield....I've seen her perform on the Arsenio Hall show and on Jimmy Fallon and I just recently saw a video by her on VH-1 soul.....(Yes, they still show music videos on television Virginia!)

She is bold and she is beautiful and she harkens back to the kind of soul singing I heard in the 70's and the 80's that there seems to be a lack of today....she's starting to get a little shine and I even hear that Prince has written and produced a song for her...

I'm giving you the inside track on her now...Don't sleep on this woman...She may very well be the next big thing...Just remember..You heard about her on this blog first...

Weekend Humor

A very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walks into Wal-Mart with her two kids in tow, screaming obscenities at them all the way through the entrance. 

The Wal-Mart Greeter says, "Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart .... Nice children you've got there - are they twins?" 

The ugly woman stops screaming long enough to say, "Hell no they aren’t, the oldest one, he's 9 and the younger one, she's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Do you really think they look alike?" 

"No, I don't." replies the greeter, "I just couldn't believe you got laid twice!"

Have a super groovy weekend everybody!

Our Governor

That smiling man in the picture there is the governor of the state I live in...That's Republican Governor Tom Corbett, a man I never heard of until he ran for Governor...A man I was certain was going to lose in the mid-term elections of 2011...but who surprised me and won... Largely because of voter apathy...

He is up for re-election and despite the fact that he has gutted the Philadelphia School system...Which should be enough for him to be sent a solid message from the state's largest city...I fear he may still win re-election...

He is trying very hard to win the support of the Tea Party and other far right Republicans...And he is using their favorite target....(other than Black Americans...)
Gays...

Last year.. Corbett’s attorneys, in a filing to stop Montgomery County from issuing marriage licenses, compared gay marriage to allowing 12-year-olds to get married.  After being chastised by equality advocates and editorials across the state, Corbett doubled down, comparing the marriage of same-sex couples to incest.

When asked about his lawyers’ comparison of gay marriage to 12-year-olds, Corbett said, "It was an inappropriate analogy, you know," Corbett said. "I think a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don't you?"

These and other hateful and idiotic statements get him a few brownie points with the Tea Party and Far Far Right crowd...but they won't play in Philadelphia and Harrisburg ,Chester and Pittsburg...

No...He's counting on apathy and short memories.....I just can't imagine another three or four years under this man...Can you?

No one should be apathetic come this fall...There really is a lot at stake!

Mid -Term Replay??

Americans have short memories.... We are getting ready to do it again!   Americans have short memories...We are getting ready to do it again! Do you know why I wrote that twice? Because we are getting ready to do the same thing we did in the mid-term elections of 2011...

Allow Republicans to gain a majority in the House and The Senate...If you look at present day polls...

So this means that this coming November we will once again start electing Republicans into Congress. Both the House and the Senate will once again be controlled by the GOP. 

We will begin immediately to turn back the clock and everything this President built will come tumbling down. 

His last two years in office will be as if he never got elected a second time.The stupid and the greedy will once again  control our social, environmental, economic and legislative world .And the rich and powerful  like the Koch Brothers will make the world a living hell for those not born the right race, sex, or in the best of social economic conditions. This will happen my friends, because you will stay home and or find some excuse for not voting in the mid-term elections like you always do.

Mark my words..Not if, but when that happens , the world as you know it will begin to look diferent..It will begin to shift and we who call ourselves liberal and progressives will have only ourselves to blame. Because we...You and I will have let it happen. 

When  I think of some of the really dumb and stupid people who have already managed to get elected...it frightens me when I think of the fall elections and what might be coming.     Thing is..This doesn't have to happen...There is still time for those of us who call ourselves liberal and progressive to electrify the voters and get them out there...

Every election is important...even the so called little elections...Let's not have a Mid-term Replay!           

Birthday

Keith's Music Spotlight

It Being Sunday and all...here is a song to get your praise on.....

(More) Weekend Humor

Weekend Humor

It was about a month ago when a man in Amsterdam felt that he needed to confess, so went to his priest: "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. During the recent Iraqi War, I hid an soldier in my attic who had gone awol and fled here."  

"Well," answered the priest, "that's not a sin." 

"But I made him agree to pay me $200 dollars for every week he stayed." he said.

"I admit that wasn't good, but you did it for a good cause." said the Priest.

"Oh, thank you, Father; that eases my mind. I have one more question..."  he asked.

"What is that, my son?"said the Priest.

 "Do I have to tell him the war is over?"

Have a Super Groovy Weekend.

Wonder If he Went To Heaven?

I've been busy the past few days.....I just heard that Fred Phelps died!   That's him in the photo above...

The Apostle of Hate... The Apostle of Hate is dead!!!

In case you don't know who he is...(and it's no big deal if you don't....)
Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., the Westboro Baptist Church founder who was a fierce critic of the gay rights movement, died Thursday, his son Tim Phelps told Kansas First News. He was 84.

A spokesman for the Kansas-based church could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fred Phelps and the independent Baptist Church he launched were frequently involved with protests of political events, gay pride rallies and the funerals of celebrities, military figures and any other high-profile people he identified with gay, lesbian and transgender causes. His targets included film critic Roger Ebert, actor Heath Ledger, Princess Diana and even that bastion of conservatism, President Ronald Reagan.

The group's slogan, ”God hates fags,” was incorporated into its website, social media pages and the signs that Fred Phelps’ goofy followers carried. His belief that the Bible condemned homosexuality, led him to make a series of controversial statements such as when he labeled Matthew Shepard, a 21-year old Wyoming man beaten to death in 1998 because he was gay, “that little fag.”

Fred Phelps was a relentless publicity seeker; one whose quest for the limelight prompted him to seek public office four times in failed races(Thank God) for governor and U.S. Senator.

He also inspired a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2011 related to First Amendment, when the court ruled that his organization's right to free speech and to gather publicly prevented it from being sued by the families of the people whose funerals the Westboro Church protested.

So now that he's dead.... I wonder if he's in Heaven......or that other place?  Some folks are going to have the shock of their lives when they die!

I think I'm Gonna Be sick

This is like, the never ending winter......I think I'm going to be sick...After two weeks of balmy and near spring like weather...

It snowed again last night.....In my Florida Evans voice..".Damn...Damnnnnn...Damnnnnnn!"

Keith's Music Spotlight

I don't know why I have been writing these things on Sundays...I guess that's when inspiration hits me...Just heard this track on the radio....(Yes, some times they do play something exciting and new on so called "free" radio) and I had to share....It's by a new artist named Daley....features Marsha Ambrosis

Hope you dig it! It's called 'Alone Together!

Saturday 7-Seven Relationship rules you might want to re-examine

Here are some long held beliefs that some people take for the truth that you uhhhh,might want to re-examine...

1.Don't Kiss on the first date-

Really? Says who? I've done it on many first dates and it didn't play a role one way or the other in how good or how bad the relationship later turned out to be.This is a rule you can definitely break! Let your feelings dictate if you kiss her or him at the end of the night or not. If you had a really great time and you’re feeling it, go for it baby!

2.The man always pays....
Ladies....if it's a first date or if he is the one who asked you out...then he should pay....but...There is always a but..But let's keep it real, Neither of you is exactly rolling in dough, so most younger guys can’t afford to always pick up the movie tickets. So plan a few dates yourself and tell him “My treat!” If you two are cool like that...

3.For the brothers- If your boy smashed...You can't!
Welllll, that depends on if it was just a one night stand, a one time thing...or nothing really serious...If they were dating for a few months and had a really bad break up...You really should move on elsewhere..

4.Ladies- Don't approach him...He'll approach you!
Did your grandmother tell you that?  This rule is super old-school. There’s no reason you shouldn’t approach a guy if you're really feeling him.... Trust me..We love it! Plus, there’s nothing sexier to a guy than confidence! Walk up to him and introduce yourself—simple, but bold. It aint gonna hurt nothin..

5.Play Hard to Get-
Uh Uhhhh...Not in this day and age...Playing Hard to get might not get you got!!!
Ladies-Guys get nervous about making a move sometimes, so they want a sign that you're into them before pursuing you. Giving a cat the cold shoulder will do nothing but push him away! Re-read my first sentence.
Simply touching his arm as you’re talking or giving him a flirty, lingering glance as you part ways  is enough to show him that you’re into him as more than just a friend....

6.Don't Mess with someone you work with-
Again-says who? Lord knows I've done it plenty of times in my young life before I got married... I did not however marry a co-worker...but I'm just saying...Even though it would make things a little awkward if it doesn’t work out, sometimes dating someone you work with is okay, especially if you really like each other. To make it work, just don’t gush—or vent—to your coworkers though about every little detail...because then things do get a little funky.

7.Wait three days before calling somebody back once you get their number...
Perhaps the stupidest of all of the dating myths...While I might not call back that night...Waiting three days is enough time for someone else to make their move and for you to become a footnote.

Weekend Humor

Things I've learned From Children-

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.

If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

A 3-year-olds voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 po...

The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh," it's already too late.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year-old man says they can only do it in the movies.

Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a four-year-old.

Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.

Super glue is forever.

No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

You probably do not want to know what that odor is.

Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.

The fire department  has a 5-minute response time.

The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

It will however make cats dizzy.

Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

The mind of a six-year-old is wonderful.

The Mystery Of The Missing Jet

This seems like something out of the X-Files...

Indeed someone should call FBI Agents Mulder and Scully and ask them to investigate....How did a plane just vanish into nothingness over the weekend?  It boggles the mind...It certainly boggles mine...I jokingly said on a Facebook discussion about this that aliens had gotten the plane...

Considering that this plane has seemingly vanished without a trace...That might not seem so very unlikely...

At any rate ,rescue helicopters and ships searching for a Malaysia Airlines jet rushed Monday to investigate a yellow object that looked like a life raft. It turned out to be moss-covered trash floating in the ocean, once again dashing hopes after more than two days of fruitless search for the plane that disappeared en route to Beijing with 239 people on board.

With no confirmation that the Boeing 777 had crashed, hundreds of distraught relatives are waiting anxiously for any news as I write this.

. Thai police and Interpol questioned the proprietors of a travel agency in the resort town of Pattaya that sold one-way tickets to two men now known to have been traveling on flight MH370 using stolen passports.


There has been no indication that the two men had anything to do with the tragedy, but the use of stolen passports fueled speculation of foul play, terrorism or a hijacking gone wrong. Malaysia has shared their details with Chinese and American intelligence agencies.

Malaysia's police chief was quoted by local media as saying that one of the men had been identified.


Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman declined to confirm this, but said they were of "non-Asian" appearance, adding that authorities were looking at the possibility the men were connected to a stolen passport syndicate.

Asked by a reporter what they looked like "roughly," he said: "Do you know of a footballer by the name of (Mario) Balotelli? He is an Italian. Do you know how he looks like?"

A reporter then asked, "Is he black?" and the aviation chief replied, "Yes."

The search operation has involved 34 aircraft and 40 ships from several countries covering a 50-nautical mile radius from the point the plane vanished from radar screens between Malaysia and Vietnam, he said.
Experts say possible causes of the apparent crash include an explosion, catastrophic engine failure, terrorist attack, extreme turbulence, pilot error or even suicide.

Truth be told...Nobody really knows at this point.

 Selamat Omar, a Malaysian whose 29-year-old son Mohamad Khairul Amri Selamat was a passenger on the flight, expected a call from him at the 6.30 a.m. arrival time. Instead he got a call from the airline saying the plane was missing.


"We accept God's will. Whether he is found alive or dead, we surrender to Allah," Selamat said.

 There have been a few glimmers of hope, but so far no trace of the plane has been found.
On Sunday afternoon, a Vietnamese plane spotted a rectangular object that was thought to be one of the missing plane's doors, but ships working through the night could not locate it. Then on Monday, a Singaporean search plane spotted a yellow object some 140 kilometers (87 miles) southwest of Tho Chu island, but it turned out to be some sea trash.

Malaysian maritime officials found some oil slicks in the South China Sea and sent a sample to a lab to see if it came from the plane. Tests showed that the oil was not from an aircraft, Azharuddin said.

As relatives of the 239 people on the flight grappled with fading hope, attention focused on how two passengers managed to board the aircraft using stolen passports. Interpol confirmed it knew about the stolen passports but said no authorities checked its vast databases on stolen documents before the jet departed.

 Warning that "only a handful of countries" routinely make such checks, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble chided authorities for "waiting for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates."


The two stolen passports, one belonging to Austrian Christian Kozel and the other to Luigi Maraldi of Italy, were entered into Interpol's database after they were stolen in Thailand in 2012 and last year, the police body said.

Electronic booking records show that one-way tickets with those names were issued Thursday from a travel agency in the beach resort of Pattaya in eastern Thailand.

Thai police Col. Supachai Phuykaeokam said those reservations were placed with the agency by a second travel agency in Pattaya, which told police it had received the bookings from a China Southern Airlines office in Bangkok.

The owners of the second Pattaya travel agency refused to talk to reporters. Thai police and Interpol officers went in to question the owners.


A telephone operator on a China-based KLM hotline confirmed Sunday that passengers named Maraldi and Kozel had been booked on one-way tickets on the same KLM flight, flying from Beijing to Amsterdam on Saturday. Maraldi was to fly on to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Kozel to Frankfurt, Germany.
As holders of EU passports with onward flights to Europe, the passengers would not have needed visas for China.

Interpol said it and national investigators were working to determine the identities of those who used the stolen passports to board the flight.

Interpol has long sounded the alarm that growing international travel has underpinned a new market for identity theft: Bogus passports are mostly used by illegal immigrants, but also pretty much anyone looking to travel unnoticed such as drug runners or terrorists. More than 1 billion times last year, travelers boarded planes without their passports being checked against Interpol's database of 40 million stolen or lost travel documents. the police agency said.

Azharuddin also said the baggage of five passengers who had checked in to the flight but did not board the plane were removed before it departed, he said. Airport security was strict according to international standards, surveillance has been done and the airport has been audited, he said.

Still don't think we should call in Mulder and Scully?

5 -My five favorite songs of 2014 so far

1. Happy by Pharell Williams

2. Rocket by Beyonce

3.I Still Have You -Charlie Wilson

4.All of Me- John Legend

5.Little Black Dress-Sara Baraillies

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

1. In this life, everybody is not going to like you...Nor should they!

2.If everybody likes you, then you're doing something wrong..

3. A person with convictions who truly stands for something can not possibly be liked by everybody!

4.Without Bad, you have nothing to measure Good by.

5.I used to worry about what people thought of me until I realized that none of their names was on my paycheck and not one of them paid a bill for me...

6.A wise man once said..."What people think about me is none of my business"

7.Fear drives us all....The response to fear is when our true virtue is exposed!

8.People can make you crazy....but People can also make you well

9.No Risk, No Fun

10.Love Your Haters, They make your life interesting!

Peace!

Weekend Humor

This is the true story of George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things.

He immediately phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?" and George said no and explained the situation. Then... they explained that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be there when available.

George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I've just shot them all."

Then he hung up. Within five minutes three squad cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.
 

One of the policemen said to George: "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

Everybody Have a Super Groovy Weekend!

Keith's Favorite Quotes

Another Trial Of The Century

Unless you live under a rock right now and some of you no doubt do.....The biggest trial going on right now is the so called "Blade Runner Trial" of former Olympian Oscar Pistorious, the first Olympian to ever compete with prosthetic limbs, who is now on trial for killing his girlfriend... Pistorius shot four times through his bathroom door killing the girl...He claims he awoke and thought that there was an intruder in his house..

In the bathroom? Who breaks into a house to rob it and then suddenly decides they need to use the facilities??

I'll let the jury figure that one out!

But as Oscar Pistorius faces trial for murder, a large group of South African women have become like a shadow that the runner seems unable to shake.

In this already notoriously violent country, a vocal group of women,surprisingly most of them black, say they believe Pistorius’ girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was a victim of an all-too-common crime, one that crosses all social and racial boundaries: domestic violence.

Violence against women is stunningly common in South Africa, where a woman is killed every eight hours by her intimate partner, according to a recent study by the well-respected Medical Research Council.

No one doubts that Pistorius killed his girlfriend of three months—the sprinter admitted to the shooting in a sworn affidavit just days after the incident on Feb. 14, 2013. He claims he mistook her for an intruder and did not mean to shoot her four times through a locked bathroom door. The prosecution argues that he knew she was behind the door, and that he meant to kill her.

The suggestion that Pistorius, the famous double amputee whose carbon-fiber blades on the track earned him the moniker “Blade Runner,” may have abused his girlfriend has forged an unlikely kinship in a society still fractured around racial lines. Black women have marched regularly outside the Pretoria courthouse where Pistorius’ bail hearing was held in February 2013.

The women, bolstered by the most powerful women’s group in the country, the Women’s League of the ruling African National Congress, say they will continue to march throughout his trial, which began this week and is expected to last at least three weeks and may even stretch for months.

The group of women who gathered on the crowded sidewalk during Pistorius’ bail hearing said they did not know Pistorius or Steenkamp. He lives in an exclusive and wealthy community in Pretoria. Steenkamp rose from modest beginnings in the seaside town of Port Elizabeth to grace the cover of fashion magazines.

Most of the protesters were older black women who took a bus or walked to the court in central Pretoria. In this still-fractured and racially divided society, where the average white household earns six times more than the average black household , their paths would rarely have crossed.

Demonstrators have previously carried signs outside his court hearings, with messages like, “No violence against women" and "No to killing of women and children."

 Those messages, they said, were for him—along with another, more targeted one: “Pistorius must rot in jail.”

WOW!

 Stay Tuned!

And The Oscar Goes To.....

I must admit that of all of the award shows on television at the present time....The Oscars still get my adreneline pumping....I sit sit in front of the television like the fan boy that I am and wait with baited breath for someone in a tux and or a gown to announce ....''And the Oscar goes to......"

I was angry when Diana Ross didn't get it for "Lady Sings the Blues" in 1972...Angry still when Dianne Carroll didn't get it for Claudine and when year after year talented African American and Latino performers and movies were ignored by the Oscars...with the exception of Butterfly Mcqueen who won 20 years before I was born and Mr. Sidney Poitier who won win I was six years old and not yet watching the Oscars or anything that wasn't produced by Walt Disney or Hanna-Barbera.

Then in the late 80's something happened....It started with Lou Gossett and went on to include, Whoopi Goldberg, Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr. , Morgan Freeman, Forrest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx,Jennifer Hudson, Halle Berry and now includes the beautiful Lupita Nyong'o...We started winning Oscars....

Not only did she win...but the Brother who adapted the screenplay,John Ridley won for best adapted screenplay...(12 years a Slave)captured a statue too!

I'm happy that they won and I'm ecstatic that 12 Years a Slave , a movie directed by Steve Mcqueen....(Not the late action movie star, but Black British Director) won for movie of the year....

So I'll close by asking this.....Enough with the slave movies Hollywood....I know I should be grateful for the big wins last night and I truly am...But I'd like to see a moving picture about Black survivors, Black Heroes...Black people who win in the present day....Not see Black victims anymore...Hollywood likes to congratulate itself ever so often when a "Black" film like the" Help" or "Misisisippi Burning" or "12 Years a Slave" wins big...but how about "The Butler"...a piece of contemporary history and extroidinary film that got completely overlooked by Oscar???

I'm just saying...Oscar...you're getting better...but the room for improvemant is never filled!

Keith's Music Spotlight

With the help of students, faculty, staff, and the D.C community we were able to show the world that Howard University is definitely happy! Thank you Pharrell Williams for inspiring the movement..Enjoy..This has got to make you happy!

Saturday 7

Okay ,for those women out there who go on and on about what men do wrong on dates ...I thought I would make it fair and write about what YOU all do wrong on dates. Mind you...This is not to bash anyone... Just to illustrate some of the guys complaints....

1.Being Late without calling. This used to be my number one pet peeve when I was in the (dating) game.Now, if you’re going to be more than five minutes late for a date and you don’t call or text, it’s a major fail on your part. Showing up late starts the date off terribly and sets a bad tone. It conveys a lack of importance. We prioritize what’s important in our lives by how much time (and money) we dedicate to it. That being said, either aim to arrive on time or just call the moment you realize you’re going to be late. Good manners can go a long way.

2. Dressing inappropriately Real talk: Being underdressed, overdressed or inappropriately dressed translates as being pretentious and phony, not fun or easy. On a date, especially right after work, many girls often forget to dress sexy. Your business causal outfit is not hot. Conversely, don’t wear close to nothing either. Just because a guy is salivating doesn’t mean he “likes” your attire. (Trust me...he'll talk about you later to his boys)Lastly, if the date is an activity like a hike, forgo the heels and mini-dress because you think they look cute. Always dress appropriately for the moment.

3. Poor eye contact and fake smiles- I really hate this.Having poor eye contact and flashing fake smiles send the wrong messages. The saying goes, “Eyes are the windows to our souls.” If you limit eye contact because you’re looking away, you simply don’t look confident in yourself. Also, fake smiles are fairly easy to spot. Give too many inauthentic smiles and you enter the “looks like a stalker” category. Eye contact should be focused on the person with whom you’re talking. Be sure to mix in a few nods and eye blinks. The rule of thumb is short single nods are most effective; it shows that you’re listening. Double or triple nods make it seem as if you’re trying to speed the person up.

4.Phone addictions One of the biggest mistakes made on a date is using your cellphone or placing it on the table and glancing at it every time you get a message...and texting or tweeting or updating your Facebook status every other minute. This can show you are disinterested in your date. When you’re on a date, please keep your cellphone in your purse or pocket. Your date deserves your full attention.

5. Poor manners If you’re rude to others, it shows that you have poor social skills and aren’t a very nice person. Nothing makes a date want to run away like a rude and impolite person. If you’re on your date and the waiter forgot the extra lemon wedges, and before the waiter is out of earshot, you shout “Stupid Mother (shut your mouth…”) That ain’t nice! And, it will make your date wonder how you will treat him or her in a relationship. As in life, when on a date treat everyone the way you would want to be treated. This goes without saying.

6.Talking about your ex- Oh My God...This will put me to sleep faster than a glass of warm milk.By making frequent mentions of your past relationships, you might be conveying that you’re not over your ex. Living in the past is extremely dangerous. If you can’t stop talking about how great the old flame was or how you enjoyed the things you both did, chances are you still wish you were in that moment. Do yourself (and your date) a favor and admit you’re not yet ready for a new relationship

7. Not knowing the B.B.R. (belly button rule) The direction our belly button faces reflects our attitude and our emotional state. When we face our navel toward someone, we’re subconsciously saying we’re interested in the person or the conversation. Face your navel away, and you’re saying “get me the hell out of this.” Most people do not know this rule, so learn and master it, and you’ll be able to better read and control your interactions. Not listening shows disrespect and is the most passive-aggressive form of disrespect. Listen to your date.(This one aint really that deep, but it is the Saturday seven isn't it? Carry On!